How Much Are Moms Worth in 2014?

Maybe it’s an increased commitment to battle the gender wage gap, the rise of female breadwinners, or women heeding the call to “Lean In.” But whatever the reason, Salary.com’s annual “Mom Salary” survey was more popular than ever and created some great insights in 2014.

But before we begin, we need to stress something. This is not an exact science, nor is it meant to be. We understand no one survey could ever truly encapsulate what a parent does, and many mothers disagree that what they do is a job. We don’t do this to demean or devalue mothers – quite the opposite, actually. Everyone can relate to a paycheck, so that’s how we choose to point out the massive contributions mothers make. And also because we're SALARY.com. We hope you take it in the positive way it’s intended.

And don’t worry dads, we’ll have your Dad Salary come June.

So how do we determine the amount moms are paid? In a nutshell, we rely on your input and our salary data.

Our Mom Salary Wizard is open to mothers all year long, and we ask our users to tell us how much time they spend each week doing various "mom jobs." From there, we take your final tallies, have our compensation experts mesh the number of hours with our salary data for the various jobs, and voila -- you're able to see mom's paycheck. We break it down by stay-at-home and working mothers, and present the top 10 jobs on which moms say they spend the most time.

Since most families are on the smaller side,we only used salary data for companies with 25 full-time employees or less. But the links we're providing throughout the article consist of salaries for ALL companies sizes, hence you might see some varying numbers.

This year we had more than 15,000 moms take our survey, and we’ll be including quotes celebrating motherhood throughout.

This year’s results show the same 10 jobs made the list as last year, with small but steady gains in terms of the actual mom salary as well as hours worked per week. Want to know which jobs moms do the most and what the final tally was? Read on.

Chief Executive Officer
Median annual salary: $167,900
Stay-at-home moms: 3.2 hours a week
Working moms: 2.5 hours a week

“The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” -- W. R. Wallace

There’s been a lot of talk about out of control CEO pay, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Moms are the best kind of head executive because they provide guidance, structure, and chart a course for success.

And if things go wrong, moms don’t jump ship with a golden parachute. They roll up their sleeves, go without if that’s what it takes to improve her family’s bottom line, and work until things are set straight.

Go to our Mom Salary Wizard to customize your mom's salary and print out a check.

Laundry Operator
Median annual salary: $21,000
Stay-at-home moms: 6.5 hours a week
Working moms: 4.2 hours a week

"I know what it’s like to finish the laundry and to look in the basket five minutes later and it’s full again. I know what it’s like to pull all the groceries in, and see the teenagers run through, and all of a sudden, all of the groceries you just bought a few hours ago are gone." – Ann Romney

One minute you’re done, the next you’ve got four more loads to do. How does it multiply so fast? Why can’t someone invent something that automatically folds clothes? And where the hell do half the socks disappear to?

Sure it’s not the most glamorous part of motherhood, but clean clothes are a necessity and many moms make that happen.

Go to our Mom Salary Wizard to customize your mom's salary and print out a check.

Janitor
Median annual salary: $21,100
Stay-at-home moms: 7.8 hours a week
Working moms: 4.4 hours a week

“Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.” – Phyllis Diller

If cleanliness is godliness then let us all pay heed to our motherly deities.

Moms make sure they’re clean, the kids are clean, and the house is clean. They deal with a lot of the atomic diapers, the crayons covering the walls, and making the floor so clean you can eat off it. Mainly because, if you have a toddler, they literally will be eating off it.

Go to our Mom Salary Wizard to customize your mom's salary and print out a check.

Van Driver
Median annual salary: $28,400
Stay-at-home moms: 7.8 hours a week
Working moms: 5.9 hours a week

“A suburban mother’s role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car for ever after.” – Peter De Vries

Whether you’ve got one child you’re driving around in a sedan or you’re rocking it soccer mom style in an SUV or minivan, you will rack up some miles. It starts with trips to the pediatrician and mommy and me classes. Then you’re driving to preschool and play dates, followed by birthday parties, grade school, and team sports and activities. The bottom line is your car becomes your second home.

Go to our Mom Salary Wizard to customize your mom's salary and print out a check.

Psychologist
Median annual salary: $81,000
Stay-at-home moms: 8.3 hours a week
Working moms: 6.3 hours a week

“To bend bamboo, start when it is a shoot.” -- Malaysian Proverb

The job title with the biggest jump on our list this year was psychologist.

