MaidProvider.ph · Human+ Market Analysis
The 2026 Kasambahay Salary Guide: Official Rates vs. Market Reality
Two numbers now govern almost every hiring conversation in Philippine households: the wage the law requires, and the wage an applicant will accept.
The answer in one line
As of July 2026, the legal kasambahay minimum in NCR is ₱7,800 per month, while MaidProvider.ph commonly observes applicant expectations for general household work beginning around ₱10,000 to ₱12,000.
The first figure is a statutory wage floor. The second is an internal MaidProvider.ph observation from our own interviews and placements — not a government rate and not a national average.
MaidProvider.ph salary guidance: Our recommendations evolve with applicant expectations, duties, location, and market conditions. View the current household-professional salary recommendation.
A wage order fixes the lowest lawful monthly wage a household may pay. The hiring market answers a different question altogether: what an applicant needs to earn before she will take the job and stay in it. That figure moves with experience, duties, location, working conditions, applicant supply, and the cost of supporting a family on a single salary.
Which is why our interviews open on a familiar figure for general household work:
“₱12,000 po.”The most common opening expectation in our interview room
That figure is not the legal minimum, and we do not present it as one. It is an observed hiring-market benchmark, shaped by living costs, family obligations, and competition for experienced household professionals — not a legal minimum, mandatory agency requirement, or fixed recommendation.
Section 01What changed in 2026
The NCR domestic-worker minimum rose by ₱800, from ₱7,000 to ₱7,800. The order moved through four dated steps, and the last one is the date households are measured against.
How Wage Order No. NCR-DW-06 took effect
Fifteen days from publication to enforceability.
The order covers general house helpers, yayas, cooks, gardeners, and laundry persons — stay-in or stay-out — and applies whether the household hired directly or through a licensed private employment agency.
Other major household-employment markets sit on different statutory floors:
| Region | Legal minimum | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| NCR — Metro Manila Wage Order No. NCR-DW-06 |
₱7,800 | 7 Feb 2026 |
| Central Visayas, including Cebu Wage Order No. ROVII-DW-05 |
₱7,000 | 4 Oct 2025 |
| CALABARZON Wage Order No. RB-IVA-DW-05 |
₱6,750 | 7 Mar 2025 |
| Davao Region Wage Order No. RB XI-DW-04 |
₱6,500 | 13 Mar 2026 |
Source: National Wages and Productivity Commission and the regional wage boards, verified 24 July 2026. Full texts are linked in Section 13. Each of these three regional orders raised two area classifications to a single regional rate, so one figure now covers chartered cities, first-class municipalities, and other municipalities alike.
These are statutory floors. They are not recommended salaries, and they are not a forecast that an applicant will accept an offer made at that level.
If you are still paying ₱7,000 in Metro Manila
The household may have an unpaid wage differential of ₱800 for each covered month. Confirm the applicable computation with RTWPB-NCR or DOLE, correct the rate promptly, document any settlement, and issue corrected payslips.
Section 02Where legal rates meet the hiring market
Our interviews and placement activity indicate that offers set at the legal minimum struggle to attract applicants who hold complete documentation, relevant household experience, medical clearance, background verification, role-specific skills — and several competing offers at the same time.
The gap is widest in Metro Manila, and it widens further as the role narrows.
What Metro Manila households offer, by role
MaidProvider.ph observed hiring ranges, shown against the ₱7,800 legal floor. Scale runs to ₱28,000.
MaidProvider.ph internal applicant and placement observations. These are not government-mandated rates, official statistics, or national averages. Expectations shift with experience, duties, household size, the number and ages of children, schedule, accommodation, and total workload.
Read the ranges as a probability. A figure inside the range means a wider pool of qualified applicants will consider the position. A figure below it does not make the offer unlawful — it makes the role slower to fill and, in our experience, harder to keep filled.
A lawful offer can still be commercially uncompetitive.
Section 03Why applicant expectations moved above the legal minimum
No single cause explains the move toward ₱10,000–₱12,000 for general household work. Applicants weigh a long list before answering a salary question:
- how much money they can send home each month;
- food and school expenses for their children;
- debts and family emergencies;
- the number of people in the employer’s household;
- whether the duties are clearly defined;
- whether the position includes childcare, elder care, or cooking;
- rest days and access to communication;
- previous salary and accumulated experience; and
- competing local or overseas opportunities.
