How much does a nanny make for the summer?

May 18, 2008 2:30 PM

FairWagefilter: My 25-year old sister is a 2nd grade teacher who is considering going to NY to nanny for the summer. So far the general specifics are: 3 young boys (I don't know their ages); in Rye, NY; 2 days off a week; I think that they will buy plane ticket, groceries, etc.; duties will be taking them to their day camp, sports/music lessons, making food for them, etc.

This is someone who has referred her---a friend of a friend situation, so no agency to deal with, just the family. She's just wondering what a fair range of pay might be, considering this is the first time she's done anything like this. Thanks in advance for your help. I'm telling her to check this page.

posted by hulahulagirl to Work & Money (5 answers total)

Rye is in Westchester County where I grew up and the cost of living tends to be relatively high. Westchester is definitely car-centric (though Rye may be less so; I haven't been to the nice areas in Rye in a while). I can't give you direct suggestions for a fair wage, though.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 2:53 PM on May 18, 2008

Full time babysitters get around $350-600 a week in NYC, off the books. Will your sister live with the family? That will effect the price and she might want to find out about the specifics of the living situation.
posted by shothotbot at 3:02 PM on May 18, 2008

Unless there's some kind of "fun in New York" angle here, your sister should ask for at least $800 a week. She simply breaks the mold on virtually every dimension. (One regularly pays $650 a week for someone with good references and a real love for kids, and for that goes without the driver license, college degree, and native-English-speaking that your sister offers.)

She shouldn't discount for being provided a place or for having some groceries bought. High-end nannies don't discount for living-in room and board, because they all maintain their own apartments anyway for vacations and for contingencies (even the best nannies are at risk of being fired on a moment's notice).
posted by MattD at 3:20 PM on May 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

Agreed with MattD: she can go very high.
posted by Miko at 8:21 PM on May 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

I live in Vancouver, but a nanny who speaks fluently native English, a university degree, has professional teaching experience, was raised in the US, etc....well, they would command a premium. Live-out nannies here cost about $40k a year. I would think you'd adjust this slightly for NYC and then perhaps down for live-in. $800 a week sounds fine, if she's not on call.
posted by acoutu at 11:15 PM on May 18, 2008