What is the average nanny rate in the triangle? (Columbia: daycare, house)

[carymomnb]

Have 2 kids in daycare now, thinking of a 3rd and considering a nanny but wondering what the going rate is?

[sowk09]

Two years ago I was paid $525 a week to watch 2 school aged kids from 30-45 hrs per week (averaging about 37 hrs). This was in Columbia, SC where the cost of living is lower, but I'd imagine around that figure here.

[JJingle]

According to the local nanny websites, somewhere between $10-$20 an hour.

[RDSLOTS]

The young woman across the street from me, pays $11/hour for someone to watch/feed/take care of her little one, who is about 16 months old. She works on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so she only needs someone less than roughly 16 hours, or two workdays.

[mdp_az]

We pay our nanny a salary and also pay her share of FICA taxes. This works out to an effective hourly rate of around $12/hr. We also include a week of paid leave, 12 paid holidays & PTO when we take our own vacations (probably another 2-3 weeks/yr); we do not pay mileage. We have 2 boys...an infant and a 5 year old in part-time preschool whom she drives to/from school. Our nanny is in her early-20s, has over four years of experience in childcare facilities, has multiple certifications for first aid and childcare development, and will earn a degree in early childhood development this year. For someone with less experience or credentials, I would probably pay closer to $10/hr and/or offer a few less benefits...someone who is older and/or more experienced could command $15+/hr.

We found that there are a ton of folks looking for nanny jobs right now. Many of them have an elementary education degree but cannot find work as teachers. They have high expectations for pay, and also seem as though they'd jump ship as soon as a "real" teaching job was available. The good nannies, who are truly interested in early childhood development (not just babysitting) seem to be fewer in numbers and also seem to get hired the quickest. We also had very good luck using care-dot-com to search nannies, post a job, do background searches, etc...

Good luck!

[RDUBiker]

I would say with the economy as it is these days, the reasonable going rate for someone knowledgeable and interested in doing a good job would be around $9-15 per hour, with most closer to the middle of $11-13 per hour. Care dot com and Sitter City dot com have good results from what I hear. We used the latter, and have heard good things about the former. Make sure to interview on the phone before inviting them over to your house - trust me, this will save you a LOT of time. Don't be shy about asking for other duties related to childcare that can help ease your daily burden such as preparing (or partially preparing) meals, getting groceries, laundry, etc. Ours does some of these regularly.

You can start the contract with no PTO or vacation and then after a trial period, increase that as you see fit. We pay our nanny by the hour and only for the hours she works, but she gets a regular 8 hours of workable hours per day available unless we are out of town or she has to be somewhere for an appointment, in which case she is not paid for not working (except for the PTO and holidays we agreed to).

[DJKB]

You could also get a live in au pair for about $320/week for 45 hours of childcare (10 hours a day max).

[lovebrentwood]

$9 an hour for a babysitter? Petsitters are generally $15 to $18 for half an hour to 45 minutes for two dogs. Hmmm.

[mike052082]

I would rather have a nanny but found that daycare had more benefits and was cheaper for two kids. I however never did the math for three. Good luck in your search.

My wife says that if we have a nanny or a housekeeper she needs to be old and only have one tooth. No 20 year olds for me I guess

[carymomnb]

Thanks for the responses everyone - seemed in line with what I was thinking.

Mike052082: your wife is a smart woman! My 2 kids are in daycare now and I definitely love it but gets really pricey with 3 that I wonder if a nanny is more realistic/practical.