--- title: This Is How Much You Should Be Paying Your Babysitter Now description: The 2017 Babysitter Survey from Care.com shows babysitters earn nearly $14 an hour, on average, nationally. Tipping sitters is on the rise too. authors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2017-04-19T15:33:23.000Z' modified: '2017-04-19T15:33:23.000Z' section: Personal Finance tags: - babysitter - childcare - childcare costs word_count: 227 canonical: https://money.com/babysitter-hourly-rate-average-pay/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Mature father with baby](https://img.money.com/2017/04/babysitterpay-ff-130905639.jpg) Got the sneaking suspicion that you're underpaying your babysitter? It's possible: The average sitter gets paid nearly twice the federal minimum hourly wage, according to a new survey released this week by [Care.com](https://www.care.com/c/stories/3158/how-much-should-you-pay-your-sitter/). The [2017 Babysitter Survey](http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170417005292/en/Care.com-Releases-2017-Babysitter-Survey-Results), which is based on the polling of 800 parents around the country in February, shows that the average hourly rate for babysitters nationally is $13.97. That's nearly double the federal minimum wage ($7.25), and it's up 26% from the average in 2011 ($11.11 per hour). An overwhelming share of parents (83%) say that babysitters should indeed make above the minimum wage. The likelihood that parents tip their sitters on top of the hourly rate is on the rise as well: 34% said they tip, compared to 26% in 2015. As you'd imagine, the going hourly rate for babysitters varies from place to place. Here are the cities where babysitters make the most, on average, according to the survey: 1\. San Jose: $16.68 2\. San Francisco: $16.52 3\. Bridgeport, Conn.: $15.74 4\. Boston: $15.51 5\. New York: $15.23 And here are the cities included in the survey where families pay their babysitters the least -- although even in these cities, sitters earn significantly more than both state and federal minimum wages. 1\. Youngstown, Ohio: $11.81 2\. Toledo, Ohio: $12.24 3\. McAllen, Texas: $12.36 4\. Lakewood, Fla.: $12.52 5\. 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