You Can't Put a Price on Mom But WE Can!

Of course there's no putting a value on the myriad responsibilities in a mom's day. Between all the listening, teaching, cleaning, cooking, driving, fixing, loving and lecturing she does on any given day, every mom is absolutely priceless.

That said, it is nice to know one's worth, and we're not talking in messy kisses, macaroni necklaces, dandelion bouquets or Popsicle stick frames. We're talking in cold, hard cash.

You might be surprised at what moms would be making if they received a paycheck every week.

At Salary.com, we help determine the value of a given job -- what employers will pay for your knowledge and skills. So who better to price the most important job of all -- the job of mom?

Like we've done for the past 10 years, we set out to calculate mom's earning power -- the cost to employers if they had to pay cash for all that moms do. This year, more than 28,000 moms told us their top 10 mom jobs and we priced the national base salary.

Customize your mom's salary at: mom.salary.com
You can even print her a check! 

In 2010, as you might expect, moms, like many others, report working more hours. In addition, the salaries for the jobs mom performs have dropped over the past year so she is "earning" less.

Here are the results of Salary.com's 10th annual Mother's Day survey, with each Mom Job ranked by percentage of its contribution to total "salary."

Customize your mom's salary at: mom.salary.com
You can even print her a check! 

You would think keeping their whites white, their brights bright and their pens, gum and cell phones out of the wash would be worth more than $9.76 an hour, but there you have it. Consider the occasional $1.37 you find in their pockets your bonus.

Annual Salary: $20,300
Hourly Pay: $9.76
Stay-at-Home Mom: 7.0 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 10, 3.9% of salary
Working Mom: 4.3 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 10, 3.6% of salary

Customize your mom's salary at: mom.salary.com
You can even print her a check! 

Whether it's mopping up after a sick child or retrieving a hairbrush that was almost successfully flushed down the toilet, here is one job that seems more thankless than most. For this task alone mom deserves a few dozen long stems.

Annual Salary: $19,800
Hourly Pay: $9.52
Stay-at-Home Mom: 7.9 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 9, 4.3% of salary
Working Mom: 4.8 hrs/wk,
Job Rank: 9, 3.9% of salary

Customize your mom's salary at: mom.salary.com
You can even print her a check! 

It almost seems like Referee pay should be included with this one, since much of the time spent driving includes mediating arguments between your pint-sized passengers. (And while we’re at it, how about Gas Station Attendant?)

Annual Salary: $30,400
Hourly Pay: $14.62
Stay-at-Home Mom: 8.2 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 8, 6.9% of salary
Working Mom: 5.7 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 6, 7% of salary

From keeping in touch with the kids' teachers to grocery shopping and paying bills online, suddenly moms can handle many of their tasks on the computer right from the comfort of their own home. Perhaps this explains why moms are driving about an hour less this year compared to 2009.

Annual Salary: $31,200
Hourly Pay: $15.00
Stay-at-Home Mom: 9.6 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 7, 8.2% of salary
Working Mom: 6.2 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 5, 7.9% of salary

Customize your mom's salary at: mom.salary.com
You can even print her a check! 

Once upon a time, this job, along with cooking, was probably the one most associated with moms. We’ve come a long way, baby! Or have we? Check out how much we value cleaning up spills, eliminating dust bunnies, killing germs, and making a home comfy cozy.

Annual Salary: $20,200
Hourly Pay: $9.71
Stay-at-Home Mom: 16.3 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 6, 9.1% of salary
Working Mom: 8.3 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 7, 6.8% of salary

Customize your mom's salary at: mom.salary.com
You can even print her a check! 

So, everyone knows teachers don't make nearly enough money considering they have one of the most important jobs in the world. Now, think about making no money -- AND having to work summers. Hmmm...perhaps a spa weekend would be more appropriate than an apple for this special teacher?

Annual Salary: $26,800
Hourly Pay: $12.88
Stay-at-Home Mom: 13.3 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 5, 9.8% of salary
Working Mom: 5.7 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 8, 6.2% of salary

Keeping track of the ever-changing rules of the USDA's Food Guide Pyramid requires a degree in nutrition these days. But somehow mothers manage to feed their kids balanced, healthy meals -- until they become grandmothers. ("It's okay dear, no one ever died from having cookies for breakfast.")

Annual Salary: $26,800
Hourly Pay: $12.88
Stay-at-Home Mom: 14 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 4, 10.3% of salary
Working Mom: 7.9 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 4, 8.6% of salary

In the past year, the economy has even affected CEOs. The average salary of a CEO in a small business is considerably less in 2010 than the $210,000 it was a year ago. So, Mom might not literally feel the cut in pay, but she definitely won't be getting a bailout either.

Annual Salary: $154,500
Hourly Pay: $ 49.52
Stay-at-Home Mom: 4.6 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 3, 13% of salary
Working Mom: 4.5 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 1, 18.9% of salary

Customize your mom's salary at: mom.salary.com
You can even print her a check! 

From listening to their dreams to building their self-esteem, mom’s psychology skills help raise well-balanced children. They also come in handy when dealing with Ashley’s habit of wearing a mask and snorkle on days it rains.

Annual Salary: $76,600
Hourly Pay: $36.83
Stay-at-Home Mom: 7.9 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 2, 16.7% of salary
Working Mom: 6 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 2, 18.7% of salary

Customize your mom's salary at: mom.salary.com
You can even print her a check! 

Definition from Salary.com: “Ensures optimal functioning of building systems … Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals… Leads and directs the work of others. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected.” Sure sounds like mom!

Annual Salary: $63,900
Hourly Pay: $30.72
Stay-at-Home Mom: 10.1 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 1, 17.8% of salary
Working Mom: 7.1 hrs/wk
Job Rank: 3, 18.5% of salary

Customize your mom's salary at: mom.salary.com
You can even print her a check! 

(And don't forget the overtime!)

Stay-at-Home Mom: 58.9 hours of overtime
Working Mom: 20.5 hours of overtime
With time and a half for overtime, if an employer had to pay cash for all that mom does:
Stay-at-Home Mom: $117,855.86
Working Mom: $71,860.37*
*This is on top of Working Mom’s regular salary, of course.

So, how many roses would you have to buy this Mother’s Day to pay mom for her Mom Jobs? According to our calculations…

Customize your mom's salary at: mom.salary.com
You can even print her a check! 

Your stay-at-home mom should expect 5,893 dozen roses this year, and working moms: Get ready to enjoy the aroma of 3,593 dozen long stem beauties. (Or you could print her that check...)

Not every mom's salary is the same. Depending on a variety of factors including location and number of children a mom might be worth even more!

Customize your mom's salary at: mom.salary.com
You can even print her a check!