Why One Night Out Now Costs Louisiana Parents Hundreds of Dollars

The price of a "date night" here in Louisiana might just stagger you.

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Those who haven't had school-aged children in many years might be totally shocked to find out that the average cost of babysitting is much different than the last time they required those services.

What young parents formerly paid $5 to $10 per hour for, has now reached an all-time high, as the national average for babysitting hits $26.24 per hour for one child and $29.87 per hour for two children.

In a comparison conducted by urbansitter.com, child care cost trends have been tracked for the past fifteen years and on average, the hourly cost has risen by 4.9% in the last year alone, far outpacing the inflation rate of 3%.

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In their findings, Urban Sitter discovered that the babysitting hourly rate in San Antonio, Texas was the cheapest in the country, but it's still a whopping $18.21 an hour. Dallas/Fort Worth was ranked second in the latest numbers with babysitting costing $19.25 an hour, followed by Columbus, Ohio, where it’s $19.98.

While the information from Urban Sitter didn't specifically mention any Louisiana city, based on the averages from Dallas, Austin and Houston, one could safely assume rates in our area would be somewhat similar.

Of course, there are a number of variables that determine sitters' hourly wage, including age, experience, location, responsibilities and the number of kids, but even on the "cheap" side that we'd consider for a neighborhood teenager looking after the kids, the cost will hover around the $15 to $20 per hour mark.

The highest rates in America are in San Francisco, where babysitting runs an average of $29.63 an hour.  Seattle is second with a rate of $27.70 per hour, followed by Honolulu, Hawaii, with $27.22 an hour.

So when a young couple says they "just can't afford a night out", there's a lot more to consider than the astronomical costs of concert or movie tickets, they've got a babysitter back home making more than the parents made. Certainly makes for a tough pill to swallow.