Mar 6, 2026 - News
Seattle’s babysitting rates: 2nd highest in U.S.
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Seattle has the second highest babysitting rates in the country, according to new UrbanSitter data.
The big picture: Nationally, average sitting rates rose nearly 5% last year, hitting $26.24 per hour for one child,
- Parents are paying nearly $30/hour on average for two kids, the sitter-finding platform says.
Rates tend to be higher in places with steeper costs of living.
- Seattle — at $27.70/hr for one child and $30.79 for two — is eclipsed in sitter costs only by San Francisco ($29.63/hour for 1 kid and $33.70 for two, according to the UrbanSitter report.
Flashback: In 2016, the average cost of babysitters in Seattle came in at $15.17 for one child, $16.77 for two and $19.16 for three, per the data.