What's the going rate for tutoring?

November 2, 2007 9:19 AM

I have a B.S. in biology, and I've been asked to tutor high school students in biology and English. What's a reasonable price to charge the them?

Possibly relevant details:
1. I'm in California.
2. I graduated a year ago and have a year of teaching experience (biology) as a TA while in college. I was paid $13.13/hr.
3. These high school students attend a private high school and all of them are foreign students from China (so part of the problem is the language barrier). While I do speak Chinese, I am not exactly fluent in the biology terms in Chinese.
4. It'll probably be one-on-one tutoring at the student's host family's home, which means I'll have to spend time and gas money getting there (at most, I think it's about 15 minutes). So I was thinking of setting two different rates for students who can make it to my house (e.g. biking) and those who needs me to drive to their place.

I know this situation is kind of unique. I would just like to know what other people's experience has been with something similar to this (tutoring high school students in the subject that I hold a degree). How much do I charge these students per hour?

posted by state fxn to Work & Money (9 answers total)

I would say that the going rate for good tutors in expensive neighborhoods can be upwards of $50 an hour. Since you are being approached, try to get them to make the first offer. I would say no less than $20 an hour, and $30 an hour seems reasonable.
posted by onalark at 9:30 AM on November 2, 2007

In the affluent suburbs of NYC the rate is between $75-$100 an hour. My take is that your minimum should be $75 an hour.
posted by mlis at 9:55 AM on November 2, 2007

I supplement my income by tutoring (writing/English). $30 an hour is too cheap. Start at $50, and after you've been doing it a while, creep up to $75 and beyond.
posted by notyou at 10:29 AM on November 2, 2007

I'm a science teacher in Victoria, BC, and the going rate for a person qualified as you are would be ~$30/hour. I would charger closer to $50 when you have more experience with tutoring, a bigger clientèle, and yes, if you are the one that is traveling. Tutors charging $50 in Victoria are generally qualified teachers also.
posted by ms.v. at 10:36 AM on November 2, 2007

Response by poster: Thank you for the responses so far. I really had no idea that tutoring with a college degree is that expensive. I felt bad when my mother told me to charge $15/hr. The principal of the school, when asked whether it will be one-on-one tutoring or group, threw out $20/hr for a group of three students as a ball park number. This is a small school with less than 100 students, and I think this is her first time dealing with tutoring as well. So I'm thinking of asking for $30, maybe $35 starting off. That should be reasonable right?
posted by state fxn at 11:05 AM on November 2, 2007

Data points: From about 1993-1995 in Westchester County, NY, the going rate was $45/hr. I charged $60/hr in ~1999-2000 in Chapel Hill/Durham, NC. Mind you, I was tutoring in sorta ritzy areas.

Now? I'd think you'd be doing yourself disservice to charge them less than $70/hr for a group of 3, and that's a bare minimum.

If you were to charge $35/hr/student, that $70 per 3 group rate would be a pretty damn good discount.
posted by Stewriffic at 11:57 AM on November 2, 2007

As a college student without a degree in suburbs of LA, I am charging $30 per hour for high school math tutoring. You should be charing more both since you have a degree and since you are tutoring more than one person.
posted by vegetableagony at 4:40 PM on November 2, 2007

In San Francisco, I pay $45 an hour for an in-home one-on-one qualified tutor, and that is *very* reasonable around here. She usually charges $50, and that is still reasonable. In the past I have paid, for a learning disability-expert-type tutor, $70 per hour.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 5:32 PM on November 2, 2007

$50-$65/hr if you were in Atlanta. Charge at the market rate for your area, since by undercharging you are basically saying you aren't as good as what the rest of the market offers. If you feel guilty making money, volunteer some time to tutor underprivileged students for free, perhaps as 10% of your tutoring time.

You can give package deals, like $50/hr for one student and $75 for two, etc.
posted by mdiskin at 6:11 PM on November 2, 2007