Anonymous
Post 01/29/2026 10:41     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
Kids asked for $50 I gave them $250.

They did one of my neighbors for free older woman in her 80's whose family is MIA.

Hence why I paid them more, they did it before they did mine and did not ask for a dime.

I live on a great street.
Anonymous
Post 01/29/2026 10:41     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
Shoveling snow was on Sunday.

Breaking ice was all the other days. That's MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE.

Anonymous
Post 01/29/2026 10:39     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
Anonymous wrote:A couple of my daughter's friends begged to shovel our driveway. DH had already cleared it on Sunday, but there was an inch or inch and a half of packed sleet left. Although we didn't need it (have 4WDs), we agreed. It took two older teens, 7 hours (including breaks), and they did about 2/3rds of it. What they did, they did really well, so although the agreed upon price was $300, I paid $400. It was backbreaking work.


Your driveway didn’t need it but you went ahead and agreed to pay $300 to teens to do it? And then ended up paying $400? JFC.
Anonymous
Post 01/29/2026 09:47     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
We paid $80 because that is what they asked for. I was prepared to pay $100. This was bad snow and ice.
Anonymous
Post 01/29/2026 09:43     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
A couple of my daughter's friends begged to shovel our driveway. DH had already cleared it on Sunday, but there was an inch or inch and a half of packed sleet left. Although we didn't need it (have 4WDs), we agreed. It took two older teens, 7 hours (including breaks), and they did about 2/3rds of it. What they did, they did really well, so although the agreed upon price was $300, I paid $400. It was backbreaking work.
Anonymous
Post 01/29/2026 08:19     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
Anonymous wrote:I would never hire a teen.


Then don’t open the thread!
Anonymous
Post 01/29/2026 08:18     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My teen is getting 20$/hr (and some tips.) But he said some of his other friends are charging 50$/house (which is bizarre to me because houses are all different sizes) which ends up being 50$/hr.



Many people's houses take more than an hour.

My kids have discovered that if they let the person paying pick the price, it's almost always more than they would have felt comfortable asking for. This year, in particular, people are very generous.


My own neighbors can be a testament to this.

When we were overwhelmed with a new baby and the bushes were overrun by milkweed I asked the neighbor kids if they would help us, asked them what their going rate was

They didn’t know

So I said alright I’ll pay you $30 each (two kids) to get all the milkweed except for the one on this section, for butterflies

They were ecstatic and they did so much more work than I expected them to
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 13:32     Subject: Re:Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
With the ice situation in this storm, at least $30 per hour, per person.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 12:30     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
I would never hire a teen.
Anonymous
Post 01/26/2026 22:15     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My teen is getting 20$/hr (and some tips.) But he said some of his other friends are charging 50$/house (which is bizarre to me because houses are all different sizes) which ends up being 50$/hr.



Many people's houses take more than an hour.

My kids have discovered that if they let the person paying pick the price, it's almost always more than they would have felt comfortable asking for. This year, in particular, people are very generous.


And many people’s houses take far less than an hour-particularly if you don’t live in Exurblandia with McMansions. I do agree that letting people decide what to pay is typically more generous that what a teenager should expect.

But there are exceptions. My poor kid ended up getting 10$ after shoveling a house for an hour for an elderly neighbor last year. It’s not always that people are generous and elderly people in particular sometimes have a frame of reference from 30 years ago.


Elderly people are also often on fixed incomes. Honestly, I shovel my elderly's neighbor for free because I'm neighborly.


Young people are on fixed incomes too, and those incomes pay elderly fixed incomes


If you are a teen going door to door shoveling, that's the opposite of fixed income.

Also, the young people are almost certainly not paying taxes on the cash they get for snow shoveling, so they are not paying for the elderly.



That doesn’t mean that old people should pay young people 10$/hr for work they don’t want to do. Unless they’re senile they should know the prevailing wage is higher.


How would they know? Or, be decent and just do it.


Feel free to be decent and post your number and name here and we’ll have the elderly of our neighborhood call you so you can help them shovel rather than volunteering the services of others from the comfort of your keyboard.
Anonymous
Post 01/26/2026 22:14     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My teen is getting 20$/hr (and some tips.) But he said some of his other friends are charging 50$/house (which is bizarre to me because houses are all different sizes) which ends up being 50$/hr.



Many people's houses take more than an hour.

My kids have discovered that if they let the person paying pick the price, it's almost always more than they would have felt comfortable asking for. This year, in particular, people are very generous.


And many people’s houses take far less than an hour-particularly if you don’t live in Exurblandia with McMansions. I do agree that letting people decide what to pay is typically more generous that what a teenager should expect.

But there are exceptions. My poor kid ended up getting 10$ after shoveling a house for an hour for an elderly neighbor last year. It’s not always that people are generous and elderly people in particular sometimes have a frame of reference from 30 years ago.


Elderly people are also often on fixed incomes. Honestly, I shovel my elderly's neighbor for free because I'm neighborly.


Young people are on fixed incomes too, and those incomes pay elderly fixed incomes


If you are a teen going door to door shoveling, that's the opposite of fixed income.

Also, the young people are almost certainly not paying taxes on the cash they get for snow shoveling, so they are not paying for the elderly.



That doesn’t mean that old people should pay young people 10$/hr for work they don’t want to do. Unless they’re senile they should know the prevailing wage is higher.


How would they know? Or, be decent and just do it.


Are you not aware of a concept of a minimum wage? In Maryland it’s 15$/hr. In DC, it’s 18$/hr. That might give you a clue.
Anonymous
Post 01/26/2026 22:08     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
Please make sure your kids know not to use their shovels to scrape off a car, if car dig-out is one of their services. I once had a kid BADLY scratch up my car by using his shovel to get the snow off. I was so pissed, but he just didn’t realize that’s what would happen.
Anonymous
Post 01/26/2026 22:02     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
My two tweens got $20 each for shoveling our neighbors' walk and two sets of steps plus the sidewalk, and salting. Because their shoveling skills are so poor and this really is difficult snow, it took them about an hour total. Thirty minutes Sunday and thirty minutes today.
Anonymous
Post 01/26/2026 21:51     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
My teen didn’t ask for this amount, but did a neighbor’s yard and they paid him $100 and he really appreciated it. It took him several hours of really hard labor. This is really difficult snow.
Anonymous
Post 01/26/2026 21:50     Subject: Going rate for teen snow shovelers?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My teen is getting 20$/hr (and some tips.) But he said some of his other friends are charging 50$/house (which is bizarre to me because houses are all different sizes) which ends up being 50$/hr.



Many people's houses take more than an hour.

My kids have discovered that if they let the person paying pick the price, it's almost always more than they would have felt comfortable asking for. This year, in particular, people are very generous.


And many people’s houses take far less than an hour-particularly if you don’t live in Exurblandia with McMansions. I do agree that letting people decide what to pay is typically more generous that what a teenager should expect.

But there are exceptions. My poor kid ended up getting 10$ after shoveling a house for an hour for an elderly neighbor last year. It’s not always that people are generous and elderly people in particular sometimes have a frame of reference from 30 years ago.


Elderly people are also often on fixed incomes. Honestly, I shovel my elderly's neighbor for free because I'm neighborly.


Young people are on fixed incomes too, and those incomes pay elderly fixed incomes


If you are a teen going door to door shoveling, that's the opposite of fixed income.

Also, the young people are almost certainly not paying taxes on the cash they get for snow shoveling, so they are not paying for the elderly.



That doesn’t mean that old people should pay young people 10$/hr for work they don’t want to do. Unless they’re senile they should know the prevailing wage is higher.


How would they know? Or, be decent and just do it.