Babysitter pay in Alaska

The median wage for childcare workers in Alaska's 2 metro areas runs from $17.44 an hour in Anchorage to $17.67 in Fairbanks, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025). Pick your area for suggested babysitter rates built on those figures.

Metro areaMedianMiddle halfExperienced sitter*
Fairbanks$17.67$17.29–$21.66$20.50
Anchorage$17.44$17.34–$17.67$20.00

*Our suggested rate for one child: 15% above the local median. Each metro area's page has the full range.

Outside the metro areas

AreaMedianEmployed
Alaska$17.02380

How we get the suggested rates

A babysitter does much the same job as a childcare worker, usually alone and often in the evening, so we start from what childcare work pays locally: a new or teen sitter at the local median wage, an experienced sitter 15% above it, and a pro (CPR-certified, years of experience) 30% above it. Each child after the first adds about $2.50 an hour. It's a starting point, not a rule. Late nights, holidays, last-minute bookings, special needs and extra duties like driving or cooking all justify more; our guide to how much to pay a babysitter goes through them.

What these figures cover

They come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' wage survey for May 2025, for the occupation it calls Childcare Workers: people paid to look after children at daycares, schools, businesses and in private homes. The survey asks employers, so it counts childcare workers on a payroll, and its technical note says it leaves out the self-employed and household workers. Babysitters paid directly by a family aren't in these numbers. Read them as what childcare work pays where you live, not as a survey of babysitting rates.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, occupation 39-9011 Childcare Workers. Suggested rates are Sitterday's rule of thumb, explained above.