Nanny Salary and True Cost to Parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are tired we work hard for your families and most of us don’t even get a raise or a bonus. Instead we are left to feel unappreciated. I charge 22-25 per hour but I have been a nanny for over 15 years. You want to feel safe to talk about us but we can’t say freely how you parents make us feel. It is not right! We are human beings, mothers too we care for your children we do your laundry we do your dishes it’s a lot and no complain. Why you complain about us?

Most jobs don't pay raises or bonuses. In fact, even with inflation my spouses salary was just greatly reduced.

You cannot compare nanny jobs to office jobs.
In an office position there is considerable freedom
You can talk to other adults and are free to go out to lunch. You have much better benefits of sick and annual leave. Your boss is not a woman who is jealous of you taking care of her children. Rarely, are you micromanaged the way so many nannies are micromanaged. At your quitting time you can walk out the door where as nannies have to wait for their employer to arrive home and many are habitually late. Then they have to send another 10 minutes filling you in on the child/children's for day.

Personally, you are very lucky that so many women choose to be nannies and they should be paid a lot more than $25-$30/hr. FWIW, I am not a nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are tired we work hard for your families and most of us don’t even get a raise or a bonus. Instead we are left to feel unappreciated. I charge 22-25 per hour but I have been a nanny for over 15 years. You want to feel safe to talk about us but we can’t say freely how you parents make us feel. It is not right! We are human beings, mothers too we care for your children we do your laundry we do your dishes it’s a lot and no complain. Why you complain about us?

Most jobs don't pay raises or bonuses. In fact, even with inflation my spouses salary was just greatly reduced.

You cannot compare nanny jobs to office jobs.
In an office position there is considerable freedom
You can talk to other adults and are free to go out to lunch. You have much better benefits of sick and annual leave. Your boss is not a woman who is jealous of you taking care of her children. Rarely, are you micromanaged the way so many nannies are micromanaged. At your quitting time you can walk out the door where as nannies have to wait for their employer to arrive home and many are habitually late. Then they have to send another 10 minutes filling you in on the child/children's for day.

Personally, you are very lucky that so many women choose to be nannies and they should be paid a lot more than $25-$30/hr. FWIW, I am not a nanny.

Many office jobs are not flexible. And, you are entitled to minimum wage and anything more is employer choice. If you want a professional salary, find another career field.

[Anonymous]

You math isn’t mathing, op

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All I have to say is INFLATION INFLATION INFLATION. You parents want to pay Pennie’s and want us Nannies to do everything and let’s not even get into how hard it is to take a day off if YOUR child get us sick. Then let’s also not talk about how we do all the chores that you are incapable of doing without complaining and your here to protest what we as for as compensation???? Horrible privileged people Nannie’s aren’t as quiet as they used to be in the 90s and early 2000s the new aged Nannies are standing up for themselves. If you don’t want to pay us our worth TAKE YOUR CHILD TO DAY CARE OR STAY HOME AND CARE FOR YOUR BABY YOURSELF. The cost of living is sky high we do what we do without any complaints and you naggy moms nothings never good enough. The nerve of all of you! I SAID WHAT I SAID AND I HAVE TIME TODAY.

Seriously!! I swear people have been posting on this board for at least 10 years that nanny wages are $18-20/hr or even up to $25. I’m sorry but has YOUR wage increased in the past 10 years? Be real!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You math isn’t mathing, op

Can you give some examples? OP didn’t get into the weeds (some of the nanny’s cost can be offset with an FSA, for example, and the parents might be eligible for some tax credits if their income isn’t too high), but in general OP’s premise is correct - working parents essentially get “double taxed”: using taxable income to pay for nanny + paying the employer portion of nanny’s taxes with post-tax dollars.

[Anonymous]

Anyone else picking up some misogyny / reinforcing the patriarchy on this thread?

Domestic labor has never been valued. Like teachers, nannies and caregivers have never been a highly paid field. Even pediatricians, who literally save children’s lives, are on the lower end of doctor salaries.

But I don’t think attacking working moms is the answer. I see some people on this thread arguing “you should stay home and raise your own kids.” And while they aren’t specifically saying that to women, it seems clear that if we reach some sort of childcare crisis, working moms are the ones who will sacrifice their careers. But it’s feels like this simplistic way of thinking - moms, either pay your nannies six figures or get out of the workforce - really only benefits men and the status quo.

Would nannying be considered “unskilled labor” since it requires no schooling or other qualifications? I just don’t see our country embracing a higher wage for nannies / childcare workers. I wish they would. I also wish our country would treat stay at home moms better. SAHMs get screwed in several ways (retirement, for example, and not contributing to social security). I’d love for SAHMs to make a salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$20-25hr in DC is not the average nanny salary. If you can’t afford it that’s fine. Look for a in home day care. I am a nanny and have bills too. I can’t live off $20hr. I have a degree, over ten years experience and so much more. I am sure you can also find a college student with not much experience to do it for $20hr so you do have options

Your feelings and your needs don't determine nanny market rates. They only determine what is worthwhile to you. There's a wide range of nanny rates because of experience and capabilities - A family not offering a rate YOU determine as standard gives you no right to tell parents to 'look for in home daycare.'

this is not about feelings at all; it's about inflation. It seems that you're not able to afford a nanny at today's rate. Not all parents are, btw. As a nanny(not the PP above) I have ALL the rights to tell parents to "look for in home daycare' OR community daycare. The days of cheap labor are way over; you can't afford it? simply be a SAHM!

