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Recently, my wife roped me into a very mediocre dinner party where the attendees had marginal chatter and the dinner took FOREVER. I sat at the end area of an oak table and drank NoDa Jam Sessions from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m taking only one quick break to eat some overcooked pork tenderloin.
Driving home, my hottie wife said: “Do you have any cash?”
Me: “Yes, I’ve got… $46”
Wife: “Ugh, that’s not close to enough.”
Me: “What?! Oh yeah, you’re right. What’s the math again?”
Wife: “Ted, we owe her $75.”
Me: “Wait, what? How much do we pay her per hour again?”
Wife: “$15. And, we should think about tipping.”
Me: “What the… You realize that I’m getting ready to hand over $75 cash money for somebody to hang out with my good looking, sweet baby boy and then watch 4 hours of House of Cards on Netflix while I’m stuck in the corner at this random dinner party?!”
I couldn’t go to sleep. I kept thinking… $15/hr… is that right?
Don’t get me wrong, I want to pay competitively so that I can recruit/retain A+ babysitting talent, but that’s a lot of coin. Of course our son’s safety is #1.
(Side note: I love our babysitters and test story ideas on them, so they have the additional burden of having to talk to me for 2-5 minutes while I ask random questions and gauge their interest.)
How much does Charlotte pay their babysitters? Answers from data, experts and the internet.
Care.com says, “3,687 babysitters in Charlotte, NC report an average babysitting rate of $11.00/hr.”
Sittercity.com says that on average, Charlotte sitters under 21 are paid $11.42 and sitters over the age of 21 are paid $11.58.
Hollie Huff of Olive Your Nanny Charlotte says, “We tell families $13-15 based on experience & education. If there are more than 2 kids, some sitters and nannies start raising their rate one dollar per kid.”
Abby Clark of Charlotte Babysitters Club says, “Jobs that pay $14-$15/hr are typically newborns or new parents, 2 or more kids under the age of 5, and nanny shares. Jobs that pay $12-$13/hr include watching upper elementary/middle school aged kids. And if a sitter has their CPR certification, it is almost an automatic $15/hour.”
If you go down the internet message board rabbit hole, you’ll find everything from $10 to $20. Speaking of message board chatter, you have to love these types of message board posters… “My yard guy charges $35 an hour to cut grass. $12 an hour to be responsible for a child?”
Right when you think you’ve got the correct rate, you’re always facing some new factor that causes you to rethink your entire algorithm.
- How old is your sitter?
- How much is an additional child?
- What if my child is asleep the whole time?
- My sitter lives in the neighborhood, so doesn’t need gas money.
- Am I supposed to buy dinner?
- Does the sitter have some certification that you don’t exactly understand but oddly makes you feel more comfortable?
My wife and I pay $15/hr. Charlotte, how much do you pay?
