Babysitting is home to one of the biggest wage growths
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Even though the current economic era is scarred by wage stagnation, some workers, such as CEOs, programmers, and – surprisingly – babysitters are enjoying significant raises.
Parents are now paying around $13.97 per hour for their babysitters, a 26% raise since 2010, according to a new report from Care.com, for which more than 800 parents were surveyed. Not every sitter is earning around $14 an hour. Pay varies according to geography and local wages, and parents living in expensive cities are more likely to pay the sitters more.
Meanwhile, pay rates for the typical American worker haven’t changed that much over the same period of time, according to CBS.
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Babysitters are benefiting from these wage growths because parents have high expectations for their roles. There are some parents who hire not-quite-experienced teenagers as babysitters. However, some parents are seeking adults with college degrees in early education or specialized skills, such as first-aid or CPR certification, to look after their kids. “It’s a professionalism of babysitting,” Joyce Hodel, Care.com’s data scientist said.
Parents “will pay more if a sitter has safety training or an early education degree.” Four out of 10 parents told Care.com they spend at least $1,000 per year on sitters, while another two out of 10 spend more than $2,000.
The city with the highest wages for sitters is San Jose, California, which is located at the center of Silicon Valley. Babysitters earn around $16.68 an hour there. Parents aren’t upset regarding their babysitters’ wages, since most of them believe sitters should be paid above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
According to a list made by CBS, the most expensive big cities to hire a babysitter (per hour) are:
1. San Jose, California: $16.68
2. San Francisco: $16.52
3. Bridgeport, Connecticut: $15.74
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4. Boston: $15.51
5. New York City: $15.23
The same list shows the least expensive cities to hire a babysitter (per hour):
1. Youngstown, Ohio: $11.81
2. Toledo, Ohio: $12.24
3. McAllen, Texas: $12.36
4. Lakewood, Florida: $12.52
5. Akron, Ohio: $12.67
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