This guide compares the three most common ways families get household support: a full-time house manager, a part-time on-site house manager working 20 hours a week, and a virtual house manager through Heron House Management.
The right choice depends on each family's needs. Some households need hands-on help in the home. Nearly every busy household needs relief from the mental load: the constant planning, coordinating, and anticipating it takes to keep a family running. Costs range from $500 a month to more than $150,000 a year, and the best value is the option that takes the right work off the family's plate, not simply the most hours of help.
At a Glance
| Virtual House Manager | Part-Time On-Site (20 hrs/week) | Full-Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate | $50 | $25 to $50 | $40 to $65 |
| Monthly cost | $500, $750, or $1,000 | About $3,265 | About $13,300 |
| Annual cost | $6,000, $9,000, or $12,000 | About $39,200, plus payroll service or agency fee | About $160,000 in year one |
| Skill level | High, guaranteed | Varies | High, not guaranteed |
| Anticipates needs | Yes | Not usually | Sometimes |
| Mental load management | Yes | Not typically | Yes |
| On-site help | Coordinates on-site help | Yes | Yes |
| Payroll, taxes, PTO tracking | None | Family's responsibility | Family's responsibility |
| Agency placement fee | None | 18% to 25% | 18% to 25% |
| Coverage during absences | Fully briefed backup team member | None | None |
Full-time based on a $125,000 salary with employer taxes and a 20% placement fee. Part-time based on $35/hour with employer taxes.
Option 1: A Full-Time House Manager
A full-time house manager typically earns $100,000 to $150,000 a year, and the true first-year cost is closer to $160,000.
Cost
Town + Country Resources, a domestic staffing agency, reports that full-time household managers often earn $40 to $65 an hour, or $100,000 to $150,000 a year. ZipRecruiter reports the average live-in house manager earns $86,159 a year.
Salary is only the starting point. The true first-year cost is higher because a family that hires directly also pays for:
- Employer payroll taxes. The family pays a 7.65% share of Social Security and Medicare on top of wages, per IRS Publication 926. On a $125,000 salary, that is $9,563.
- An agency placement fee. Agencies typically charge 18% or more of annual pay, about $25,000 at a 20% rate.
- Benefits. Families employing full-time house managers typically provide paid time off and medical insurance.
- Insurance and state requirements. Many states require workers' compensation and state unemployment tax for household employers.
- Onboarding time. It can take six months to a year to train a new manager on how a family lives, all at full salary.
Taxes and the placement fee alone bring a $125,000 salary to about $160,000 in year one, or roughly $13,300 a month, before benefits and insurance.
Who It Is Best For
High-net-worth households with large estates or multiple properties, household staff to supervise, and daily on-site needs.
How Much the Family Manages
A strong full-time house manager can carry much of the household's day-to-day work, but how well they anticipate needs depends on the individual hired. The family also takes on the role of employer: payroll, taxes, benefits, performance reviews, and finding coverage when the manager is sick, on vacation, or leaves the role.
Option 2: A Part-Time On-Site House Manager (20 Hours a Week)
A part-time on-site house manager working 20 hours a week costs about $39,200 a year at $35 an hour, before payroll service or agency fees.
Cost
Private household listings for part-time house managers generally range from $25 to $50 an hour, such as this ZipRecruiter listing and a Houston family's posting at $30 to $50.
| Cost at $35/hour, 20 hours/week | Amount |
|---|---|
| Wages (1,040 hours) | $36,400 |
| Employer Social Security + Medicare (7.65%) | $2,785 |
| Annual total | $39,185 |
A family that hires directly becomes a household employer. Once wages reach $3,000 in 2026, the IRS requires the family to withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, file Schedule H, and issue a W-2. In practice, that means paying for a payroll service and tracking vacation days, sick time, and taxes throughout the year. The alternative is a staffing agency, which typically charges a placement fee of 18% or more of annual pay, about $6,550 at this salary.
