Research has shown almost nine in 10 people underestimate the monetary value of a stay-at-home parent.
Findings from Royal London Ireland show the estimated annual salary of a stay-at-home parent to be €57,140, up from €54,590 in 2023.
Respondents in 2024 estimated the potential salary of a stay-at-home parent to be €32,340, reflecting a 5.9 per cent increase from the 2023 estimate of €30,547.
Almost a third of respondents estimated the value of a stay-at-home parent’s work to fall between €20,000 and €30,000.
The study analysed the typical daily tasks and responsibilities of stay-at-home parents and researched the cost of employing someone to do these jobs, based on current wage data.
The responsibilities assessed for the analysis included childcare, cooking, cleaning and driving children to activities.
According to the most recent census data, there were 272,318 stay-at-home parents in 2022, with 90 per cent of them women.
Karen O’Flaherty, Senior Propositions Executive of Royal London Ireland said: “I believe the role of the stay-at-home parent is greatly appreciated by many people.
"However, when it comes to gauging their financial “worth”, there remains a significant 43 per cent gap between people’s perception of the homemaker’s economic contribution and the reality of the likely cost if they had to pay someone to carry out the jobs a homemaker does on a day-to-day basis.
"Stay-at-home parents have a diverse range of responsibilities – including childcare, household management, budgeting, emotional support, and handling children’s transportation needs - yet the full value of their work often goes unrecognised”.
