San Francisco Bay Area
The Bay Area has some of the highest childcare costs in the country, and minimum wages that change from one city to the next. A-List helps families in San Francisco, the East Bay, the Peninsula and the South Bay find a nanny who fits, with the experience of a founder who spent 20 years as a nanny. Here are the numbers to know.
Finding a nanny here
What Nannies Earn
Average starting rates run $30–31/hr in the core cities, or about $62,000–65,000 a year full-time.
- San Francisco: $31.39/hr starting, up to $35.96/hr experienced
- Oakland: $30.75/hr starting, up to $35.86/hr experienced
- San Jose: $29.99/hr starting, up to $34.89/hr experienced
Minimum wage
California's minimum is $16.90/hr, but many Bay Area cities set their own, higher rate.
- Emeryville: $20.34
- Mountain View: $19.70
- San Francisco and Berkeley: $19.61
- Sunnyvale: $19.50
- Richmond: $19.18 ($17.68 with qualifying health benefits)
- Palo Alto, Cupertino, Los Altos, Santa Clara: $18.70
- Redwood City: $18.65
- San Mateo: $18.60
- San Jose: $18.45
- Fremont: $18.05
- Alameda: $17.76
- Oakland: $17.34
- Most other cities: $16.90 (state)
Household employers must pay the highest of the federal, state or local rate where the nanny works.
Nanny vs. Daycare
Average infant daycare prices per year:
- San Francisco: $36,913 at a center, $24,059 at a home daycare
- San Mateo County: $33,745 center, $22,821 home
- Santa Clara County: $32,077 center, $21,959 home
- Alameda County: $31,393 center, $21,946 home
- Contra Costa County: $29,317 center, $19,388 home
With two young children in a San Francisco center, a family can pay over $60,000 a year, about the same as a full-time nanny.
Areas we serve
The whole Bay Area, including San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, the East Bay, the Peninsula, San Jose and the South Bay, and Marin.