1.1 Million families hire nannies in the US.

So you're indicating the average nanny salaries increased by 50% in 2 or 3 years? Went from $20 to $30?!!! While obviously none of those families got even a 20% pay increase during this time.


And according to you all those families can no longer afford a nanny because obviously they don't make more. And lets say half of that 1.1 million families fall in this catagory. So now 550,000 families should fire their nannies because they can not give a 50% raise when their salaries are still the same, which you indicate means "they can not afford" a nanny.

Great, you just solved the problem. So half the nannies in this country just got a 50% raise, and the other half just lost their job!

Good thing you're not an economist, and lets hope you're among the ones that gets a raise and not loose your job. Because another more experienced nanny just lost her job, and will be competing with you over the same job posting.

[Anonymous]

No nanny deserves $35 an hour

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No nanny deserves $35 an hour

They deserve a minimum of $250.00 hr if they have to put up with you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Recently there are a lot negative comments on nanny ads shaming parents who don't post $30 or more nanny hourly wages. It is unfortunate that this is discouraging parents to use this platform and the nanny section as its intended, which is bring families and nannies together.

First, the discussion about nanny "average" salaries. It's clear that based on publicly available data the current average nanny salary in the DC area is about $20-$25. Now wether this is a reasonable salary or not, is an entirely different discussion. Everyone in this economy is struggling, and it's effecting everyone. The reason this is the price is based on two factors.

One the demand for nannies are down after the pandemic as kids are back at school so there are more nannies available out there with less job offerings.

And Second which is more important is the "True" cost of a nanny to the parents.

For a parent to work and pay for a nanny's salary at $35, they would have to earn $55.2 just to offset what they pay a nanny!

That's because a parent has to earn an income, pay their federal and state taxes, then pay the nanny's wages and pay payroll tax for the nanny. Even though the parent is an employer, they are not allowed to deduct the nanny's salary as an expense on their tax returns as a company does, and they get doubled taxed.

So a nanny to make $35/hr, which makes nanny's salary at $73k, that means the parent has to earn $115k just to offset that nanny's salary!! That is if the parent keeps $0 of their earned income and pays ALL of their paycheck to the nanny. So unless the average wages increase, you will not see this price increase.

Many parents face this difficult calculation when they have kids. What is the break even number? and is it worth it to go back to work or is it better for one parent to stay home? here are the break even numbers:

Nanny wages of $20 costs parents earned income of $28.5 or $60k full time salary
$25 costs $37.3/hr or $78k Salary
$30 costs $46.2 or $96k salary
$35 costs $55.2 or $115k salary

Even at $20/hr, the parent has to earn $60k a year just to break even! So the true cost of a nanny earning $20 to the parent is a salary of $60k.

Based on this data, $20-$25 is where a nanny's salary would be on average until all incomes significantly increase and tax brackets change. Or if nanny's wages were to become tax deductible, then the true cost of hiring a nanny would be their wages and payroll taxes, which would allow more families to hire a nanny.

There was a period during the pandemic when there was a shortage of nannies and everyone needed a nanny in the area because kids were home and the demand might have increased the wages short term. But life is back to normal, and the low number of ads on this site indicates that the offering of a job on itself is valuable both to families and the potential nannies.

Please don't clutter the ads with negative income related replies. Allow parents to feel safe to post ads, as surely there are many wonderful nannies who appreciate and need the opportunity.

DC minimum wage is $17, MD is $15, and VA is $12. Do you expect nannies to make minimum wage or close? You're willing to accept a "nanny" who is on her first job?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not everyone can do daycare, I have a child with a severe lung condition and daycare is off the table. A simple cold to you puts her in the hospital for 2weeks at a time. For me to work to cover her care and living expenses a nanny is the best option.

A live-in nanny may decrease your costs and her exposure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are more than 1.1 Million nannies currently working in the US. That means 1.1 Million jobs in the US are dependent on parents' investment in hiring a nanny. So 1.1 Million US households are currently providing employment to a nanny.

This means that hiring a nanny is not something that only the elite can afford.

Just like any other profession there are some nannies that have the qualifications to make more. But at 1.1 million employments, it seems that there must be enough accessibility that people who are upper middle income are also hiring nannies.

Families in the US hire nannies out of necessity so they can continue to work. it's not like Dubai where most women don't work but they still have a nanny, as the average salary is similar to the US, but the average nanny salary is $700/month.

This narrative that if you can't pay $30 then you shouldn't hire a nanny, basically means that the 1.1 Million jobs should be mostly eliminated. So a few who work for the elite can make a higher income.

Private care is the luxury, not daycare. The IRS doesn't separate babysitters and nannies, so where are you getting your data?