A salary that leaves nothing for the worker’s own family is difficult to sustain, even when accommodation and meals are provided. That is the mechanism behind the gap: a wage order answers a compliance question, while the applicant is answering a household budget question. The two move for different reasons, on different schedules.
Section 04Are regional rates moving toward Manila?
Regional statutory minimums remain distinct. The applicant market, however, is far more connected than the wage system that governs it.
Workers compare salaries through Facebook groups, messaging applications, relatives, former employers, and agency interviews. Applicants in Cebu, CALABARZON, and Davao increasingly know what households in Metro Manila are offering — and quote accordingly.
Legal minimum against observed hiring range
Four urban markets, general household work. Statutory rates from the NWPC; ranges from MaidProvider.ph observations. Scale runs to ₱14,000.
Legal minimums: NWPC and the regional wage boards. Observed ranges: MaidProvider.ph interviews and placement activity — internal operational observations, not official regional wage schedules and not national averages.
Specialized nanny, cooking, caregiving, and household-management roles command materially higher salaries in every one of these markets.
The emerging pattern is not a uniform national wage. It is a gradual convergence of applicant expectations in major urban markets, running ahead of a wage system that adjusts region by region.
Section 05Stay-in and stay-out are different markets
A stay-in salary carries non-cash support that a stay-out worker must fund personally. Comparing the two salaries directly compares two different things.
Stay-in — employer provides
- Suitable accommodation
- Adequate meals
- Household utilities
- Reduced daily transport cost
- Assistance in case of illness or injury
Stay-out — worker funds
- Rent or bedspace
- Daily commuting
- Food
- Utilities and mobile data
- Additional travel time
- Emergency transportation
Board and lodging for live-in workers are employer obligations under the Batas Kasambahay, not discretionary perks. That is precisely why a stay-out applicant may request substantially more than the salary offered for a comparable stay-in position.
There is no universal formula, and no fixed multiple applies. The correct rate depends on location, travel distance, schedule, and duties.
Section 06Retention now extends beyond salary
Salary opens the conversation. It does not, on its own, produce a stable placement. Our interviews and post-placement cases surface the same conditions repeatedly.
Clear work boundaries
A position discussed as childcare should not quietly expand into childcare, cooking, cleaning, laundry, pet care, and elder care without a corresponding agreement. Role expansion is one of the most consistent reasons a placement ends early.
Proper food and accommodation
Meals and living arrangements are basic employment conditions under the law, not rewards for good performance.
Rest and predictable time off
Kasambahays are entitled to a weekly rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours. Predictability matters as much as the entitlement: a rest day that moves every week is difficult to plan a life around.
Connectivity
Access to Wi-Fi or a modest communication allowance helps workers stay connected to their children and families. We make no claim that connectivity produces a measurable improvement in retention, and we publish no figure for it. We do observe that communication access has become an expected part of the employment relationship.
Respectful treatment
Constant scolding, humiliation, threats, household conflict, and shifting expectations will end a placement even when the salary is competitive. This is the condition employers most often underestimate.
Fair pay. Clear duties. Proper rest. Adequate food. Respectful communication. Professional boundaries.Retention is the result of these working together
Section 07HMO and outpatient care as optional retention tools
An HMO or prepaid outpatient medical card is not a substitute for mandatory PhilHealth coverage. It can, however, be offered alongside it.
Some employers provide outpatient or prepaid health coverage so a household professional can seek treatment for common illnesses without delaying care. Reported advantages include faster access to consultations, more predictable household medical expenses, earlier treatment of minor illnesses, and a visible signal that the employer takes long-term welfare seriously.
MaidProvider.ph treats this as an optional retention tool. It is not a legal requirement, and it is not a guaranteed answer to turnover. Premiums vary by provider and plan, so obtain a current quotation rather than budgeting from a published estimate.
Section 08The overseas market still shapes local hiring
Experienced Filipino household professionals also consider employment in Hong Kong, Singapore, the Middle East, and other markets. Cash salaries abroad can be higher than domestic offers, though contracts, placement conditions, living arrangements, duties, and worker protections differ considerably by destination. We do not publish destination salary benchmarks here; verify any figure against the current official issuance for that destination and the applicable DMW guidance.
Philippine households are therefore not competing only with the household down the street. They are competing with overseas opportunities, other local industries, online work, small-business income, and employers offering clearer duties or better conditions at a similar wage.
