This guide is sponsored by Greenlight. Its prepaid card for kids gives busy parents a digital way to assign chores, pay allowances and teach children the importance of earning, saving and giving.
Giving your kid responsibility and a source of income, such as an allowance tied to chores, is a great way to help teach your child about proper money management and jumpstart their savings so that they can meet their goals. But how much you should pay your child for completing a chore may vary depending on where you live and how old your child is. Use this calculator to determine how much you should pay your child based on the chore, their age and your state.
Kids chore calculator
Calculate how much to pay your kids for completing their chores by selecting your state, child's age, child's savings goal, and chore.
State
Kid's age range
Kid's weekly savings goal
Add chore
Which days will this chore be completed on?
Please fill all fields
Chore
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T
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Rate
Add chores to work out weekly total
Weekly total
$0
Your child is 0% toward their weekly savings goal of $0.
Chore rates are based on suggestions from experts. See our methodology.
Kids Chore Calendar
Mon
Tue
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If you complete all of your chores each week, you’ll make $0. This is 0% of your weekly savings goal!
7 steps to use the kids’ chore calculator
Estimate how much your kid stands to earn per chore using these steps:
Select your state.
Choose your child’s age range.
Input your kid’s weekly savings goal amount to see how their weekly pay stacks up against their goals.
Pick the chore activity and which days you want the task completed. Click Add chore.
Repeat step 4 to add more chores.
Review the chore schedule, payment and weekly estimate.
Print the chore calendar or select Start over to reset the chore calculator.
Methodology
Our chore calculator is based on suggested costs per chore and age range submitted by four external financial and parenting experts and two Finder banking experts:
Michael Benninger, banking writer at Finder, specializing in kids’ banking products, cash management accounts and fintechs
Mark Evans, consultant at Summer Camp Hub, a parenting blog designed to help parents find the best summer camp for their children
Brianna Leonhard, founder of Third Row Adventures, a travel blog focused on travel for young families
Mo Mulla, parenting expert and founder of Parental Questions, a parenting blog offering tips and advice for everyday parenting
Alexa Serrano, banking editor at Finder, specializing in personal finance, crypto banking and kids’ debit cards
Jeff Zhou, personal finance expert and CEO of FigLoans, a lender that offers socially responsible products to the underbanked
We asked each expert to submit suggested costs for 15 chores across four student age groups:
Preschoolers — ages 4 to 5
Elementary school kids — ages 6 to 9
Middle-schoolers — ages 10 to 13
High-schoolers — ages 14 to 17
We averaged suggested reported costs to result in a baseline average for each chore and each age group within it. If an expert chose not to suggest a cost for a particular chore or age group, we averaged the suggestions from experts who did while accounting for the current 2022 inflation rate of 8.5%.
We then used these baseline averages to calculate state averages, relying on the state cost-of-living index compiled by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. These adjusted state averages make up the data in our calculator.
When establishing a chore system, give your child specific instructions about what you expect them to do. Consider your child’s age, maturity level, physical capabilities and whether you live in the city or suburbs.
We’ve compiled a few age-appropriate chore ideas to get the ball rolling. But keep in mind, you know your child’s ability the best.
Cleaning the bathroom
Age group
Chore activities
4- to 5-year-olds
Empty wastebaskets
Dust with a cloth
Wipe down surfaces
6- to 9-year-olds
Everything 4- to 5-year-olds can do, plus:
Sweep and mop the floor
10- to 13-year-olds
Everything 6- to 9-year-olds can do, plus:
Clean mirrors
Disinfect surfaces
14- to 17-year-olds
Everything 10- to 13-year-olds can do, plus:
Clean toilets
Clean bathtubs and/or showers
Dust light fixtures
Doing the laundry
Age group
Chore activities
4- to 5-year-olds
Sort laundry into lights and darks
Match socks together
Help put clothes away
6- to 9-year-olds
Everything 4- to 5-year-olds can do, plus:
Help load clothes in the washing machine or dryer
10- to 13-year-olds
Everything 6- to 9-year-olds can do, plus:
Put fresh bed sheets on the bed
Run the washer and dryer
14- to 17-year-olds
Everything 10- to 13-year-olds can do, plus:
Iron clothes
Treat stains
Add appropriate amount of detergent to the washer before running it
Making lunch or cleaning up after meals
Age group
Chore activities
4- to 5-year-olds
Clear the table
Wash plastic dishes with supervision
Put away clean utensils
Help pack their lunch by putting food items like an apple, juice box and yogurt in their lunch box
