2 California Cities Among Most Expensive For Babysitting: Report

CALIFORNIA — Two California cities are among the most expensive for babysitting as the U.S. rails from a labor shortage and demand for child care providers in the pandemic, Axios reports.

A report from Urban Sitter, the site that connects families looking for child care, tutoring, pet sitting, senior care or other household help, released the data showing an average 11 percent rate hike in 2021 for babysitters in the U.S. — outpacing inflation by 7 percent in just one year.

The national average for babysitting in 2021 climbed to $20.57 per hour (for one child). It's a huge bump for babysitters, who are traditionally underpaid. And, it's definitely hitting parents' pockets.

San Francisco is the second most expensive city for babysitting ($23.32 per hour) just behind New York City ($23.45). Los Angeles is ranked just below the national average ($20.23). San Diego ranked lower than the national average ($17.53 per hour).

Urban Sitter analyzed 2021 booking data from more than 10,000 families to calculate which cities had the highest rates. Here is the average hourly rate per hour, according to the site.

Most Expensive Locations For Babysitting 2021:

• New York City: $23.45
• San Francisco: $23.32
• Seattle: $21.23
• National: $20.57
• Los Angeles: $20.23
• Boston: $19.96
• Raleigh: $19.94
• Phoenix: $19.81
• Washington, D.C.: $19.79
• Miami: $19.31

In the U.S., 40 percent of nannies make between $30,000 to $50,000 annually.

"The bumps that we saw this last year, it was just really disproportionate to anything we've seen previously," founder and CEO of UrbanSitter, Lynn Perkins, told Axios.

Check out the full report on Urban Sitter.