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How much does a house manager cost in 2026?

If you've started wondering whether a house manager could take the groceries, laundry, vendors, and family calendar off your plate, the next question is usually what it would cost. Here's a plain answer: what house managers usually earn, what that works out to each month, the employer costs people forget, and what it costs to hire one.

The short answer

Most house managers earn $25 to $45 an hour, depending on where you live, how many hours you need, and how much experience the role calls for. Part-time roles of 10 to 25 hours a week are common, and some families hire full-time.

Here's what that looks like each month, using 52 weeks ÷ 12 months:

  • 10 hours a week: about $1,080 to $1,950 a month
  • 20 hours a week: about $2,170 to $3,900 a month
  • 40 hours a week: about $4,330 to $7,800 a month

Those numbers are wages only. As the employer, you also pay payroll taxes, and most families use a payroll service. More on both below.

Why there's no single "official" number

You won't find a government pay figure for house managers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't track "house manager" as a separate job, and its wage survey doesn't include workers employed by private households. So the pay data that exists comes from job postings. Treat those as a guide, not a price list.

Salary.com's figures come from job postings and lean toward full-time roles, so part-time hourly rates are often lower. Our $25 to $45 range is what we see for the part-time and full-time roles we recruit for, and we'll give you a specific range for your area before your search starts.

What house managers earn in different cities

Here's what Salary.com job-posting data showed as of October 1, 2026 for some of the places where we place house managers:

Metro What the data shows Source
Houston Average $78,663/yr (about $38/hr); 25th–75th $74,779–$89,277 Salary.com, as of October 1, 2026
Texas Average $77,021/yr (about $37/hr) Salary.com, as of October 1, 2026
Miami Average $75,868/yr (about $36/hr) Salary.com, as of October 1, 2026
Pennsylvania Average $78,608/yr (about $38/hr); 25th–75th $74,727–$89,214 Salary.com, as of October 1, 2026
Atlanta Average $77,321/yr (about $37/hr); 25th–75th $73,503–$87,753 Salary.com, as of October 1, 2026
Ohio Average $76,887/yr (about $37/hr) Salary.com, as of October 1, 2026
Ann Arbor Average $78,958/yr (about $38/hr) Salary.com, as of October 1, 2026
Colorado Average $80,567/yr (about $39/hr) Salary.com, as of October 1, 2026
United States overall Average $38/hr; most earn between $36 and $43 Salary.com, as of October 1, 2026

A few patterns hold across cities. Pay runs higher in high-cost metros and in roles with more responsibility, like managing other household staff, handling the family budget, or covering a lot of driving. Part-time roles sometimes pay a little more per hour to make up for fewer guaranteed hours. And experience matters: someone who has run a busy household for years will expect the top of your local range.

The employer costs to plan for

When you hire a house manager, you're their employer. That isn't complicated, but it does add cost and paperwork.

Social Security and Medicare. For 2026, if you pay a household employee $3,000 or more in cash wages, you withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes. Your share is 7.65% of their wages, and you withhold the same amount from their pay. (IRS Publication 926)

Federal unemployment tax. If you pay $1,000 or more in total cash wages in any calendar quarter, federal unemployment tax applies to the first $7,000 of each employee's wages for the year. The rate is 6.0%, and most employers get a credit of up to 5.4% for paying state unemployment tax. (IRS Publication 926)

State taxes and programs. Most states have their own unemployment tax, new-hire reporting, and sometimes income tax withholding, paid sick leave, or paid family leave programs. These differ a lot from state to state. Our state pages link to the official agencies.

A payroll service. Most families use a household payroll provider so the withholding, filings, and year-end forms get done correctly. Ask a few providers for quotes, because pricing varies.

Here's a simple example. A house manager working 20 hours a week at $35 an hour earns about $3,030 a month. Your Social Security and Medicare share on that is about $230 a month. Then add your state unemployment tax, any state programs, and the payroll service.

What it costs to hire one

There are two common ways to hire a house manager.

Do it yourself. You can post the job, sort through applications, run phone screens and interviews, call references, order a background check, and write the offer. The cash cost is low: job board fees and a background check. The cost in time is real, especially when you're already the one running the house.

Use a placement agency. Many agencies charge a percentage of the house manager's first-year pay, so the fee goes up when the salary does. Others charge a flat fee. Ask any agency for the full price in writing before you start.

At Tend the Home, our fee is $3,000 flat and it's on our website. After a free 20-minute call, $750 starts your search. The remaining $2,250 is due only when you hire, within 5 days of accepting an offer. For that, we run the whole search. We write the job description and a fair pay range for your area, recruit and interview candidates, and bring you two or three vetted finalists about two weeks after you approve the job description. If none of them are right, we send new finalists within 7 business days and keep going until one fits. We call references, run a background check, and help you set pay, hours, and a start date. Your house manager starts with a household playbook, we check in at 2 weeks, 30 days, and 90 days, and if they leave for any reason in the first 90 days, we search again at no extra fee.

How to set a fair rate

Start with your local range, then think about the role itself. How many hours a week? Will they drive your kids or run errands in their own car? (If so, plan to reimburse mileage.) Will they manage other help, like a cleaner or a landscaper? A role with more responsibility belongs at the higher end of the range.

Pay fairly from the start. A good house manager learns how your home runs, and starting over because someone left for a better offer costs you more than a few dollars an hour.

Questions families ask

Is a house manager worth it if we only need 10 hours a week? For a lot of families, yes. Ten focused hours can cover the weekly grocery order and restock, the laundry, a couple of vendor appointments, and the family calendar.

Do we pay the house manager, or do you? You do. You're the employer and pay your house manager directly, usually through a payroll service. Candidates never pay us anything.

Can we pay a house manager as a contractor? Usually not. The IRS generally treats a worker you control in your home as your household employee. IRS Publication 926 explains the rules, and a CPA can confirm your situation.

Want a number for your area?

Book a free 20-minute call. Tell us what's falling through the cracks at home, and we'll tell you what a house manager could take on, what the role would likely pay where you live, and how soon we could get you finalists. No pressure, and no deposit until after we talk.

We help busy families hire house managers. You don't need to handle it all on your own.

Sources

Ready to stop running the house by yourself?

Book a free 20-minute call. Tell us what’s falling through the cracks at home. We’ll tell you what a house manager could take on, what the role would pay in your area, and how quickly we can get you finalists. No pressure, and no deposit until after we talk.

Book a free call