If you remember earning $5 an hour as a teenage babysitter, you’ll be shocked by what babysitters earn today.
UrbanSitter has tracked childcare cost trends and analyzed tens of thousands of babysitting jobs for the last 15 years. According to UrbanSitter’s 2026 survey, babysitters in the U.S. earn an hourly salary of anywhere from $19 to $29.
Many factors go into a babysitter’s hourly wage, including age, experience, geographic location, responsibilities and number of children. The hourly average rate nationwide is $26.24 for one child, $29.87 for two kids and $32.33 for three.
Babysitting rates are the highest in San Francisco, Seattle and Honolulu. On the other end of the scale, San Antonio, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Columbus, Ohio are the most affordable cities for babysitters.
Find out which state has the highest and lowest babysitting rates in 2026. Courtesy UrbanSitter
If that sounds like a lot of money, it is. Average babysitting rates increased by 4.9% last year, even outpacing the 3% rate of inflation.
Keep reading to find out the average rate for babysitters near you.
Babysitting Hourly Rates by City for 2026
Here are the most updated average babysitting rates, according to UrbanSitter. How does your area fare?
Atlanta, GA: $20.78 (one child), $23.74 (two children)
Austin, TX: $23.39 (one child), $27.58 (two children)
Boston, MA: $25.52 (one child), $27.78 (two children)
Charlotte, NC: $23.56 (one child), $28.67 (two children)
Chicago, IL: $22.21 (one child), $25.83 (two children)
Columbus, OH: $19.98 (one child), $20.71 (two children)
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX: $19.25 (one child), $22.58 (two children)
Denver, CO: $24.05 (one child), $26.60 (two children)
Honolulu, HI: $27.22 (one child), $29.38 (two children)
Houston, TX: $21.69 (one child), $23.68 (two children)
Las Vegas, NV: $21.26 (one child), $23.08 (two children)
Los Angeles, CA: $26.11 (one child), $29.22 (two children)
Miami, FL: $21.15 (one child), $26.56 (two children)
Minneapolis, MN: $21.35 (one child), $23.46 (two children)
Nashville, TN: $23.43 (one child), $24.53 (two children)
New York City, NY: $26.03 (one child), $28.77 (two children)
North Jersey, NJ: $25.38 (one child), $26.52 (two children)
Orlando, FL: $21.68 (one child), $23.00 (two children)
Philadelphia, PA: $20.10 (one child), $21.00 (two children)
Phoenix, AZ: $20.59 (one child), $23.63 (two children)
Portland, OR: $23.98 (one child), $27.07 (two children)
Raleigh/Durham, NC: $22.23 (one child), $24.29 (two children)
Reno-Tahoe, NV: $23.90 (one child), $30.50 (two children)
Sacramento, CA: $22.79 (one child), $24.32 (two children)
San Diego, CA: $24.39 (one child), $27.06 (two children)
San Francisco, CA: $29.63 (one child), $33.70 (two children)
Seattle, WA: $27.70 (one child), $30.79 (two children)
San Antonio, TX: $18.21 (one child), $21.94 (two children)
Tampa Bay, FL: $21.26 (one child), $25.58 (two children)
Washington, DC (DC/Baltimore) : $23.95 (one child), $26.01 (two children)
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