For a highly experienced nanny, cook, or caregiver, staying in the Philippines has to make financial and personal sense.
Section 09What the salary does not include
The agreed monthly salary is not the household’s complete legal obligation. Under Republic Act No. 10361, a kasambahay who has rendered at least one month of service must be covered by SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG.
The law also provides for:
- 13th-month pay;
- a weekly rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours;
- five days of annual service incentive leave after at least one year of service;
- suitable board and lodging for live-in workers;
- access to communication;
- a written employment contract;
- payslips; and
- protection against wage withholding and abuse.
On contributions
We publish no flat monthly estimate for SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG, and no rule of thumb for how the shares are split. Contribution rates, salary brackets, and the allocation between household and worker are set by each agency and revised on their own schedules.
Compute your obligation from the latest official contribution schedules published by SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG, and confirm the current treatment for kasambahay with the agency directly.
Section 10Before you make an offer
A short discipline that prevents most of the failed hires we see:
- Confirm the current wage order for your region. Rates change on independent regional schedules, and a figure copied from an article is accurate only on the day it was written.
- Write the duties down before you name a salary. Childcare, cooking, laundry, pet care, and elder care are separate scopes. Price the role you are actually asking for.
- Decide stay-in or stay-out first. The two arrangements carry different cost structures for the worker and are not comparable at the same figure.
- Budget the full cost of employment. Add current SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG obligations, 13th-month pay, food, and utilities before deciding what you can sustain.
- Set the rest day and put it in the contract. At least 24 consecutive hours per week, on a predictable schedule.
- Issue a written contract and payslips from month one. Both are legal requirements, and both prevent the disputes that end placements.
- Revisit the salary annually. Wage orders move and so do market expectations. A rate that was competitive at hiring will not stay competitive by default.
Section 11Will today’s observed range continue?
Correction
An earlier edition anticipated that the ₱7,000 NCR minimum would remain unchanged through midyear 2026. Wage Order NCR-DW-06 took effect on February 7, 2026. That prediction was incorrect, and this edition has been updated.
Our current market view is deliberately more cautious. We make no forecast that today’s observed range will remain fixed, and no household should plan on any one figure as a permanent benchmark:
- the statutory NCR floor is now ₱7,800;
- applicant expectations for general household work currently sit materially above it;
- experienced and specialized workers continue to command premiums;
- regional wage orders can change independently; and
- hiring-market rates can move even in months when no legal minimum does.
What we can say is narrower: on today’s evidence, we see no sign of the distance between the legal minimum and competitive hiring rates closing quickly.
Section 12Methodology and limitations
This Human+ analysis draws on official NWPC and regional wage-board records; Republic Act No. 10361 and related DOLE guidance; MaidProvider.ph applicant interviews; placement and rematching activity; employer salary offers; applicant salary expectations; and post-placement observations from 2024 through July 2026.
The legal rates in this report were verified against the issuing wage boards on 24 July 2026.
The hiring ranges come from our own interview and placement activity. They are not government statistics, they are not independently audited national averages, and they are not a guarantee that a particular candidate will accept or remain at a stated salary. Salary expectations vary by household, applicant, and role.
Section 13Official sources and verification
Every statutory figure in this guide can be checked at source. Regional boards revise on independent schedules, so verify before you contract.
nwpc.dole.gov.ph/ncr
nwpc.dole.gov.ph/region-vii
nwpc.dole.gov.ph/region-iva
nwpc.dole.gov.ph/region-xi
officialgazette.gov.ph — Republic Act No. 10361
Final verdictCompliance is not competitiveness
- Legal minimum
- The lowest lawful wage, set by a regional wage order. It determines whether the household is compliant.
- Observed hiring-market range
- Our own interview and placement observation of where qualified applicants engage. It determines whether the household can hire.
- Retention package
- Salary, duties, rest, benefits, food, accommodation, communication, and treatment taken together. It determines whether the household keeps the person it hired.
A family can comply with the law and still struggle to hire. A family can pay a competitive salary and still lose a worker because the role changed or the relationship became unhealthy.
Professional work deserves professional terms.
The question in 2026 is no longer “what is the cheapest lawful salary?” It is: what compensation and working conditions will attract the right person — and give both sides a reason to stay?
Because the cheapest hire and the longest-lasting one are rarely the same hire.