Baby sitters too costly? Check out rates in these Top 10 sitter cities.
Are affordable baby sitters hard to find? These 10 cities have lots of baby sitters with rates as low as $10 an hour.
College student Laura Duck is a baby sitter who in 2008 was placed using the Austin-based service Mommie Mixer, which connects potential baby sitters with parents in a speed-dating like setting. According to another online service, Austin is No. 4 among the Top 10 cities with plenty of baby sitters and affordable rates. The average rate for Austin: $11.42 an hour.
Ralph Lauer/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT/Newscom/File
Virginia Beach, Va., may be the best city in the United States for parents to find a baby sitter, according to a ranking by the online service Sittercity. The service, which matches parents with sitters who post their availability on the Sittercity's website, weighed metro areas based on both costs and the number of sitters available.
Virginia Beach has about 3,500 sitters listing their services on the website, and sitters are paid about $10 hour, one of the most cost-effective rates in the country, according to Sittercity. The company says its top 10 places to find a babysitter have anywhere from 3,500 to 47,300 sitters to select from, and at relatively low hourly rates.
Here are the cities that made the list:
City Average hourly rate
1. Virginia Beach, Va. $10.01
2. Charlotte, N.C. $11.11
3. Naperville, Ill. $11.29
4. Austin Texas $11.42
5. Portland, Ore. $11.64
6. Dallas $11.66
7. Minneapolis $11.67
8. Denver $11.78
9. Houston $11.91
10. Atlanta $11.98
Is your city not on the list? Sittercity offers a rate calculator on its website, designed to allow parents to see typical hourly rates in their city. The service also helps families search for nannies, pet sitters, housekeepers, tutors, and senior-care workers.