Reviewed by the Penny Time editorial team
Part of our Earning hub.
Jobs for 9 Year Olds: What Pays, With a Price List
A 9-year-old can't be hired by a business, but they can earn real money from paid extras at home and small jobs for neighbors you know. A fair beginner rate is $1 to $5 a job, which adds up to about $16 to $80 a month depending on how many neighbors they help.
TL;DR: At 9, keep every job at home or with a family you know, with an adult close by. Start with one or two paid extras at home, then add a neighbor's pet or plants. Babysitting and solo dog walks wait a couple of years.
What jobs can a 9-year-old legally do?
The federal child labor law is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The US Department of Labor says children under 14 "may not be employed in non-agricultural occupations covered by the FLSA." Some work isn't covered by that rule at all: "minor chores around private homes," casual babysitting, delivering newspapers, acting, and working in a business owned entirely by a parent.
For a 9-year-old, that leaves jobs at home, chores for neighbors, and helping in a family business. Your state can add stricter rules, and the stricter one wins, so check your state labor department before anything bigger than neighbor chores.
Starter price list for 9 year olds
These are the jobs that suit a 9-year-old, with a beginner rate and where the number comes from. To price the jobs at home, build a chore price list for your kid's age and print it for the fridge.
| Job | Starter pay at 9 | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Extra jobs at home (wash the car, weed a bed, clean out the garage shelf) | $1 to $2.50 a job | Our chore price chart, ages 9 to 11 |
| Feeding a neighbor's cat or fish | $3 to $5 a visit (typical range) | Set well below Care.com's $16 to $25 adult per-visit average |
| Watering plants, bringing in mail | $3 to $5 a visit (typical range) | Same benchmark, a shorter job |
| Raking or weeding with an adult nearby | $3 to $6 a job (typical range) | Our estimate for a 30 to 60 minute job |
| Lemonade stand, crafts, outgrown toys | What they sell, minus costs | Your kid's own price list |
| Helping in a parent's own business | What you agree | Exempt from the federal under-14 rule |
| Babysitting alone | Not yet | Red Cross course starts at 11 |
| Store, restaurant, fast food | Not yet, most open at 14 | US DOL |
"Typical range" rows are our estimate for a 9-year-old beginner, set far below adult rates. Rates vary by town, so ask the neighbor what feels fair to them.
What a 9-year-old can earn in a month
Here is how those rates add up over four weeks.
| Plan | What they do each week | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|
| Home only | 4 extra jobs at home at $1 to $2.50 | $16 to $40 |
| Home plus one neighbor | 4 home jobs, plus 2 pet or plant visits at $3 to $5 | $40 to $80 |
| Summer, neighbors on vacation | 3 home jobs, plus 7 pet or plant visits at $3 to $5 | $96 to $170 |
Even the home-only plan gives a 9-year-old $16 or more a month, which is enough to save toward a game or a toy in a few weeks.
Paid extras at home: the best first job
Paid extras at home let a 9-year-old practice pricing and payday with you right there. Keep everyday chores unpaid, like making the bed or clearing their plate, and pay only for extras that take real effort. For ideas that fit this age, see our age-appropriate chores list.
- Washing the car, inside or out: $2 to $2.50
- Weeding one garden bed: $1.50 to $2.50
- Sorting the recycling or a messy cupboard: $1 to $1.50
- Washing the dog with you: $1.50 to $2.50
Write the price down before the job starts, and check the work together before you pay. A half-done job gets finished, then paid.
Neighbor jobs: pets, plants and mail
A family on your street who travels is the easiest first client. Feeding a cat, watering plants and bringing in the mail happen every day and take a few minutes, so they're easy to check. Neighbors pay adults $16 to $25 a visit on Care.com, so $3 to $5 from a kid is a good deal for them.
Go along for the first visit so your kid learns the routine: food, fresh water, check the litter, lock the door. After that, walk them over or wait outside. Dog walks are better kept for later, since even a friendly dog can pull a small kid off their feet.
