Moms Deserve Six-Digit Salary

The old adage “a woman’s work is never done” isn’t quite true. Everything after her approximately 92-hour work week is free time, according to a Salary.com survey.

Surveying over 40,000 moms who kept track of their hours, Salary.com estimated that moms work an average of 92 hours a week—that’s 40 hours base pay and 52 hours overtime—wearing 10 different hats: housekeeper, day-care center teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver, ceo and psychologist.

Add up all the jobs of a stay-at-home mom, pay her the going hourly rate, and, the survey says, she’d be pulling in a handsome salary of $138,095 a year.

The reality behind the numbers is worth contemplating.

Consider how much greater the quality of life is for the family members whose mother dedicates herself full time to them. Most families choose instead to have the extra income the woman can bring in by working outside the home. But of course, the improved standard of living made possible by the higher income stream is offset by the hours sucked out of the home, not devoted to the family.

It is indeed impossible to put a price on just how much a dedicated, full-time mother adds to the life of her husband and children—and consequently, to society as a whole.