Domestic and household jobs in Texas pay better than most people expect. In Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth and Austin, experienced nannies command $20–$30 an hour, private housekeepers $18–$28, and live-in household staff can earn $50,000–$75,000 plus accommodation in wealthy neighborhoods such as River Oaks, Highland Park and Westlake. The state has no income tax, which lifts take-home pay further.
The hard part is not the pay; it is the visa. There is no US work visa for nannies or housekeepers hired by an American family from abroad. The B-1 domestic employee visa only covers staff who already work for a foreign employer coming to the US temporarily, the J-1 au pair program is a 12–24 month cultural exchange for young people, and the EB-3 “other workers” green card is legally possible but slow and rarely used by private households. Anyone offering you a “Texas nanny visa” for a fee is lying.
What do nannies, housekeepers and caregivers earn in Texas?
The ranges below combine Bureau of Labor Statistics data for Texas metro areas with typical private-household rates quoted by placement agencies at the time of writing. Private families generally pay well above the BLS medians, which are dominated by agency employers. Check current figures on the BLS wage statistics pages.
| Role | Houston | Dallas–Fort Worth | Austin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nanny (live-out, experienced) | $20–$28 per hour | $20–$30 per hour | $22–$30 per hour | Higher with infant, twin or special-needs experience |
| Live-in nanny | $800–$1,200 per week plus room and board | $850–$1,300 per week | $900–$1,300 per week | Guaranteed hours should be written into the contract |
| Housekeeper (private home) | $18–$26 per hour | $18–$28 per hour | $20–$28 per hour | Cleaning-company employees earn less, around $13–$17 |
| House manager / estate staff | $60,000–$100,000 | $60,000–$110,000 | $60,000–$95,000 | Manages vendors, staff and budgets |
| Personal care aide / caregiver | $12–$17 per hour | $12–$18 per hour | $13–$19 per hour | Private-pay families often pay $18–$25 |
| Certified nurse aide (home care) | $15–$20 per hour | $15–$21 per hour | $16–$22 per hour | Requires Texas Nurse Aide Registry listing |
| Elder companion (live-in) | $150–$250 per day | $150–$260 per day | $160–$260 per day | Sleep time rules must be agreed in writing |
Texas follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25, but the private household market is set by competition for reliable staff. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, live-out domestic workers are owed time-and-a-half after 40 hours a week; live-in workers get minimum wage but are exempt from federal overtime, so check the weekly rate against the hours actually worked.
How do families hire in Texas: agencies, apps and word of mouth
- Placement agencies. Established nanny and household staffing agencies in Houston, Dallas and Austin screen candidates, run background checks and charge the family a placement fee. Legitimate agencies never charge the worker.
- Online platforms. Care.com, Sittercity and similar sites are where most live-out nanny and housekeeper work is found; profiles with CPR, first aid and newborn-care certifications and verifiable references get the interviews.
- Home care agencies. Most paid caregiving in Texas runs through licensed home and community support services agencies, which employ aides directly and place them with clients.
- Word of mouth. Estate and house-manager jobs are mostly filled through referrals from existing staff, private chefs and family offices.
Live-in norms in Texas households
Live-in arrangements are common for nannies to families with several young children, for elder care, and for estate staff on large properties in the Hill Country and North Dallas. A fair live-in agreement includes a private bedroom and bathroom, meals, a guaranteed weekly wage regardless of light weeks, a written schedule with two days off, a clear day rate for travel, two weeks’ paid vacation and, for nannies, use of a family car. Families who pay “under the table” leave you without proof of income for apartments, car loans and any later immigration application.
Texas rules for paid caregivers
Caregiving is regulated more tightly than childcare or housekeeping.
- Home health and personal assistance agencies must be licensed by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and must run criminal history checks on staff and screen the state’s Employee Misconduct Registry.
- To work as a certified nurse aide you complete a state-approved training program (typically around 100 hours) and pass the competency exam to be listed on the Texas Nurse Aide Registry.
- Medication administration and skilled tasks are restricted to licensed nurses; an aide asked to give injections should decline.
- Families using a Medicaid waiver program must ensure the aide meets the program’s training and check requirements.
The honest visa reality for foreign domestic workers
B-1 domestic employee visa
The B-1 in this context is widely misunderstood. It allows a personal or domestic employee to accompany an employer who is either a foreign national coming to the US on a temporary visa (such as an executive on L-1 or E-2) or a US citizen who lives abroad and is temporarily in the US. You must generally have worked for that employer for at least a year, with a written contract at the prevailing wage. It is never available to a Texan family hiring you from abroad. Diplomats’ staff use the separate A-3 and G-5 categories. Details are on the State Department visa pages.
J-1 au pair
The au pair program is the only structured route for a young foreign person to provide childcare in a US home. It is a cultural exchange run by State Department-designated sponsor agencies, not an employment visa.
