Here's How Much Your Seattle Neighbors Pay Their Babysitter

I was never a very good babysitter.

At least, I never had the bustling trade that so many of my friends in high school seemed to have. (One girlfriend had such a network of families that she was hard-pressed to find a night when she wasn't watching somebody's kids.)

I didn't mind so much; at the most, I made $30 for the evening. But kids these days? They're doing a lot better than that.

National child care service UrbanSitter asked 800 parents what they pay their babysitter. The result? Turns out Dallas parents get the best deal ($11.98 per hour for one child, $13.89 for two children). San Francisco families, not so much ($18.75 for one and $21.30 for two children).

Any guesses on where our own bustling city ranked? Not surprisingly, Seattle isn't far behind SF at $17.05 per hour for one child, $18.87 per hour for two.

Price that all out for the summer break ahead and what do you learn? We spend A LOT of money on babysitting.

Fifty-nine percent of surveyed parents expected to pay $1000 or more on babysitters and nannies this summer. A solid 26 percent expect to pay between $2000 and $4,999.

Which has me rethinking my own career goals... Anybody hiring a babysitter?

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in May 2018, and updated in April 2019.