The Big List of Jobs for 13-year-olds
Ideas For Young Entrepreneurs
At 13, traditional employment options are limited due to labor laws. However, there are still plenty of opportunities for young teens to find work. This guide provides a list of jobs for 13-year-olds and an idea of a reasonable amount to ask for each job.
In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the legal age to work at 14 for non-agricultural jobs, with strict limitations on the types of work and hours for those under 16. At 13, opportunities are limited to jobs found through family and neighbors like babysitting, pet care, or yard work.
Key Takeaways
- 13-year-olds are too young to work traditional jobs
- Jobs that hire at 13 are limited to family businesses and some farming work
- The best jobs for 13-year-olds are those they can get from friends, family, and neighbors.
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💡 Job Ideas for 13-year-olds
Jobs that hire at 13 are very limited. The only real options are at a family business or on a farm doing limited farm-hand work. However, that does not mean 13-year-olds are unable to work. There are plenty of opportunities for a 13-year-old to find work among friends, family, and neighbors.
We’ve created a list of great jobs for 13-year-olds to get a start at working. Remember, it’s important to always do your best work to ensure people will invite you back for repeat work. If jobs are incomplete or done poorly you’ll find it hard to get continued work.
🍼 Babysitting
Babysitting is a classic job for young teens. Many families need responsible individuals to watch their children for a few hours, typically in the evenings or weekends. Young babysitters can find jobs through family, friends, or neighbors. Sometimes parents need a place to drop-off a young child off for a minute, or simply have someone stay with a sleeping baby while they run some errands. You can offer to watch children in your home or their home, depending on the need at the time.
A babysitter can typically earn between $5 and $10 per hour (and sometimes per child). Rates can vary based on the number of children, the ages of the children, and the responsibilities involved.
If you want to stand out among other babysitters (and maybe even make a few extra bucks), you could even go the extra mile and clean up the while while you’re there. Doing the dishes, cleaning counters, or sweeping up, is a great way to go above and beyond.
🐶 Pet Services
There are tons of jobs for 13-year-olds in pet services. And for animal lovers, this is a great way to earn money.
Bathing / Grooming Dogs - Dogs get smelly and it can be a lot of work to wash and brush them. You can offer bathing and grooming services once a month. Depending on the size and amount of hair of the dog, you could offer between $5 - $20 to wash and brush a dog.
Walking Dogs - It’s important for dogs to get exercise, however, sometimes people aren’t able to take them on walks as often as they’d like. Depending on the size of the dog. You could offer to take dogs on walks for between $5 - $10 per dog, per day.
Picking up Dog 💩 - It’s a smelly job, and somebody’s got to do it. People love their pets but don’t necessarily love picking up after them. Offer to clean people's yards for $5 - $10 per week based on the size and number of dogs they might have.
Changing litter boxes - Similar to cleaning up after dogs, you could offer to empty out litter boxes once a week for $5 - $10.
Pet Sitting - It can be difficult to find someone to take care of a pet while people are away. Offering a reliable pet-sitting service could be a great source of income. Let your neighbors know that you’re available to either watch their pets in your home, or in their home.
🏡 Yard Work
Yard services is another area with tons of great jobs available for 13-year-olds, especially during the Spring and Summer. It’s a great way to get outside.
Pulling Weeds - It’s a lot of work to maintain gardens and flowerbeds. Weeds never stop growing. Depending on the size of the garden or flowerbeds, you can offer to pull weeds once a week for between $5 - $20
Mowing Lawns - Similar to weeds, grass never stops growing and needs to be maintained weekly to look nice. Depending on the size of the yard, you could offer to mow lawns for $10 - $20 per week.
Raking Leaves - This is a short-term seasonal job, however, it’s something that many people need and can take a lot of effort. An easy way to charge for this one is $5 per large garbage bag full of leaves.
Shoveling Snow - Another seasonal job, but keeping driveways and sidewalks clear of snow can be a lot of work. Depending on the size of the driveway or sidewalk, you could charge between $1 - $20 to shovel each time it snows.
🏠 House Work
Teens can offer cleaning services to family friends and neighbors. Tasks might include vacuuming, dusting, washing dishes, and other household chores. This job teaches attention to detail and time management.
House cleaners can earn $10 to $20 per hour. Rates depend on the scope of work and the agreement with the homeowner.
House Cleaning - This might include vacuuming, dusting, sweeping and mopping, cleaning the bathroom, etc. There are a lot of chores that constantly need to be done in a home. You could offer to do any or all of these starting at $5 - $10 per chore depending on the size of house and number of rooms.
Trash - A unique service you could offer is taking trash bins out to the curb on trash day and making sure they’re put back after they’ve been emptied. This is something that has to happen each week and is easy to forget. You could charge $5 per week to take bins to the curb and return them.
🚗 Car Services
Car Washing - You can set up a car wash station in their driveway or offer mobile services to wash cars at customers' homes. You could charge between $5 and $20 per car based on the size of the car and how dirty it is.
Car Detailing - Detailing a car is just washing the inside. It's a bit more difficult and time consuming because you have to be detail oriented. You want to make it look amazing. You could charge between $10 and $30 per car based on the size of the car and how dirty it is.
Summary
While 13-year-olds face limitations in traditional employment, there are still many available jobs for 13-year-olds. Because labor laws prevent young children from working, it’s a perfect opportunity for young teens to come up with their own ideas for work around the home and neighborhood.
