High-paying domestic jobs in Texas are concentrated in the wealthy neighborhoods of Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth and Austin, where private households employ nannies, housekeepers, house managers, private chefs, estate staff and caregivers. The best of these roles pay $60,000–$120,000 a year with benefits, and experienced house managers and private chefs in River Oaks, Highland Park or West Lake Hills can earn more. Entry-level housekeeping and caregiving, by contrast, pays closer to $16–$22 an hour.
What the title does not say, and what you need to know first, is that almost none of these jobs can be filled by someone outside the United States who needs a work visa. Private households cannot sponsor H-1B visas, domestic work is not a specialty occupation, and the only green card route (EB-3 “other workers”) has a backlog measured in years. The realistic ways a foreign national ends up in a Texas household job are a J-1 au pair placement, a B-1 domestic employee visa tied to a foreign employer who is visiting, or already holding work authorization through a green card, an employment authorization document, or a dependant status that allows work.
What do domestic jobs in Texas pay?
Texas has no state minimum wage above the federal $7.25, but the market for skilled household staff pays far above that. The ranges below reflect 2026 advertisements from Texas placement agencies and national household-staffing surveys. Houston and Dallas generally pay slightly more than Austin for the same role; San Antonio pays less.
| Role | Typical pay in Houston / Dallas / Austin (2026) | What moves pay up |
|---|---|---|
| Nanny (full time, 1–2 children) | $22–$32 per hour ($45,000–$65,000) | Newborn care, teaching background, travel, live-in flexibility |
| Newborn care specialist / night nurse | $35–$50 per hour | Certification, twins, overnight shifts |
| Housekeeper (private home, full time) | $18–$28 per hour ($37,000–$58,000) | Laundry and fine fabric skills, large homes, discretion |
| Executive housekeeper / estate housekeeper | $55,000–$80,000 | Managing other staff, multiple properties |
| House manager / estate manager | $80,000–$150,000+ | Vendor management, budgets, multiple homes, hospitality experience |
| Private chef (full time) | $70,000–$130,000 | Culinary training, dietary specialisms, event cooking |
| Personal assistant / family assistant | $55,000–$90,000 | Scheduling, travel, errands, discretion |
| Caregiver / home health aide (agency) | $14–$20 per hour | CNA licence, dementia training, overnight shifts |
| Private caregiver (hired directly) | $20–$30 per hour | Nursing background, live-in, 24-hour coverage |
| Chauffeur / driver | $45,000–$75,000 | Security training, clean record, executive experience |
Live-in positions often add housing, utilities and a vehicle on top of a lower cash salary. Under federal law live-in domestic workers are entitled to at least minimum wage for all hours worked, and live-out domestic workers are entitled to overtime after 40 hours a week; Texas has no additional domestic worker bill of rights, so the federal Fair Labor Standards Act is the baseline.
Who hires, and how to find the real jobs
Most high-end positions are filled through household staffing agencies rather than public job boards. Houston, Dallas and Austin each have several long-established agencies specializing in nannies, estate staff and private chefs; they vet candidates with background checks, reference verification and often a practical trial, and the family pays the agency fee. Online platforms that connect families and caregivers directly are the main source for mid-market nanny and housekeeping jobs. Senior care is dominated by licensed home health and personal assistance agencies regulated by Texas Health and Human Services, which pay less but provide steady hours.
- Staffing agencies: register with two or three, provide a professional résumé, a portfolio (for chefs), three or more checkable references and consent to background and driving-record checks.
- Online care platforms: useful for families hiring directly; expect to negotiate pay and tax treatment yourself.
- Networking: referrals from other household staff, private schools, country clubs and churches fill many roles that are never advertised.
- Licensed home care agencies: the main route into caregiving; many will fund your certified nurse aide (CNA) training.
The visa reality for foreign domestic workers in Texas
This is the section to read twice. Private families in Texas are not sponsors in the sense that a hospital or software company is, and the immigration system offers very few ways for a foreign domestic worker to be hired from abroad.
J-1 au pair program
The only mainstream sponsored route for childcare. Au pairs aged 18–26 live with a host family for one year (extendable to two), provide up to 45 hours a week of childcare, receive a weekly stipend set by the State Department (currently a few hundred dollars, plus room, board and an education allowance), and come through designated sponsor organizations, not through the family directly. It is a cultural exchange, not a nanny salary; the pay is far below the figures in the table above.
B-1 domestic employee visa
A personal or domestic employee may accompany a foreign employer who is visiting the US temporarily, or a US citizen who normally lives abroad, under a B-1 visa with work authorization. The employer must have employed you abroad already, must pay the prevailing wage, and the arrangement ends when the employer leaves. It cannot be used by a Texas family to hire a nanny from overseas.