Stay at home moms reported working a full hour per week more as a psychologist to their kids than last year. Could it be because of increased acts of violence at schools? Can we pin it on rampant bullying? Or is Miley Cyrus and twerking to blame yet again? Whatever the reason, moms continue to be actively involved in listening to kids talk about their problems and working with them to find fixes.

Go to our Mom Salary Wizard to customize your mom's salary and print out a check.

Computer Operator
Median annual salary: $34,200
Stay-at-home moms: 8.6 hours a week
Working moms: 6.2 hours a week

“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” – Gertrude Stein

This is one of the few categories in which moms reported spending less time than the prior year.

Perhaps some moms are realizing it’s not enough to simply help their kids out with computers and technology – they have to know when to restrict it. Many moms are getting wise to the ways of the Internet, and implementing some common sense restrictions and even bans. Between computers, tablets and smartphones, kids are constantly connected which means parents need to be perpetually aware of what’s out there and how their kids are using it.

Go to our Mom Salary Wizard to customize your mom's salary and print out a check.

Facilities Manager
Median annual salary: $65,800
Stay-at-home moms: 10.9 hours a week
Working moms: 7.3 hours a week

“By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacation-less class.” - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Sure household repairs and general maintenance has traditionally been the purview of dads, but it’s 2014 and time to stop thinking along gender lines. Moms are reporting spending more time than ever making sure the building and grounds are safe and in working operation.

Go to our Mom Salary Wizard to customize your mom's salary and print out a check.

Day Care Center Teacher
Median annual salary: $26,700
Stay-at-home moms: 14.3 hours a week
Working moms: 5.6 hours a week

“Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.” – Stevie Wonder

Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or a working mother, you are also a teacher.

At-home moms not utilizing daycare are with the kids around the clock, and even from that young age they serve as role models and the earliest of instructors. But even the parents who use daycare are still helping kids to learn whenever possible. Whether it’s arts and crafts or learning to read, the best and most devoted educator kids have is in the home.

Go to our Mom Salary Wizard to customize your mom's salary and print out a check.

Cook
Median annual salary: $29,200
Stay-at-home moms: 14.5 hours a week
Working moms: 8.7 hours a week

“My mother’s menu consisted of two choices. Take it or leave it!” -- Buddy Hackett

Stay-at-home mothers are spending 30 more minutes a week on cooking duties, and working moms said cooking is the number one household and childcare duty they perform during the week.

Even if they’re not gourmet chefs, moms are not only cooking more than ever for their families, they’re also preparing meals in advance and mapping out menus for the week to take care of their families. After all, nothing brings a family together like food.

Go to our Mom Salary Wizard to customize your mom's salary and print out a check.

Housekeeper
Median annual salary: $21,200
Stay-at-home moms: 14.6 hours a week
Working moms: 8.3 hours a week

“And this mess is so big
And so deep and so tall,
We cannot pick it up.
There is no way at all!” -- Dr. Seuss

For the fourth year in a row, stay-at-home moms say their most time-consuming task is housekeeping.

Much of parenting is done in the trenches, which explains why the job of a housekeeper has topped this list for nearly half a decade. The truth is families are messy, and moms help to get things clean (or at least keep the mess at bay). Dusting, vacuuming, mopping, and general clean-up sure isn’t sexy or glamorous, but that’s parenting in a nutshell.

Go to our Mom Salary Wizard to customize your mom's salary and print out a check.

So after all of this, how much would moms be paid if they were actually compensated in 2014?

Stay-at-home moms went from working 94 hours per week last year to 96.5 hours on household and childcare duties in 2014. If paid for their 40 hours plus 56.5 hours of overtime, stay-at-home moms would earn $118,905 – an increase of more than $5,000 from last year.

Working moms also saw an increase in time spent “on the job” as well as in their paycheck. From 58 hours a week in 2013 to 59.4 hours per week this year, working moms would take home a paycheck of $70,107 – up nearly $3,000 from last year. Also, when it comes to working moms, you have to remember to factor in the time they spend at their day jobs and how much they earn there to get their true mom salary.

To see and share our infographics for both stay-at-home and working mothers and see how much you or your mother is worth, click here.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there and thank you for all you do.