Nanny Cost Calculator

What a nanny costs in 2026

Posted nanny rates averaged $870 per week, or $21.75 per hour for one child, according to the Care.com 2026 Cost of Care Report. That figure comes from the rates families posted on Care.com for a 40 hour week. Location moves the number more than anything else: posted rates run from $18.37 per hour in San Antonio to $29.17 per hour in San Francisco, so the same 40 hour week costs 18.37 x 40 = 734.80 dollars in one city and 29.17 x 40 = 1,166.80 dollars in the other.

Government wage data runs lower because it counts all childcare workers, not just nannies. The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median childcare worker wage at $16.82 per hour in May 2025. Nannies usually ask more than center staff because they work alone in your home and follow your household's schedule.

The base formula: rate x hours x weeks

Weekly pay is the hourly rate times the hours you use. At the national average, 21.75 x 40 = 870 dollars per week. Over a full year of guaranteed hours that is 870 x 52 = 45,240 dollars, and the monthly cost is 870 x 52 / 12 = 3,770 dollars.

Hours matter more than the rate for part time families. A nanny at $25 per hour used for 15 hours a week costs 25 x 15 = 375 dollars a week, which is less than a $19 per hour nanny used 40 hours a week at 19 x 40 = 760 dollars. If you pay guaranteed hours, budget for the hours in the contract, not the hours you use in a quiet week.

The weeks per year input is where most budgets go wrong. A school year nanny used 40 weeks costs far less than one carried through summer. Cut the weeks, and the annual bill falls in a straight line: 870 x 40 = 34,800 dollars at 40 weeks against 45,240 at 52.

Overtime: the 40 hour rule for live out nannies

The Fair Labor Standards Act covers domestic workers, so a live out nanny must earn 1.5 times the regular rate for every hour past 40 in a workweek. The Department of Labor's Fact Sheet 79B spells this out. A live in nanny who resides with the family is exempt from the overtime requirement, though the federal minimum wage still applies.

Here is the difference at $20 per hour and 45 hours. Overtime pays 20 x 1.5 = 30 dollars per hour. A live out nanny earns 20 x 40 = 800 dollars of regular pay plus 30 x 5 = 150 dollars of overtime, for 800 + 150 = 950 dollars. Under federal rules a live in arrangement can pay a flat 45 x 20 = 900 dollars for the same week, a $50 difference that compounds to $2,600 over a 52 week year.

Overtime is owed weekly, not averaged over the month. Five late nights one week and a short week the next still means overtime in the busy week.

Second child and other rate bumps

Care.com's 2025 Cost of Care Survey put one infant at $827 per week and two children at $911, which is 911 - 827 = 84 dollars more, about 10 percent. Most nannies do not charge double for a second child because one caregiver can watch both at once, but the rate does climb.

Apply the bump to the base rate, not to each child separately. A $20 nanny with a 10 percent second child bump costs 20 x 1.1 = 22 dollars per hour, so a 40 hour week is 22 x 40 = 880 dollars. Adding 10 percent again for a third child is a question for the negotiation table, not a formula, because care for three children approaches what a small daycare charges.

Other bumps that show up in posted rates: infant care over toddler care, special needs experience, driving the children in the nanny's own car, and holiday or overnight work. Write each one into the contract as a number, not a promise.

Shared care is the other lever. Two families splitting one nanny at the national average each pay 870 / 2 = 435 dollars per week, though most caregivers quote a premium of a few dollars an hour for a second household, and the arrangement needs its own written agreement covering taxes, sick days, holidays and which home hosts on which day.

The nanny tax: employer costs in 2026

Pay a nanny $3,000 or more in cash wages during 2026 and you become a household employer with real tax bills. The IRS Publication 926 (2026) sets the rules: Social Security and Medicare taxes total 15.3 percent of cash wages, split 7.65 percent for you and 7.65 percent for the nanny. The Social Security wage base for 2026 is $184,500, so almost no household hits it.

Your 7.65 percent share is the number families forget. On the average $45,240 of annual wages it comes to 45,240 x 0.0765 = 3,460.86 dollars, which turns a $870 per week hire into a first year cost of 45,240 + 3,460.86 + 42 = 48,742.86 dollars. You report the whole thing on Schedule H with your Form 1040.

Federal unemployment tax (FUTA) kicks in separately: if you pay $1,000 or more of cash wages in any calendar quarter, you owe FUTA on the first $7,000 of wages. The 6.0 percent rate drops to a net 0.6 percent once you take the full credit for state unemployment contributions, and 7,000 x 0.006 = 42 dollars is the most FUTA can cost. State unemployment tax is on top of that and varies by state, so check your state agency's rate. This page is an estimate, not tax advice. A household payroll service usually handles the withholding, the quarterly filings and the year end W-2 for a setup charge plus a monthly fee, and quotes differ by state, so ask two providers before you pick one.

Worked example: two children, 45 hours, 50 weeks

Take a live out nanny at $20 per hour, 45 hours a week, two kids and a 10 percent second child bump, working 50 weeks a year:

The overtime line is the quiet one. Those 5 hours cost 165 dollars a week, or 8,250 dollars a year, which is why families who need 45 hours often split care between a nanny and a preschool program instead.

Worked example: part time hours under the thresholds

Now a part time nanny at $15 per hour, 10 hours a week, 50 weeks a year. Weekly pay is 15 x 10 = 150 dollars and annual wages are 150 x 50 = 7,500 dollars.

That total passes the $3,000 FICA threshold, so the employer share is 7,500 x 0.0765 = 573.75 dollars. Quarterly wages of 7,500 / 4 = 1,875 dollars also pass the $1,000 FUTA trigger, so FUTA adds its 42 dollar maximum. The full first year cost is 7,500 + 573.75 + 42 = 8,115.75 dollars.

Compare a lighter arrangement: $12 per hour, 4 hours a week, 40 weeks. Annual wages are 12 x 4 x 40 = 1,920 dollars, under the $3,000 threshold, so no FICA is due, and no quarter reaches $1,000 either. The nanny cost is just the wages, though a sitter paid under the table gives up Social Security credits, and the IRS treats cash wages as taxable either way.

Keep a timesheet. Log start and end times each day, note any overnight or travel duty, and have the caregiver initial the week. If hours are disputed, the employer carries the burden of proving them, and a signed sheet holds up better than a calendar screenshot. Store the sheet for at least three years alongside the quarterly filings, and hand the caregiver a pay stub that shows gross wages, the employee withholding and the net check.

What moves the bill, and what to write into the contract

Ranked by impact, the big five are location, weekly hours, weeks per year, child count and the overtime clause. A family in San Francisco hiring 45 hours a week at the city's posted rate faces a far steeper budget from one in San Antonio at 20 hours. Guaranteed hours, paid holidays, paid vacation and sick days all raise the weekly figure even when the hourly rate looks low.

Three clauses pay for themselves. A mileage reimbursement clause at the IRS standard rate when the nanny drives your children. A written overtime clause that names the 40 hour line, so a live out arrangement stays compliant. And a raise schedule, since Care.com reports planned raises of 2 to 3 percent for cost of living plus 5 to 7 percent for merit on top of the starting rate.

The calculator on this page runs the full sequence: it applies the second child bump to the rate, splits regular and overtime hours at the 40 hour line, multiplies by your weeks, and adds the 7.65 percent FICA share plus the FUTA charge so the number you see is what you will pay, not what the nanny takes home.