EB-3 “other workers” green card
In theory a Texas household could sponsor a housekeeper or nanny for permanent residence under EB-3 for unskilled workers, after a PERM labor certification proving no US worker is available. In practice this takes several years because of visa backlogs, costs the employer thousands in legal and recruitment fees that they must pay themselves, and very few families attempt it. Our guide to EB-3 visa sponsorship jobs explains the process and timelines honestly.
Who can legally take these jobs now
- Green card holders and US citizens.
- Holders of an Employment Authorization Document (asylum applicants and asylees, TPS holders, DACA recipients, pending adjustment applicants).
- Spouses with work authorization, for example H-4 spouses with an approved EAD, L-2 and E spouses.
- F-1 students only within OPT rules, which rarely fit domestic work.
Anyone advertising a Texas nanny or housekeeping job “with visa sponsorship” for an applicant abroad is almost certainly offering something that does not exist. For an overview of who may work in the US and how, see immigrant jobs in the USA.
How to get a high-paying domestic job in Texas: step by step
- Confirm your work authorization. Agencies and careful families will ask for documents to complete Form I-9 on day one.
- Get the certifications that raise pay. CPR and first aid for nannies; CNA licence through the Texas Health and Human Services nurse aide registry for caregivers; ServSafe and a culinary résumé for chefs; a clean Texas driver record for chauffeurs and family assistants.
- Build a household-specific résumé. List homes worked in by size and staff count, children’s ages, cuisines, languages, and the duties you handled, with references from each family.
- Register with reputable agencies in the city you are targeting and complete their background screening.
- Negotiate a written work agreement covering hourly rate or salary, overtime, guaranteed hours, paid time off, health insurance contribution, duties and notice period. Professional families expect this.
- Insist on legal payroll. Being paid “under the table” costs you Social Security credits, unemployment protection and a verifiable income history for renting or borrowing.
Household employer rules you should understand
Families who pay a domestic worker more than the annual threshold set by the IRS (a few thousand dollars, adjusted yearly) must withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, pay federal unemployment tax, and provide a W-2. In Texas they must also register with the Texas Workforce Commission for state unemployment insurance. Workers classified as independent contractors are almost always misclassified; a nanny or housekeeper working set hours in one home is an employee. Legal payroll matters to you because it creates the income record that lenders, landlords and eventually immigration applications ask for.
Money, insurance and benefits to negotiate
Private households are not required to provide health insurance, but top-tier families often contribute toward a plan or pay a stipend. If you buy your own, the ACA marketplace at HealthCare.gov offers income-based subsidies, with open enrollment running 1 November to 15 January in most states; check current subsidy rules, which have changed since 2025. Ask for paid vacation (two weeks is standard), paid sick days, mileage reimbursement if you drive your own car, and a guaranteed-hours clause so a family’s travel does not cut your income. A steady W-2 income lets you build US credit through a secured card and later qualify for a car loan or an FHA mortgage with as little as 3.5% down. Live-out staff on tighter budgets can keep housing costs down with shared arrangements; see affordable co-living spaces in the USA for immigrants. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
What legitimate employers never ask for
False household job offers are common: “nanny needed in Dallas, $5,000 a month, visa provided, send $300 for processing” is a template seen for years. Real families never ask a candidate for money, agencies charge the family rather than the worker, and no private household can promise a visa. Never accept a check to “buy supplies” and wire back the difference, never share passport scans with an unverified contact, and verify any agency through its physical office and state business registration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Texas family sponsor a nanny from overseas?
Only through the J-1 au pair program, which is a cultural exchange with a modest stipend, or in rare cases through a multi-year EB-3 green card petition. There is no temporary work visa that lets a US family hire a nanny or housekeeper directly from abroad.
Do domestic workers in Texas get overtime?
Live-out domestic workers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act get time and a half after 40 hours in a week. Live-in workers must receive at least minimum wage for all hours but are exempt from federal overtime. Many professional families pay overtime regardless as a matter of competitive practice.
Which city pays the most for household staff?
Houston and Dallas tend to have the largest number of high-net-worth households and the highest house manager and private chef salaries. Austin pays well for nannies and family assistants but has fewer estate-level positions.
Is caregiving a route to a visa?
Not in Texas for home-based care. Registered nurses have a dedicated green card pathway (Schedule A), but home health aides and personal care attendants do not, and agencies in this sector hire only workers who already have authorization.
Can I work as a housekeeper on a tourist visa?
No. Working on a B-2 visitor visa or under the Visa Waiver Program is unlawful, can lead to removal and a long bar on re-entry, and leaves you with no wage protection.
Bottom line
High-paying domestic jobs in Texas are real: experienced nannies, executive housekeepers, house managers and private chefs in Houston, Dallas and Austin earn $50,000 to well over $100,000 with benefits, through specialist agencies and private referrals. What is not real is sponsorship for these roles from abroad. If you already hold work authorization, Texas is one of the strongest household-staffing markets in the country; if you do not, the honest routes are a J-1 au pair year, a different visa category, or a profession that the US immigration system actually sponsors.