How Much Does an Au Pair Cost in 2026?

The Short Answer

A standard 12-month au pair costs a host family about $21,900–$22,800 a year in core cash costs in 2026: the sponsor agency's fees ($11,085–$11,660 at the three agencies compared below, including application, match and SEVIS fees), the State Department minimum stipend of $195.75 a week ($10,179 a year), and up to $500 toward the au pair's required classes. Our childcare cost calculator uses $22,000 for this core cost.

Feeding your au pair and adding a phone line push the realistic total to roughly $25,400–$28,000 a year, plus car insurance and gas if your au pair drives. The price is per household, not per child: one au pair costs the same whether they look after one child or four, which is why an au pair is usually the cheapest full-time option for families with two or more young children. The big exception is Massachusetts, where state wage law roughly triples the stipend.

Au Pair Cost Breakdown (2026)

Here is what a new 12-month placement costs in a state that follows the federal stipend, which is every state except Massachusetts. The agency figures are each sponsor's published 2026 prices for a new host family hosting a standard 45-hour au pair arriving from overseas.

You also need a spare private bedroom. It isn't a cash cost unless you would otherwise rent the room out or have to furnish it. Most host families owe no payroll taxes on the stipend (see taxes below).

2026 Agency Fees: Cultural Care vs. AuPairCare vs. Au Pair in America

The sponsor agency is the biggest cost you can choose. All au pairs come through one of the sponsors designated by the U.S. State Department, and each publishes its own price list. These are the published 2026 list prices we found in October 2026 for a new family and an overseas au pair. Promotions, repeat-family pricing and in-country (rematch) au pairs all change the figure, so confirm with the agency before you sign.

Published ranges from each agency's own pricing page, checked October 2026. Au Pair in America has already published higher 2027 prices ($11,500 program fee for its standard program).

• What the fee covers: recruiting and screening, visa processing, the au pair's flight to the U.S., pre-placement training and a local coordinator for the year. AuPairCare also includes the domestic flight to your city. Au Pair in America lists medical and liability insurance among what its fee includes; at Cultural Care, the au pair's own program fee carries their insurance.
• Payment timing: Cultural Care takes a non-refundable deposit of one-third of the fee ($3,749) when you match and the balance 30 days before arrival, or monthly installments with a $45 monthly fee. AuPairCare's installment plan adds $600. Au Pair in America offers an extended payment plan.
• Discounts: repeat families pay less (Cultural Care's repeat-family fee is $9,880; AuPairCare takes $800 off), and Cultural Care and AuPairCare both advertise military discounts.
• Other program types: Au Pair in America's Extraordinaire au pairs, who have extra childcare experience or qualifications, cost $12,200 with a $300 weekly minimum stipend. Its EduCare option ($9,700) suits school-age families who need no more than 30 hours a week.

The Weekly Stipend: How the $195.75 Minimum Works

Federal rules (22 CFR 62.31) require that au pairs be paid a weekly rate "based upon 45 hours of child care services per week," in line with the Fair Labor Standards Act. The State Department's formula is tied to the federal minimum wage, so the stipend has stayed at $195.75 since that wage reached $7.25 an hour in July 2009:

1. 45 hours × $7.25 federal minimum wage = $326.25
2. Minus a 40% credit for room and board = −$130.50
3. Minimum stipend = $195.75 a week, or $10,179 over 52 weeks

• It's owed every week, including the au pair's two weeks of paid vacation.
• You can pay more, and families in expensive metros often do. Paying more doesn't change the rules, though: the caps of 10 hours a day and 45 a week still apply, and a higher stipend can't be traded for duties beyond childcare.
• EduCare au pairs work up to 30 hours a week for 75% of the standard rate, which is $146.81 a week.
• Agency floors can be higher. AuPairCare's minimum is $215 a week ($11,180 a year), and Au Pair in America's Extraordinaire au pairs receive at least $300.
• Pending changes: a 2023 State Department proposal would have paid au pairs at least the highest applicable federal, state or local minimum wage. It was never finalized, and the 2026 regulations still use the federal minimum-wage formula. A House bill introduced in June 2025, H.R. 4199, would bar state laws on the au pair program and direct the State Department to propose a uniform national stipend. It has not passed.

Massachusetts: the state minimum wage applies

In Capron v. Office of the Attorney General (2019), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that the federal au pair rules don't override Massachusetts wage law, and the Supreme Court declined to review the case in 2020. Host families in Massachusetts must pay at least the state minimum wage, which is $15.00 an hour in 2026, for every hour worked. Agencies also apply time-and-a-half to hours over 40.