6- to 9-year-olds
Everything 4- to 5-year-olds can do, plus:
Wipe the table after meals
Rinse dishes in the sink
Load and empty the dishwasher
10- to 13-year-olds
Everything 6- to 9-year-olds can do, plus:
Make lunch for school
Pour beverages for meals
Disinfect countertops
14- to 17-year-olds
Everything 10- to 13-year-olds can do, plus:
Organize pantry
Disinfect the sink
Yardwork
Age group
Chore activities
4- to 5-year-olds
If you live in the city:
Water plants
Wipe leaves that have collected dust
If you live in the suburbs, consider adding the following task:
Pull weeds
6- to 9-year-olds
Everything 4- to 5-year-olds can do, plus:
If you live in the city:
Potting or repotting plants
If you live in the suburbs, add:
Rake leaves
10- to 13-year-olds
Everything 6- to 9-year-olds can do, plus:
Fertilize plants
14- to 17-year-olds
Everything 10- to 13-year-olds can do, plus:
Mow the lawn
Washing the car
Age group
Chore activities
4- to 5-year-olds
Remove trash from inside the car
Put away toys
6- to 9-year-olds
Everything 4- to 5-year-olds can do, plus:
Help wash the exterior
Dust the dashboard with a cloth
10- to 13-year-olds
Everything 6- to 9-year-olds can do, plus:
Vacuum the interior
Wash the exterior
14- to 17-year-olds
Everything 10- to 13-year-olds can do, plus:
Wash undercarriage
Detail the tires
4 ways to track your kid’s chores
Chore checklist. Create a list of items that kids can check off as they complete it.
Chore spreadsheet. Design a chore spreadsheet with the days of the week as columns and the chore in each row.
Chore app. Use an app like OurHome to set up, assign and monitor one-time or recurring tasks.
Debit card for kids. Sign up for an all-in-one chore tracker and payment platform like Greenlight that lets you set up a chores list and pay allowances once completed.
Our top pick: Greenlight
Teach your child to spend, save and invest all in one app. Get 5+ financial literacy tools, including chores and allowances. All with powerful parental controls to decide where your child can spend and how much. Includes up to 5% savings rewards. Free one-month trial.
It depends on your family’s situation. Paying your kids for chores has merits and disadvantages and is ultimately your decision and what works best for your kids.
Pros
Teaches the value of money. Giving your kids a source of income is a great way to educate them about the importance of earning and managing money.
Teaches kids how to save. Creating opportunities to save is one tool to help teach kids about money, make them more self-reliant and give them greater financial freedom for the future. Use our kids’ chore calculator to help them visualize a weekly savings goal to see what’s possible and stay motivated.
Gives kids a sense of ownership. When children choose to complete a task, it gives them a sense of control and accomplishment.
Helps the household. Parents can get some relief from chasing after their kids to get the housework done.
Teaches consequences. Paying for chores leaves little room for negotiation if the chores aren’t completed. No play, no pay.
Cons
Costs money. Paying per chore adds to the family’s budget. If you want to generate an income, consider setting up a weekly or monthly allowance instead.
External motivation. Instead of internalizing the importance of the chore as part of a life lesson or natural daily responsibility, chore payments give your child an external motivator. So if no one pays them to take out the trash, they may not do it for themselves.
Makes chores optional. Since a chore allowance is a choice, if your kid decides that their time is worth more than the price, they may skip it altogether — leaving you with a dirty sink of dishes and a pile of trash.
Can undermine responsibility. Chores are part of being a family and a reality of living together. Rewarding children for things they should do may not teach them the value of pulling their own weight and the importance of working together.
A third of parents not giving their kid an allowance
While most parents say they pay their child an allowance (68%), about a third (32%) say they don’t give their kids any money.
Bottom line
There’s no right or wrong answer to whether you should pay your kids for doing chores. If you decide to reward your children for completing household tasks, consider a kid’s debit card with chore tracking capabilities and automatic allowance payments to make the entire process easier.
Kimberly Ellis is a personal finance writer at Finder, specializing in banking and financial literacy. After teaching in public and private schools, Kimberly zeroed in on personal financial education to help families and kids develop lifelong money skills. She hails from New York City, graduating summa cum laude from Queens College with a BA in elementary education and mathematics, as well as a New York State teaching certificate. She’s also an aspiring polyglot, always in a book and forever on the hunt for the perfect classic red lipstick.
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State
Kid's age range
Kid's weekly savings goal
Add chore
Which days will this chore be completed on?
