Financial value of stay-at-home parents undervalued by 90% of people

Almost 90% of adults nationwide underestimate the financial value of stay-at-home parents, new findings from Royal London Ireland show, with just over 10% valuing the cost to employ someone to perform the duties of a stay-at-home parent at over €50,000.

Surveying 1,000 adults, the life insurance and pensions provider calculated the estimated annual salary of a stay-at-home parent to be €57,140, up from €54,590 in 2023 and €40,560 in 2015 when it first undertook the same research.

In its latest survey, respondents in 2024 estimated the potential salary of a stay-at-home parent to be €32,340, reflecting an almost 6% increase from the 2023 estimate of €30,547.

Royal London Ireland also noted that almost three times as many women as men accurately estimated that the cost would exceed €50,000.

According to Ireland’s most recent census data, there were 272,318 stay-at-home parents in 2022, 90% of which were women.

Senior Propositions Executive of Royal London Ireland, Karen O’Flaherty said that while the role of stay-at-home parents is “greatly appreciated,” by many people, “when it comes to gauging their financial “worth”, there remains a significant 43% 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”.

The survey also found that almost 30% estimated the value of a stay-at-home parent’s work to fall between €20,000 and €30,000, with more men than women holding this view. One in four respondents believed the figure to be slightly higher, estimating the salary between €30,000 and €40,000

Those living in Munster placed the greatest value on the role of a stay-at-home parent with 28% suggesting a salary above €40,000.

Respondents aged 45 to 54 were the most accurate in valuing the stay-at-home parent’s role with 15% estimating the salary to exceed €50,000—likely reflecting their own experiences of raising children, the survey noted.