Who It Is Best For
Families who need regular hands-on help in the home: laundry, school pick-up, seasonal decor, pantry and closet organization, and similar tasks. A part-time on-site manager is not typically suited to managing the mental load of the household, such as coordinating vendors, tracking deadlines, managing the family calendar, and anticipating what comes next.
How Much the Family Manages
Quite a lot. The family still carries the mental load, decides what the house manager works on each week, and handles payroll, taxes, and time off. When the house manager is out sick, on vacation, or leaves the role, coverage falls back to the family.
Option 3: A Virtual House Manager With Heron House Management
A virtual house manager through Heron House Management costs $500 to $1,000 a month for 10 to 20 hours, with no payroll, placement fees, or employer taxes.
Much of what makes a household feel unmanageable does not require someone in the home. Heron House Management describes its service as a project manager for your personal life, built to carry the planning, coordinating, and anticipating behind every family project. Projects families hand off most often include:
- Family activities: summer camps, after-school activities, vacation itineraries, birthday parties, and the family calendar
- Meals: weekly grocery delivery and meal plans built around dietary needs
- Health: doctor appointments and prescription delivery
- Home maintenance: contractor coordination, gathering bids for home projects, and recurring maintenance reminders
- Aging parents: caregiving and medication schedules, in-home care, and bill pay support
- Holidays and gifting: gift buying and tracking for everyone on the list
Each family meets with its house manager about once a week, and every project is tracked in shared project management software, so the family can check status at any time or step away entirely.
Cost
| Plan | Hours per month | Monthly cost | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 10 hours | $500 | $6,000 |
| Executive | 15 hours | $750 | $9,000 |
| Platinum | 20+ hours | $1,000 | $12,000 |
There are no joining fees or long-term contracts, and families can pause or change plans with 30 days' notice.
Who It Is Best For
Working parents and busy families whose biggest challenge is the mental load: the vendors, appointments, deadlines, and follow-ups that never stop. It suits families who want someone to think ahead for them, not just complete a list.
How Much the Family Manages
Very little. The house manager does the thinking and planning, and the family makes the decisions.
Each family works with one dedicated house manager, so the relationship stays one-to-one. If that house manager is out sick or on vacation, another team member who is fully up to speed on the family's needs steps in, so nothing falls through the cracks. Every house manager is vetted, trained, background checked, and insured.
Heron House Management is fully virtual, but it does not leave families to manage on-site help alone. The team helps clients hire on-site help such as errand runners, babysitters, nannies, and cleaners, and handles the logistics of managing that help, which removes one more source of administrative work and mental load.
Which Option Is Right for Your Family?
For most working families, the hardest part of running a household is not any single task. It is the constant logistics and mental load: remembering what is due, chasing vendors, coordinating schedules, and anticipating what comes next. In Heron House Management's work with families, most busy parents would rather have one person manage all of their vendors, including on-site help, and stay a step ahead of their needs than add another employee to supervise.
A full-time house manager fits households with large estates or multiple properties, staff to supervise, and daily on-site needs, where a six-figure investment is justified.
A part-time on-site house manager fits families who need regular hands-on help with laundry, pick-ups, and organization, and who are prepared to carry the mental load and manage payroll, taxes, and time off themselves.
A virtual house manager fits families who want the mental load lifted: someone to coordinate every vendor, manage on-site help, and anticipate what the household needs next, without adding an employee.
Heron House Management was founded by Hannah Morgan, a working mother of three who understands firsthand how heavy the invisible work of running a home can become. Her team takes that work off families' plates so they can focus on what matters most.
Find out how many hours your household actually needs. Book an intro call with Heron House Management.
Sources
- Heron House Management: Services & How It Works
- Town + Country Resources: Private Household Manager
- Town + Country Resources: Agency Fees
- ZipRecruiter: Live-In House Manager Salary
- ZipRecruiter: Household Manager Job Listings
- Goodwin Recruiting: Personal Assistant / House Manager, Houston
- IRS Publication 926: Household Employer's Tax Guide
- Mezzi: True Cost of Full-Time House Staff
- Business Jet Traveler: Hiring a House Manager