Overview
- On Monday, Sept. 28, Andy Cohen told listeners on his SiriusXM show that he pays his 23-year-old babysitter $30 an hour and later said he gave her $70 for a two hour and 15 minute shift.
- Guest Jeff Lewis told Cohen on air that the rate was “cheap” and said he would have paid $100 for two hours and that his own sitter earns $37 an hour.
- Cohen’s clarification that the sitter received $70 closed the immediate dispute on the program but did not satisfy Lewis’s critique.
- Care.com and UrbanSitter data cited in coverage place typical New York City babysitter rates roughly between $23.70 and $31.54 per hour and recommend extra pay for additional children, experience, and travel.
- Public reaction on social media largely defended Cohen by pointing to market rates, and the exchange renewed broader conversation about fair pay for childcare, the role of local cost and experience, and whether wealthy parents should pay above market rates for privacy and security.