# 19 Jobs for Teens (2026): Pay and Age Rules for Each > 19 good jobs for teens with 2026 pay data, plus the federal rules most lists skip: which tasks are off-limits at 14 and 15, the $4.25 youth wage, and taxes. Canonical: https://hiredfolio.com/blog/jobs-for-teens Published 2026-10-25 ยท 10 min Keywords: jobs for teens, jobs for 14 year olds, jobs for 15 year olds, jobs for 16 year olds, high paying jobs for teens, first job for teens, summer jobs for teens Most lists of jobs for teens look alike. Babysitter, dog walker, lifeguard, landscaper, grocery bagger, each with an hourly rate next to it. What they leave out is the part that decides whether you can take the job at all: your age, and what federal law allows someone that age to do. A 14-year-old can mow lawns for neighbors but cannot run a power mower for a landscaping company. A 16-year-old can work the deli counter at a supermarket but cannot touch the meat slicer. A 15-year-old can be a lifeguard; a 14-year-old cannot. We went through the federal child labor regulations (29 CFR Part 570) and checked each job on the usual lists against them. Below is the result, the pay for each job, and what to know about your first paycheck. ## 19 jobs for teens and the age rules for each The table gives the youngest age at which federal law allows the job for an employer, the task limits that apply, and the national median hourly wage from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That median covers workers of every age, so a teen usually starts below it. | Job | Youngest age (federal) | What the rules limit | Median pay, all ages | | ---------------------------- | ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- | | Babysitter | Any age (casual) | Casual babysitting is outside the federal rules | $16.82/h | | Dog walker or pet sitter | Any age (self-run) | None when you work for yourself; see the tax section | $17.00/h | | Tutor | 14 | Tutoring is on the list of jobs allowed at 14 | $20.84/h | | Online tutor | 14 | Same as tutoring | $20.84/h | | Lawn care or landscaping | 14 (hand tools) | No power mowers, trimmers, weed-eaters or edgers before 16 | $18.82/h | | Fast food crew | 14 | At 14 and 15, grills without open flame and auto-lift fryers only | $15.00/h | | Restaurant host | 14 | Front of house work is allowed | $15.00/h | | Server | 14 | Serving is allowed; state alcohol laws add their own limits | $16.94/h | | Dishwasher | 14 | Dishwashers are on the list of machines allowed at 14 | $16.73/h | | Grocery cashier or bagger | 14 | No meat slicer before 18; no freezer work at 14 and 15 | $15.81/h | | Shelf stocker | 14 | No ladders and no unloading trucks at 14 and 15 | $17.95/h | | Retail sales associate | 14 | Cashiering and selling are allowed | $17.03/h | | Movie theater worker | 14 | Ticket and concession sales fall under cashiering and selling, both allowed | $15.82/h | | Ice cream shop worker | 14 | Milkshake blenders are allowed; baking is not at 14 and 15 | Not published | | Bakery counter | 14 | No baking at 14 and 15; no commercial dough mixers before 18 | Not published | | Lifeguard | 15 | 15 with Red Cross or similar certification; never at 14 | $16.14/h | | Car wash attendant | 14 | Hand washing is allowed at 14; no pits, racks or lifts | $17.23/h | | Library or office assistant | 14 | Office and clerical work is allowed | $17.74/h | | Freelance designer or editor | Any age (self-run) | None when you work for yourself; see the tax section | Varies | Pay is the BLS median hourly wage from the [Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm). Lifeguard pay is the BLS category that also includes ski patrol, movie theater pay is ushers and ticket takers, and car wash pay is cleaners of vehicles. Library and office assistant uses the library assistant figure. Where BLS publishes no figure for the exact job, the cell says so. ### The rules behind the table Three federal rules do most of the work, and they are short enough to quote. At 14 and 15, the list of banned machinery is precise. The regulation bars "operating, tending, setting up, adjusting, cleaning, oiling, or repairing any power-driven machinery, including but not limited to lawn mowers, golf carts, all-terrain vehicles, trimmers, cutters, weed-eaters, edgers, food slicers, food grinders, food choppers, food processors, food cutters, and food mixers" ([29 CFR 570.33(e)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-570/subpart-C/section-570.33)). The same section bans "all baking and cooking activities" except what 570.34(c) allows: "electric or gas grills which does not involve cooking over an open flame" and deep fryers "equipped with and utilize a device which automatically lowers the baskets into the hot oil" ([29 CFR 570.34](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-570/subpart-C/section-570.34)). Ladders and loading or unloading trucks are off the list too. Lifeguarding has its own paragraph. It allows "15-year-olds (but not 14-year-olds)" to work at pools and water parks once "trained and certified by the American Red Cross, or a similar certifying organization" ([29 CFR 570.34(l)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-570/subpart-C/section-570.34)). At 16 and 17, the limits shrink to the Hazardous Occupations Orders. Two of them reach into jobs teens actually apply for. Order 10 bans meat slicers for anyone under 18, and names "the slicing in a retail delicatessen of meat, poultry, seafood, bread, vegetables, or cheese" as an example ([29 CFR 570.61](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-570/subpart-E/section-570.61)). Order 11 bans commercial dough mixers and bread slicers, with an exception for small household-style mixers ([29 CFR 570.62](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-570/subpart-E/section-570.62)). Driving on public roads is banned under Order 2, with narrow exceptions at 17. None of this makes those jobs a bad idea. It tells you what to ask in the interview. "Would I be on the slicer?" is a fair question at a deli, and a good manager will have the answer ready. ## Which teen jobs pay the most Sort the table by pay and tutoring comes out on top at a median of $20.84 an hour, ahead of landscaping at $18.82 and shelf stocking at $17.95. Library assistants, retail sales, pet care and servers all sit around $17. Fast food and host jobs sit at the bottom at $15.00. Two things change how to read those numbers. The first is that these are medians for adults too. A teen on a first job is paid the starting rate, which is lower. Federal law even allows a lower floor for a while. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, an employer may pay "a wage which is not less than $4.25 an hour" to an employee under 20 "during the first 90 consecutive calendar days" of the job ([29 U.S.C. 206(g)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/206)). The same section bars employers from cutting other workers' hours to make room for it, and many states set their own minimum wage well above the federal $7.25 ([DOL state minimum wage table](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state)). Ask what the starting rate is before you accept. The second is where the jobs are. In July 2026, 25% of employed 16 to 24 year olds worked in leisure and hospitality and another 18% in retail, according to the [BLS summer youth release](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/youth.nr0.htm). Those are the sectors with the most openings and the lowest medians. The better-paid jobs on the list, tutoring and landscaping, are the ones you can often run yourself, which brings in the tax rule below.

