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.]
[Agenda related story: All 2018 kids eat free deals at popular Charlotte restaurants, sorted by day]
How much does Charlotte pay their babysitters? Answers from reader data, experts and the internet.
According to a recent Agenda survey of parents, here’s a rough breakdown of what they currently pay babysitters:
- 5% pay less than $10
- 15% pay $10
- 15% pay $11-$14
- 45% pay $15,
- 10%$16-$19
- 5% pay $20
- 5% pay $21+
Care.com says, 3,546 babysitters in Charlotte, NC report an average babysitting rate of $11.50/hr.
Sittercity.com says that on average, Charlotte sitters are paid $12.80/hr and nannies are paid $14.60/hr.
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?
[Agenda related story: Top 10 breweries for babies, ranked]
