Park Slope Parents has put together a comprehensive guide to having a happy and healthy nanny share. Packed with tips and advice, this go-to resource is based on years of experience, nanny survey data, and countless member stories of what worked, what failed, and more.
In terms of pay, the guide states:
Paying the nanny also needs to be carefully considered. In 2021, the going rate for a nanny ranged between $24–$30/hour* for the nanny when watching two or more children. If the nanny is only taking care of one family, that rate is typically between $18–$21/hr. Most nannies prefer to have “guaranteed pay,” which is an amount they can count on each week. PSP members tell us that most often raises (given after the first year) are typically $1 per hour per family, or $2/hour for the nanny. You’ll need to decide if a family has another child how that will change the dynamics of the nanny share in terms of pay and coverage of two or three or four children.
In January 2024 members reports on pricing include:
- 2 kid Rate: $30/hr (guaranteed 40 hours a week), 1 kid rate when not with 2 families: $25/hr. We wrote up and signed a contract with our nanny clearly delineating expected duties and times, overtime rates, holiday & sick leave etc. to protect both her and us
- 2 kid Rate: $34/ hour, 1 kid rate when not with 2 families $30/hour if it’s after 8-6. Otherwise both families pay for the regular hours at full rate no matter what. the nanny has about 5 years of experience with other families. She started at 13 an hour per family 5 years ago and worked her way up to 16 per family. She started with our families this month and asked for 17 per family.
- 2 kid Rate: $34 (started at $30 in Jan 2022, with 2 raises of $2 a year). We recently had a second child, and when our nanny takes care of both of our kids we just kept the $34/hour rate because naturally she wouldn't want a pay cut. We aren't doing a 3 kid share, we are ending the share soon.
- 2 kid Rate $32 per hour, 1 kid rate when not with 2 families $32 per hour. Overtime (over 40 hours) with 2 kids is $48 per hour. We also include a subway card, 2 weeks PTO, and unlimited sick days.
- 2 kid Rate: $33/hour (about to go up to $34 an hour when we hit 1 year with her) – off-books, 1 kid rate when not with 2 families: N/A we consider it a salary and we all pay it regardless of 1 or 2 kid days.
- 2 kid Rate - $34/hr ($17/hour per family), 1 kid rate when not with 2 families - $25/hour. Giving monthly metrocard, and 1 week bonus at the end of each year worked to the nanny.
- We’ve reached out to over 50 nannies and interviewed about 10. The 10 we interviewed are on average $30/h for 50 hours for the nanny share and $25/h for a single child. Babies are going to be 2-4 months old when child care begins
- We aren’t in a share anymore, but my understanding of the standard is approximately 2/3 of the single kid rate per family for a share with two kids from two families. While families with 1 kid are often comparing and thinking about the single child rate- I think it’s also important to compare to the rate for the same number of kids in the same family. It’s way more work for a nanny to have two bosses- a share should pay more than half what they’d get paid for 2 kids in the same household.I think the 2/3 formula gets you there- discount for each family, but enough of a jump for the nanny to make it worth it. It think that has been roughly standard for a while.
2024 Hourly Rates for a Two Family Nanny Share (anecdotal evidence from 20 PSP members)
Member perspectives on pricing from the 2021 Kids group in July 2023 include:
- "We did a full time nanny share with our older daughter from 2019-2021 and paid $27/hr total. "
- "We paid $30 per hour ($15 for each household) the first year and $32 an hour the following year. Plus 3 weeks paid vacation and 5 sick days. And all federal holidays."
- "Currently in a nanny share and have been in it since 11/2021. Started at $30 and we are now at $32/hour. We thought it was a steal considering I had some friends paying $35/hr from the beginning."
- "We did one at @28/hr total for 2 kids from 2021-23. Our (spectacular) nanny then was offered another nanny share job @ $32/hr for 2 kids and one @$42/hr (I believe this one was also 2 kids and housework)."
- "We have been in a share since September 2021 with our then 5 month old and the other family's 4 month old. We started out at $27/hour and raised to $29/hour after one year. The kids are both now 2 years old. We will be starting a new share with our baby and another family with the same nanny and will keep her at $29/hour for the first year of the new share. Our 2 year old will be with them one day a week and we are still working out the rate for that day."
More member reports include:
- “We did a nanny share with another family that started right when our kids were 5 months old, in January 2019, and continued until mid March 2020. We started at $30 per hour ($15 per family) and on January 2020, increased to $31.”
- “I'm not currently in a share (our daughter went to pre-school this year!) but for the two years prior, we paid around $28.75/hour total to our incredible nanny. (That was based on $26/hour for the first 40 hours and then overtime -- she worked around 50 hours/week so the average hourly rate was $28.6). Since that figure is dated, I thought it might be useful to share the tools we used to determine a fair rate. We looked at the MIT Living Wage Calculator for our county, the Care.com ‘rates calculator’ (based on average Care.com wages in the area). We also looked at the averages from the PSP Nanny Survey with the understanding that nanny shares were not included. We also found Hand in Hand, the organization run by the National Domestic Workers Alliance for employers, to be really useful.”
- “We are in a full time (40 hour/week) share with an experienced nanny. The two kids are about 10 months old. We pay $30/hr and then time and a half for overtime including "date night." We haven't hit the one year mark but I assume each family will go up $1/hr or so (so likely $32/hr at that point).”
- “I’ve heard as low as $25, but that’s about as low as I’ve seen lately. I’ve heard crazy different numbers too.
- “We pay $25/hour for our share with a 10 month old & a 15 month old. I had asked this same question back in April when we started, and it seemed the average was about $24-26.”
- “We are in a nanny share with a 14 month and 17 month old. When we started our share in August/Sept (2020), $24/$25 (one candidate at $35) was the number range we consistently saw amongst primarily nanny share nannies. We currently pay $26 an hour with a standing agreement for a raise after the first year. This number was negotiated with our nanny, who has typically worked with one family/ child. Also, as a side note, we include her monthly MetroCard and gave one week’s extra pay as a holiday bonus. While our nanny keeps their play area neat, this number is strictly for childcare and no extras around the house, such as meal prep, loading bottles in the dishwasher etc. I fully understand why with two very busy toddlers. However, glad it was something that was discussed in the beginning between us, our nanny and the other family in the share.”
Want to know more?
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD the EXPANDED, ANNOTATED Nanny Share Guide!
If you're a Park Slope Parents member, make sure you're logged into your membership account to take advantage of the reduced member price.
In the guide you you will find advice, tips and information such as:
- Benefits and drawbacks of a nanny share
- Step 1: What to do BEFORE Considering a Nanny Share
- Step 2: Start With Finding, the FAMILY – not the Nanny
- Step 3: Write Up and Talk Through the Details
- Step 4: Write Up and Talk Through the Details
- Step 5: Find the Nanny
- Step 6: Nurture the Nanny
- Voices of Experience: General advice
- Voices of Experience: Why Nanny Shares Ended
- Voices of Experiences: How and What PSP members PAY
- Appendix: sample of the nanny share work agreement
Do you want to find families to establish a Nanny Share? Fill out the Park Slope Parents Nanny Share Family Finder form HERE. You'll need to be a member to take advantage of this resource, so if you're not yet a part of Park Slope Parents, join HERE!
Do you want to post about a Nanny Share on the PSP Classifieds, with or without a nanny in mind? Go HERE.
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