Yard work with an adult nearby
Raking leaves in fall and pulling weeds in summer work well at 9. Work next to them, or close enough to see them. Hand tools only: mowers, trimmers and ladders wait until they're older. Price by the job, not the hour: a front-yard leaf pile is about $3 to $6 for a 9-year-old.
Selling things: stands, crafts and outgrown toys
A stand covers costs, prices and profit in one afternoon. Your kid buys lemons or beads, sets a price, sells, and works out what's left. Have them write down what the supplies cost, then subtract it from the cash box. That number is what they earned. Sit with them at the stand, and handle any online listing for outgrown toys from your own account.
Is your 9-year-old ready for a paid job?
Check habits first. If your kid can do most of these, they're ready for a neighbor job:
- Does a home job without being reminded twice.
- Can follow a 3-step list, like "food, water, lock the door."
- Remembers a time or a day, with a reminder from you.
- Says hello and a price to an adult they know.
- Tells you when something goes wrong.
If not yet, stick with paid extras at home for a month, then try again.
Safety rules for every job
- Only families you already know. No strangers' homes and no jobs from public online posts.
- An adult is nearby or knows exactly where they are and when they'll be back.
- You have the neighbor's phone number and address.
- Price and payday are agreed before the work starts.
- No power tools, stoves, ladders or pools.
What changes at 10 and 11
The law stays the same until 14. What changes is how much your kid can do on their own. At 10 they can take on more neighbor jobs and bigger yard work: see jobs for 10-year-olds that pay. At 11 they can start a babysitting course and mother's helper shifts: see jobs for 11 year olds.
Turn the first earnings into a money lesson
The first money your kid earns is the easiest place to start saving. Agree a split before payday, like half to save and half to spend, and give the saving half a target. Our savings goal calculator shows how many weeks of pet visits a $40 game takes.
Penny Time is a free app built for kids this age. Your child sees their own balance and takes on money quests on their own phone or tablet. You set an automatic allowance and can add what they earn from a job, with a note, so the money they worked for shows up next to the rest.
Educational only, not legal advice. Child labor rules vary by state; check your state labor department for the rules where you live.
Sources
- US DOL Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions for Nonagricultural Occupations
- US DOL: State Child Labor Laws
- Care.com: How much does a dog walker cost (updated February 2026)
- American Red Cross: Babysitting and Child Care Training, ages 11-16
- Our chore price list by age (free tool)
Frequently Asked Questions
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Not a regular job. Federal law says children under 14 may not be employed in most non-farm work, so stores and restaurants are out. A 9-year-old can still legally do minor chores around private homes, work in a business owned entirely by a parent, deliver newspapers or act. Your state can be stricter.
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The best first jobs are paid extras at home, like washing the car or weeding, then small jobs for neighbors you know: feeding a pet, watering plants or bringing in the mail while they travel, and raking with an adult nearby. Selling crafts or running a lemonade stand works too.
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For extra jobs at home, $1 to $2.50 each is a common rate for ages 9 to 11. For a neighbor pet or plant visit, $3 to $5 is fair for a beginner. Adult dog walkers on Care.com charge around $16 to $25 a visit, so a kid rate well below that is still a good deal for the neighbor.
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Not alone. The Red Cross babysitting course is for ages 11 to 16, so most kids start as a mother's helper at 11 or 12. At 9, playing with a younger cousin while their parent is in the room is fine, but it is not a paid babysitting job.
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With 4 paid extras at home each week, about $16 to $40 a month. Add a neighbor's pet visits twice a week and it is about $40 to $80. A summer month with neighbors on vacation can reach $96 to $170.
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Many families split chores in two: everyday jobs like making the bed are unpaid because everyone in the house helps, and bigger extra jobs earn money. That keeps the paid list short and makes earning feel like real work.
Raise kids who understand how money works
Download the app, add your child, and connect their phone or tablet by scanning a code. About a minute, no email needed for kids.
How setup works for you and your child →
No ads. No data selling. No credit card.
Put this into practice this week
Add your child in Penny Time and, on their own phone or tablet, they can watch a real balance grow, take on quests, and ask for cash-outs you approve. Free for the whole family.