by Michelle Stein posted in Parenting

Be it escaping for a much-needed date night or taking a day trip with friends, hiring a babysitter is something most parents will do at some point. If you're a newbie at this whole babysitter business, though, you might wonder what the going rate is.
You don't want to scare a new sitter off by underpaying her. But you don't want to break the bank, either. So how much should you pay a babysitter" Allow the 2017 National Childcare Rate Survey to shed a little light on your dilemma. This new report is from UrbanSitter.com, and it has collected data from nearly 20,000 families from across the nation. So drum roll, please ...
? In the U.S., the average hourly babysitter rate for one kid is $15.20 and the average hourly nanny rate for one child is $16.45. ? Most expensive city: San Francisco. With an average hourly rate of $17.34 for one child, San Francisco is the city with the most expensive rates for the third year running. (New York City was a close second at $16.89.)
? Least expensive city: Denver at $12.22 per hour for one child.

Here are a few other interesting stats from the 2017 National Childcare Rate Survey, according to a news release:

More than half of parents (56 percent) spend at least $1,000 a year on babysitters.
Roughly one-third of parents hire sitters at least once per week.
Only 16 percent of parents tip on every job.
The top reason parents hire a babysitter is for date night.
63.9 percent of parents said...