That makes a 45-hour week $712.50 before any credits, or $37,050 a year. A 40-hour week is $600, or $31,200 a year. Cultural Care's Massachusetts page shows maximum deductions of $42 a week for meals and $35 for lodging where state requirements are met. The state's domestic worker rules (940 CMR 32.03), however, require the worker's prior written consent for any deduction and bar a lodging deduction when the employer requires the worker to live in. Ask your agency which credits apply before you budget on them. With Cultural Care's $11,245 fee and the $500 education allowance, a Massachusetts au pair costs roughly $38,900–$48,800 a year, depending on hours and credits. In Boston, our calculator's $22,000 figure therefore understates the real cost.

Au Pair in America also tells California host families that a different minimum weekly stipend applies and asks them to contact the agency. If you live in California, get your sponsor's figure in writing.

Hidden Costs Agencies Don't Bill You For

• Food and household costs: au pairs live as part of the family, and Cultural Care spells out three meals a day. The USDA's September 2026 food plans put a 19–50-year-old at $276–$398 a month on the low-cost to moderate-cost plans, which is about $3,300–$4,800 a year. Utilities and Wi-Fi rise a little too.
• Car access and insurance: if your au pair drives the children, you provide the car and the insurance. Both AuPairCare and Cultural Care list this as a host-family cost. Adding a young driver with a foreign license can be the largest hidden expense, and AuPairCare also lists driver's license fees and driving lessons as possible extras. Get an insurance quote before you match, and budget for gas.
• Phone: Cultural Care lists a phone plan with a U.S. number as a host-family responsibility. A line on a family or prepaid plan typically costs $15–$40 a month.
• Getting to class: you must help your au pair enroll in and attend accredited classes. Tuition above the $500 allowance is the au pair's cost, but the drive or transit fare is often yours.
• The bedroom: it must be a suitable private room. If you're converting an office or playroom, budget for a bed, storage and a desk.
• Vacations and outings: AuPairCare lists family vacations and outings among optional host costs. If your au pair travels with you to work, expect to pay their travel and lodging.

Extension Year Costs

An au pair who has completed the education requirement can extend for 6, 9 or 12 more months with State Department approval, up to 24 months in total, either with your family or a new one. A second year costs less because there's no recruiting or international flight. Here is a 12-month extension using Cultural Care's published 2026 prices:

A 9- or 12-month extension carries the same class requirement and $500 allowance as the first year. A 6-month extension needs only 3 semester hours, with up to $250 from you. Paid vacation is prorated for 6- and 9-month extensions. An au pair who goes home can only return to the program after living outside the U.S. for two years.

A State Department proposed rule published July 30, 2026 would replace the separate au pair extension provision with updated J-1 extension procedures. Until a final rule is issued, the current rules apply.

Cost per Hour: Au Pair vs. Nanny vs. Daycare at 45 Hours a Week

Because an au pair's price is fixed, the cost per hour falls as you use more of the 45 allowed hours, and the cost per child falls as your family grows. This table covers 45 hours of care a week for 52 weeks (2,340 hours a year), using the national figures behind our calculator:

The nanny row uses Care.com's $22.26/hour national average: 40 hours plus 5 overtime hours at 1.5 times the rate (live-out nannies are owed overtime under the FLSA), plus about 10% for employer payroll taxes. Each additional child adds about 5%, as in our calculator, and a nanny share is two-thirds of the nanny cost per family. Daycare is Care.com's 2026 national infant rate; most centers charge the same full-time tuition for any full-time schedule. An au pair's stipend has no overtime because the program caps hours at 45.

For one child and a standard workday, daycare is still the cheapest per hour. But if you need long days, early starts or split shifts, the au pair's flat price wins. And for two or more children, an au pair costs roughly a third as much per hour as a nanny. Our nanny vs. au pair guide compares the two in more depth.

Au Pair vs. Other Care Types by Number of Children

Annual national averages from our calculator. Daycare is priced per child, a nanny adds about 5% per extra child, and an au pair costs the same for the whole family:

Location matters most for the daycare comparison. Across the 44 metros we track, infant daycare alone costs more than $22,000 in 10 of them: Seattle, San Francisco, New York City, San Jose, Washington DC, Boston, Denver, Portland, Los Angeles and San Diego. For two children under 3, daycare costs more than an au pair in all 44; even in Houston, the cheapest, an infant and a toddler cost $23,210 a year. For a toddler and a preschooler, daycare still tops $22,000 in 41 metros. The exceptions are Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio.

*Massachusetts wage law applies; see above. Daycare and nanny figures are annual, from our city cost data; the nanny column is wages before employer taxes. See our au pair vs. daycare guide for the non-cost trade-offs.

