Babysitter Rates in 2026: How Much to Pay

Average Babysitter Rates by City

Care.com publishes one national babysitting rate, not city rates, so the local figures below are our estimates. Each one is the national rate scaled by how that metro's nanny pay compares with the U.S. average (both from Care.com). That assumes babysitting pay differs between cities in the same proportion as nanny pay. Individual sitters will quote above or below these numbers.

Estimate = $21.88 × (metro nanny rate ÷ $22.26 U.S. nanny rate), rounded to the dollar. Select a metro for its full daycare, nanny and au pair costs.

Does a Second Child Cost More?

Not on average. In Care.com's data, families posting babysitting jobs for two children listed slightly less than families with one child: $169 for 8 hours ($21.13 an hour) against $175 ($21.88). A year earlier the order was reversed ($178 vs. $167). After-school sitter rates were $16 a week higher for two children ($344 vs. $328).

Care.com 2026 Cost of Care Report (2025 rates, with the 2024 rates it reports for comparison). Care.com doesn't state the weekly hours behind its after-school figures, so no hourly rate is shown for them.

So a per-child add-on is something you and your sitter agree on, not a market rule. If your sitter charges one, the babysitter cost calculator can add $3 an hour for a second child ($5 for three, $7 for four or more), or you can enter the rate your sitter quoted.

What Babysitting Costs: Three Scenarios

1. Two date nights a month in Chicago

4 hours × $23 (Chicago estimate) × 2 nights = $184 a month, $2,208 a year. That stays under the 2026 household-employee threshold of $3,000 paid to one sitter, so no payroll taxes are due. Date-night care isn't work-related, so it doesn't qualify for a Dependent Care FSA or the child care credit.

2. A regular sitter, 8 hours a week, at the national average

$175 a week × 52 = $9,100 a year. If your sitter is 18 or older and works as your employee, you pass $3,000 in cash wages in the 18th week ($175 × 18 = $3,150). For 2026 you then owe 7.65% employer Social Security and Medicare ($696 on $9,100) and withhold the same 7.65% from the sitter's pay. Your wages also top $1,000 in a calendar quarter ($2,275), so federal unemployment tax (FUTA) applies: 0.6% of the first $7,000 ($42) after the full state credit. You report all of it on Schedule H with your 2026 return and give the sitter a Form W-2. If the care lets you work and your employer offers a Dependent Care FSA, running $7,500 of the $9,100 through it saves about $2,224 at the 22% bracket (22% + 7.65% FICA). Run your own numbers with the nanny tax calculator and the Dependent Care FSA calculator.

3. The same schedule with a 16-year-old student

No Social Security or Medicare: the IRS excludes wages paid to an employee who is under 18 at any time during the year, unless household work is their principal occupation, and a student's isn't. That exception covers those two taxes only. FUTA has no under-18 exception, so it still applies once you pay $1,000 or more in a calendar quarter.

Babysitter vs. Nanny: Cost and Obligations

The hourly rates are nearly identical; the difference is hours. For full-time care in your area, compare nanny costs by city. For regular two- or three-day coverage, part-time daycare usually costs far less per hour than a sitter.

What Raises a Sitter's Rate

• Infants and toddlers: hands-on care for children under 3 takes more work than supervising school-age kids, so expect to discuss a higher rate.
• Credentials: CPR and first-aid certification, early-childhood coursework, or years of nanny experience.
• Extra duties: driving, cooking, homework help, or bath and bedtime for several children.
• Timing: late nights, overnights, holidays such as New Year's Eve, and same-day requests. Settle holiday pay when you book, and book December dates early.
• Location: the city table above runs from about $21 to $31 an hour.

Paying and Tipping a Babysitter

• Pay at the end of each sit for the full time the sitter is responsible for your kids, including after bedtime.
• Tips: not expected, though rounding up after a late or difficult night is a courtesy sitters notice. For a regular sitter, a year-end thank-you of about one evening's pay is a simple yardstick: 4 hours at $22 is $88.
• Keep records if the sitter covers your work hours. Form 2441 asks for each care provider's name, address and taxpayer ID, FSA administrators usually want the same, and a sitter you pay $3,000 or more in 2026 ($3,100 in 2027) needs a W-2.

Where to Find a Sitter

• Sitter marketplaces such as Care.com, UrbanSitter and Sittercity: profiles, reviews and optional background checks.
• College job boards: education, nursing and child-development students often want evening hours.
• Neighbors, school parents and local parent groups: a recommendation from a family whose kids the sitter already watches is the strongest reference you can get.

Frequently Asked Questions