The More You Know

NYC Teenagers Make An Insane Amount Babysitting [Infographic]

Gone are the days of babysitters cheering about making five dollars an hour. What was normal during “The Baby-sitter’s Club” era would be considered incredibly low-priced nowadays, according to a new infographic that reveals the average nationwide hourly babysitter wage is $12.75.

As to be expected, babysitting rates are highest in New York City and the bay area. The infographic, which online babysitting service UrbanSitter put together, states that sitters in Manhattan and the suburbs of San Francisco make more money than sitters in other parts of the country, taking home $15.50 an hour. That’s more than three times what I charged in 1999! And as noted by HuffPost Women, sitters in New York could rack up more than $20 per hour caring for several kids at a time.

But that probably won’t happen in St. Louis, Missouri, where the average sitter gets $9.50 an hour. Seattle isn’t much better at $11.75. The average for Denver and San Diego stands at $10.50. One could say sitters have it too easy: They don’t have to pay taxes, get to play around all day, and don’t need to wear business attire to work. That said, calming rambunctious children down is next to impossible, especially if they’re chasing you with knives (yes, this has happened to me and no, I don’t want to get into it).

So what’s a gal to do if she wants pocket change outside her full-time job but has a hectic schedule? Babysitting could be the answer because most jobs take place between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., after normal working hours.

Anyway, babysitters in ideal regions can make upwards of $33,000 if they work 9 hours a day five days a week, so I’m gung-ho on the babysitting career for those who aren’t ready to grow up or stop swimming in mud puddles. Jessa from “Girls” may be fooling everyone else on the show, so I really think she should beg for her sitting job back–or at least find a less psychotic Brooklyn family in need of a sitter.

TAGS: babysitters | babysitting

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