Taxes, Dependent Care FSA and the Child Care Credit

No payroll taxes for most host families

Unlike hiring a nanny, hosting an au pair usually doesn't bring payroll tax filings. The IRS says au pair wages are usually not subject to Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes, and host families of nonresident au pairs are exempt from federal unemployment (FUTA) tax. The stipend isn't subject to mandatory income tax withholding either. Most au pairs are nonresidents who report the stipend on Form 1040-NR and pay any income tax themselves. An au pair who becomes a U.S. tax resident can trigger FICA, but J-1 au pairs are generally exempt from the residency test for their first two calendar years. A nanny employer, by contrast, pays a 7.65% FICA match plus unemployment taxes; our nanny tax calculator shows how much that adds.

Using a Dependent Care FSA or the credit for au pair costs

IRS Publication 503 counts care in your home as a work-related expense when it lets you (and your spouse) work and the child is under 13. For an au pair, that means:

• Counts: the weekly stipend, and the agency fees you must pay to get care (Pub 503's "fees and deposits" rule). The extra cost of meals your au pair eats in your home can count too.
• Doesn't count: the $500 education allowance, because Pub 503 excludes education.
• Paperwork: Form 2441 asks for your care provider's name, address and taxpayer identification number. Au pairs are authorized to work, so they can get a Social Security number.

A year of au pair care puts roughly $20,000 or more of stipend and fees in play, far above the 2026 limits. So the real question is which benefit to use:

• Dependent Care FSA: up to $7,500 per household in 2026 ($3,750 if married filing separately), taken out of your pay before federal income tax and FICA (and, in most states, state income tax). A married couple with $160,000 of income (22% bracket) saves about $2,224 federally: $1,650 in income tax plus $574 in FICA. At $250,000 (24% bracket), the saving is about $2,374.
• Child and Dependent Care Credit: 20%–50% of up to $3,000 of expenses for one child or $6,000 for two or more. For the same married couple at $160,000 with two children, the rate is 32%, a $1,920 credit; at $250,000, it falls to 20%, or $1,200.
• Not both on the same dollars: FSA money reduces the credit's expense limit dollar for dollar, so a full $7,500 FSA uses up the whole $3,000/$6,000 limit. If your employer offers an FSA, maxing it usually wins for au pair families. If it doesn't, claim the credit.

Most FSA plans reimburse only as care is provided, so an agency fee paid in a lump sum before arrival may be paid back over the year; ask your plan administrator. You can run your own numbers in the Dependent Care FSA calculator and the child care tax credit calculator.

Host Family Requirements

The State Department's au pair rules (22 CFR 62.31) require your sponsor agency to screen you. To host, you must:

• Be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents who are fluent in spoken English.
• Provide a suitable private bedroom.
• Have every adult in the home interviewed by the agency, and have host parents and other full-time adult residents pass a background check with employment and personal references.
• Show adequate financial resources to meet all hosting obligations.
• Interview your au pair by telephone before they leave home, and sign a written agreement that limits childcare to 10 hours a day and 45 a week.
• Have a parent or other responsible adult at home for the au pair's first three days, and at all times if you have a baby under 3 months old.
• Have a child under 2? You need an au pair with at least 200 hours of documented infant care experience. A child with special needs requires an au pair whose relevant experience you have acknowledged in writing.
• Give 1½ days off every week, one full weekend a month (Friday evening to Monday morning) and two weeks of paid vacation a year.
• Help your au pair enroll in and attend at least 6 semester hours of accredited classes, and pay up to $500 toward them.
• Attend at least one agency family day conference during the year. Your local coordinator must live within an hour's drive of your home.

Au pairs themselves must be 18 to 26, have finished secondary school, speak English proficiently, and pass a physical, an interview and a background check. Before placement they receive at least 32 hours of training: 8 hours of child safety and 24 hours of child development, including instruction specific to infants.

Au Pair vs. Nanny: Pros and Cons

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• U.S. State Department au pair regulations, 22 CFR 62.31 (hours, stipend basis, education, extensions, host family rules), and the J-1 au pair program page.
• Agency price lists, checked October 2026: Cultural Care (including its Massachusetts pricing), AuPairCare and Au Pair in America.
• IRS, Au pairs (payroll and income tax treatment) and Publication 503 (qualifying care expenses). FSA and credit amounts follow the 2026 rules used in our calculator.
• USDA, Official Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home, September 2026.
• Federal Register: 2023 au pair proposed rule and July 2026 extension proposed rule.
• Daycare, nanny and nanny share figures: our methodology (Care.com 2026 Cost of Care Report and October 2026 local rates).