Nanny Costs

Have you considered an au pair? I work for Cultural Care Au Pair and we provide au pairs that can give you up to 45 hours per week of childcare for under $350 per week regardless of how many children you have. Au pairs are young women and men who come from all over the world to provide childcare in your home for up to two years. It is a government approved program and they attend four full days of training before they arrive in your home. If you'd like more information on this, you can either e-mail me at ____@____.com or check out the website at www.culturalcare.com.

1 mom found this helpful

We live in the Bay area.
We pay our nanny $500/week, guarantied (meaning that we pay that amount whether we need her or not - but we always do). She works over 8 hours a day (usually 9 hours), takes care of 2 children, cooks, does light cleaning (dishes...) keep their room tidy and folds the laundry when they nap.
We don't offer any benefits (she has a good health care from her mom).
We pay 2 weeks of vacations/year + 6 holidays (Christmas, Thankgiving, New Year, Independence day... when the are on weekdays)

All my friends tell me that we got a great deal to have such a good nanny for this price. They pay much more. I know many pay between $16 and $20 /hour for their nanny.

But, in my ad (I put one ad on sittercity.com and one on craiglist), I clearly wrote my expectations and what we could afford and I had dozens of applicants. I made around 10 interviews and all were great and ready to go for these conditions.

However, as soon as we can afford it (I am launching my own business and have no revenues now. But soon, either I have revenues or get a job), I plan to increase this amount.

It depends on where you live, but since I see SF...it's probably similar to here, starting at $16-$20 (depending on experience) per hour or $500 per week. Especially if you hire yourself (without the agency) and need full time care, you should be able to get a weekly rate. Many nannies (at least those that I have interviewed) prefer guaranteed income over hourly...
Au Pair's are cheaper, but you have to have the space and there is some considerable upfront cost for the agency and other one time expenses.
It turned out that we could not afford it, so we went with a daycare center. It was fine, but especially during the first year (or two) nanny care is definitely preferable.

We got our nanny through an agency, do payroll taxes but no benefits. She works for us 36 hours/week and we pay her $18/hr for 2 kids (5 and 2). This does not include the employer taxes we pay. It is a lot of money but so worth it to have someone you trust and someone your kids love watching your kids when you can't be there. I would highly recommend going through a nanny service if you can. The initial costs are high but all of the legwork is done for you as they try to find a match for your family; the nannies are background checked, fingerprinted, CPR certified, DMV checked, etc. Good luck!

Don't forget to factor in the taxes you pay as an employer (unless you pay illegally with cash to avoid this). It's not just a matter of hourly pay. We wanted to pay legally, but the tax implications were the big reason we opted not to use a nanny ... I'm self-employed and taxes are complicated enough as it is.

I have a friend who has been a nanny for close to 10 years... has worked with children from infancy thru Kindergarten, is CPR certified and has excellent references... she makes about $17-$18 per hour plus gas and insurance. She lives and works in the bay area. I would imagine you probably get what you pay for... less exeperience/amenities = less $$... I know she has worked thru an agency before, but am unsure if her current employment was thru an agency. Hope that helps you :).

I strongly believe you get what you pay for. I used to be a nanny while I was working on my Early Childhood Decuation degree, so as an educated professional wouldn't work for under $18/hour. I would say this is the minimum for someone who is very skilled and educated about what they're doing.

It really depends on your specific needs. Do you need a nanny from 9-5 M-F or just a few days a week? Maybe M-F, but just for a half-day?
We pay our nanny $10 and hour if I'm in the house and $12 an hour if I am out of the house. I often work from home so that is why there are two pay rates. We have had 2 nannies for our daughter and both are fantastic - both CPR certified, have clean driving records, and are wonderful, responsible, loving and caring young women who have really become a part of our family and wonderful friends to me personally. And my daughter LOVES them both.
We looked into going through a service, but I found the cost really objectionable. I found both of them through Craig's List in the domestic help section. We placed an ad and interviewed several candidates. We did all the follow-up on their references personally (which I preferred to do anyway) and negotiated their compensation.
Our first was originally a student at the local university. We had her for a year and a half before she found a job in her field and had to leave us.
The other is local and works as a student-aid in the afternoons at a local elementary school and nannies for us for 9 am to 2 pm; 3 days a week.
We don't ask our nanny to do housework or run errands or make dinner. We only ask that she clean up after herself and our daughter when they are done playing.
Anyway, there are a lot more details, and if you would like to contact me directly with questions feel free to.

Good luck!
K.

I have been a nanny for over ten years, so from experience I can say nothing under $15. an hour will find you a good nanny. Depending on the area the pay ranges from $15 to at least $20 hour. In SF, most likely at least $17. I hope this helps.

It's been over a year since we had a nanny, but her rate for one child was $14/hour.