53.8%

up from 53.1% in July 2025

of 16 to 24 year olds in the US had a job in July 2026, the summer peak for youth employment.

Source: BLS, Employment and Unemployment Among Youth, Summer 2026

## How many hours you can work at 14 and 15 Federal law caps hours only for 14 and 15 year olds. From 16, the federal rules set no hour limit at all, though your state may. At 14 and 15, work has to fit these limits ([29 CFR 570.35](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-570/subpart-C/section-570.35)): - outside school hours only; - 3 hours on a school day, Fridays included, and 18 hours in a school week; - 8 hours on a day without school, and 40 hours in a week without school; - between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., extended to 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day. At a $15.00 rate, 18 hours comes to $270 for a school week. Plan your budget around that ceiling, not around a summer week of 40 hours. ## Work permits and state rules The federal rules do not require a work permit. Many states do, usually issued through your school. When state and federal law both apply, the Department of Labor is plain about which one wins: "the law with the stricter standard must be obeyed" ([DOL Fact Sheet #43](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/43-child-labor-non-agriculture)). So treat everything above as the floor and check your state labor department's page for youth employment before your first shift. The same fact sheet explains why babysitting and newspaper delivery show up on every list for kids under 14. Those jobs sit outside the federal rules: children under 14 may do work "such as completing minor chores around private homes or casual baby-sitting." ## Online jobs and working for yourself Online tutoring, proofreading, design work for local businesses and content creation all work as freelance jobs. No employer means no federal hour limits. Platforms do set their own minimum age, so read the terms before you build a profile on one. Working for yourself also changes your taxes. If your net earnings from self-employment reach $400 in a year, you owe self-employment tax and file Schedule SE ([IRS](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employment-tax-social-security-and-medicare-taxes)). That threshold catches a summer of dog walking or lawn care quickly. Keep a note of what you earn and what you spend on supplies. ## Taxes on your first paycheck Most teens with a regular job owe no federal income tax, but their employer may still withhold some. The 2026 standard deduction for someone who can be claimed as a dependent is the greater of $1,350 or "the sum of $450 and the individual's earned income", capped at the $16,100 standard deduction for single filers ([IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf)). In plain numbers, if wages are your only income and they stay under $16,100, the deduction covers all of it. If tax was withheld anyway, you only get it back by filing a return. A summer job that withheld $150 is $150 you leave with the IRS if you skip the filing. ## How to get hired as a teen The usual advice applies: tell people you are looking, walk into the places on the list above and ask for the manager, and apply online for the chains. Three things save time. - **Write a one-page resume even if it feels thin.** School clubs, sports, babysitting for neighbors and volunteer hours all count. Our guide to a [resume with no experience](/blog/resume-with-no-experience) includes a full example for a high school student looking for a first crew job. - **Use the boards that list hourly work.** The big boards each have a different set of listings, which we measured in our [comparison of job boards](/blog/best-job-boards). - **Keep track of where you applied.** Ten applications to restaurants and stores in one weekend blur together fast. A short list with the store, the date and the manager's name lets you follow up a week later. [HiredFolio tracks each application in one place](/home), with its status and the date to follow up.

Key takeaways before you apply

01

Check the job against your age: at 14 and 15, no power mowers, slicers, baking or ladders, and lifeguarding starts at 15.

02

Ask for the starting hourly rate before you accept, since the youth wage can be $4.25 for the first 90 days.

03

File a tax return after your first job if anything was withheld, and keep a record once self-employment passes $400.

Next step: write the one-page resume your first job asks for.

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