- Age 18–26, secondary education completed, conversational English, no criminal record, and a childcare background check.
- Initial 12 months, extendable by 6, 9 or 12 months to a maximum of 24 months.
- Up to 45 hours a week and 10 hours a day, with a weekly stipend at least at the federal minimum (around $200 a week at the time of writing; check j1visa.state.gov, as changes have been proposed), plus room, board and up to $500 toward college courses.
- Host families pay the program fees (typically $9,000–$11,000 a year); au pairs pay a smaller application fee and must hold compliant health insurance.
You cannot convert au pair status into a regular nanny job; when the program ends you must leave unless another visa category genuinely applies.
EB-3 “other workers” green card
In principle a Texas family or agency can sponsor a live-in nanny, housekeeper or caregiver for permanent residence as an EB-3 unskilled worker. The employer must obtain a prevailing wage determination, advertise to US workers, file PERM labor certification at its own cost, file an I-140 and prove it can pay the wage, and then you wait for a visa number. The “other workers” category has a persistent backlog, so realistic timelines run several years, longer for nationals of India, China and the Philippines. Few private households complete it, though some home care agencies and large estates do. See our EB-3 green card process guide and the comparison in US visa sponsorship for caregiver, construction and housekeeping jobs.
Routes that do not work
H-2B is for seasonal jobs, and a household’s need for a nanny is not seasonal, so it is almost never certified for domestic roles. Tourist visas do not allow work at all. In practice the Texas household market is filled by people already authorized to work: citizens, permanent residents, spouses of visa holders with work permits (H-4 EAD, L-2), asylees and DACA recipients. If you are abroad, au pair and a long-shot EB-3 case are the only legitimate paths.
How to get hired: step by step
- Gather written references with dates, duties and contact details from every family or agency you have worked for.
- Get CPR and first-aid certification; for caregiving, complete a Texas nurse aide program and register.
- Create profiles on the major platforms and register with two or three agencies in your city.
- Prepare for a background check and, for driving roles, a Texas licence and clean record.
- Insist on a written agreement covering hours, pay, overtime, duties, days off, notice and, for live-in roles, accommodation terms.
- Ask the family to run payroll legally. Household employers paying above the annual threshold (roughly $2,800–$3,000 at the time of writing; check the IRS Schedule H page) must withhold Social Security and Medicare and provide a W-2.
Money, insurance and protection for household workers
Household staff rarely receive employer health insurance; an ACA marketplace plan through HealthCare.gov may be subsidized on a modest income, with open enrollment from November 1 to mid-January. Texas does not require families to carry workers’ compensation, so ask what covers injury at work. Keep pay stubs, build credit with a secured card, and compare providers using our guide to the best ways to send money home from the USA. Free help with wage disputes comes from the Texas Workforce Commission and the US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.
Scam warning: “Texas family needs nanny, visa provided”
The most common fraud aimed at foreign domestic workers is a fictional wealthy Texan family (“a doctor in Dallas”) offering $4,000–$6,000 a month, free housing and a “sponsored visa”, then asking you to pay a lawyer, agent or “visa processing” fee. Sometimes a fake cheque arrives and you are asked to forward part of it. Red flags: no video interview, WhatsApp or Telegram only, a job letter with no address, any fee requested from you, and a promise of a visa that does not exist. Legitimate au pair agencies are on the State Department list, and legitimate EB-3 sponsors pay their own legal costs. This article is general information, not legal advice; for a genuine case use a licensed Texas immigration attorney, ideally an AILA member.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Texas family sponsor a nanny from another country?
Not on a temporary work visa. The only routes are the J-1 au pair program through a designated agency, or an EB-3 green card case that takes several years and requires the family to complete PERM labor certification. The B-1 domestic employee visa is for staff of foreign employers temporarily in the US, not for local hiring.
Do I need a licence to be a caregiver in Texas?
Not for basic companionship or personal care in a private home, but agency employment and any Medicaid-funded work require training and background checks, and certified nurse aide roles require registry listing. Skilled nursing tasks are reserved for licensed nurses.
How much do live-in nannies make in Houston?
Typically $800–$1,200 a week plus a private room and meals, rising for infant twins, special-needs care or travel. Written guaranteed hours make the biggest difference to actual earnings.
What happens if I overstay a visa to keep working for a family?
You lose lawful status, become removable and, after 180 days, face a three- or ten-year bar on returning. It also leaves you with no legal leverage if the family withholds pay. It is not worth it; the pay in Texas is available legally to people with work authorization.
Bottom line
Household work in Houston, Dallas and Austin is well paid and in steady demand, but it is a market for people who already have the right to work in the US. From abroad, au pair is the only quick, legal door, and EB-3 is a slow one that few families open. Put everything in writing and never pay anyone for a visa that does not exist. For the UK equivalent, see our guide to house manager and domestic staff jobs in the UK.