Michigan's Average Babysitter Hourly Wage: Are You Paying Enough?

Let's face it, as much as we love our kids, it's nice to spend an evening away from the little darlings from time to time. Finding the right person to watch them is a difficult task, let alone figuring out how much to pay them per hour.

Related: No Babysitter? What is Michigan's Legal Age to Stay Home Alone?

But how do you calculate an hourly wage for someone who is going to be eating your food and watching TV while you're paying them? You don't want to underpay and lose a good sitter but, you don't want to overpay and feel like you're being taken advantage of.

Finding the Average Hourly Rate For a Babysitter in Michigan

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It gets even more difficult when you consider what the average date costs in the Mitten, as calculated by 24/7 Wall St.:

the national average cost of the typical date, consisting of a liter of wine, two movie tickets, and two restaurant dinners.

While some may swap the the bottle of wine for an ice bucket full of beer, a couples night on the town in Michigan will cost, on average, $112.90 (21st highest cost in the United States). That's before you calculate the hourly wage of the person watching your kid.

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Before you pick out which dining establishment or movie you're going to see together, you may want to first look at the going rate for a babysitter in Michigan.

Related: 5 Trick or Treat Rules For First-Time Unsupervised Kids in Michigan

Once you see the cost, you may want to change your restaurant choice to something with a drive-thru window.

Costly Night Out: Which State Has the Most Expensive Babysitters?

Are you going through babysitters and you can't figure out why? Maybe you're underpaying them. See if your hourly wage matches up with the going rate in your state, as we count down to the state with the highest rate for babysitting.

Gallery Credit: Scott Clow

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