Rachel Griffin Accurso, famously known as Ms Rachel, is a social media personality, YouTuber, songwriter, and educator. She earned her fame with her YouTube series Songs for Littles, which is focused on language development for infants and toddlers.
As of 2024, Ms. Rachel’s net worth is estimated at $32 million.
When she decided to swap her chalk and blackboard for a career on YouTube, the former teacher didn’t know she’d achieve such incredible success. Wearing denim overalls, a headband, and a pink shirt on her popular children’s YouTube channel, Ms Rache made a new career for herself in only a few years.
In addition to YouTube, Accurso has widened her reach on diverse social media platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. She also sells merchandise and has dabbled in other projects, all of which we’ll discuss below.
Ms Rachel’s Net Worth Breakdown:
Ms Rachel’s net worth has been estimated at $10 million by many sources. However, based on the data we’ve uncovered about her earnings through the years, more specifically since she started posting on YouTube in 2019, we believe that her net worth is significantly higher.
If Ms Rachel has been earning $8 million to $18 million a year since 2019, this means that she’d be worth $40 million to $90.5 million at this point. We have to subtract the taxes from these numbers, of course. If we calculate a 37% tax based on her earnings, she is left with roughly $32 million.
| Asset or Income Source | Contribution to Net Worth |
| Annual income | $8-18.1 million |
| Live performances | $50,000 per show |
| TikTok Creator fund earnings | $60,000-$120,000 |
| Sponsored content | $5,000-$20,000 per post |
| Total Net Worth | $32 million |
Ms Rachel Net Worth: Early Life and Education
Rachel Griffin was born on November 30, 1982, in Biddeford, Maine. Her family relocated to Sanford, where she spent most of her childhood.
In Sanford, Accurso attended Sanford High School, where she took part in theater club. She subsequently earned her degree from the University of Southern Maine, followed by her Master’s degree in music education from New York University.
After graduation in 2016, Accurso began working as a music teacher at a public preschool in New York City. In 2023, she enrolled at Bank Street College of Education to pursue a second master’s degree.
Personal Life
Ms Rachel has been married to composer Aron Accurso since July 2016. Two years after their wedding, they welcomed their son Thomas, who actually inspired the YouTube channel that made Ms Rachel wealthy and famous.
“When we got married we also vowed to support each other’s dreams and Aron has gone so above and beyond with this. I remember dating him and realizing being around him made me a better version of myself as well. He lifted me up. Also has helped me through two master’s degrees in education now!” shared Rachel in her Instagram tribute to her husband.
Aron is a composer who currently works as an associate music director and conductor for Aladdin on Broadway. He’s also Ms Rachel’s partner in their YouTube business, writing and arranging skits and music for her channel.
In her speech to the graduating class at Steinhardt School, Rachel Griffin Accurso explained the pressure she felt when she launched Songs for Littles, sharing that she suffers from imposter syndrome.
However, this hasn’t stopped her from pursuing her dream. In 2023, she spoke about her work in an interview with The New York Times, saying:
I love being able to help make people’s days. I’ve found my calling.
Ms Rachel Net Worth: The Teacher Who Quit Work to Make Educational Videos on YouTube
Miss Rachel has an impressive story. She’s made millions of dollars, just by singing songs like Wheels on the Bus and entertaining children on various social media platforms. It all started with her son, Thomas, whose speech delay prompted the worried mother to make content to help him.
Several years later, Miss Rachel started helping other small children work on their language development, as well as entertaining young learners online. Let’s see how she became one of the most popular faces in online children’s education.
YouTube Beginnings
Accurso embarked on her YouTube career in 2019 when her son Thomas developed a speech delay as a toddler. She created her YouTube channel with the help of her husband Aron Accurso in response to the lack of resources for their son.
Subsequently, Ms. Rachel created Songs for Littles, a children’s music series on YouTube made up of a combination of nursery rhymes, music for toddlers and infants, and other classic children’s songs. Songs for Littles features Accurso as the star, wearing her signature pink shirt with a headband and overalls. She’s had many guests on the series, as well as crew members, including her husband Aron, as well as:
- Actress/teacher Keisha Gilles
- Speech therapist Frida Matute
- Diversity/inclusion consultant Alexa Smith
- Animator and editor Beth Jean
- Actress Natalie Kaye Clater
- Singer-songwriter Jules Hoffman
Ms Rachel Turns Her Teaching Channel into a Multimillion Business
In the beginning, the music series Songs for Littles started as in-person classes led by Ms Rachel. She was inspired by the techniques used by her son’s childhood intervention speech therapist.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the channel started growing at a whirlwind pace. As of 2024, it has over 12.3 million subscribers, with its top-viewed videos being:
- Baby Learning with Ms Rachel – First Words, Songs, and Nursery Rhymes for Babies – Toddler Videos – one billion views
- Baby Learning with Ms Rachel – Baby Songs, Speech, Sign Language for Babies – Baby Videos – 567 million views
- Wheels on the Bus + More Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs – Educational Videos for Kids & Toddlers – 389 million views
- Learn Animals with Ms Rachel for Toddlers – Animal Sounds, Farm Animals, Nursery Rhymes, and Kids Songs – 371 million views
- Learn to Talk with Ms Rachel – Videos for Toddlers – 253 million views
While most of the videos on the Ms Rachel YouTube channel feature the educator alone, her husband also appears in several of them. For instance, Rachel’s husband plays the role of puppet Herbie on the channel. He mostly does the behind-the-scenes work, though.
TikTok Channel and Controversies
Following up on her fame and success on YouTube, Accurso decided to start posting on TikTok to expand her reach. Her TikTok account @msrachelforlittles now has 5.4 million followers.
However, her career hasn’t been without setbacks. When Accurso achieved popularity on TikTok and had over 2.5 million followers at the beginning of 2023, she decided to take a break from posting content, citing her mental health. Many of her fans assumed that this was in response to backlash from parents against Jules Hoffman, a co-star in Accurso’s videos. The parents were responding negatively to Hoffman using they/them pronouns in the videos.
@jackie.fitlikeagirl #stitch with @Traditional mother We love @julessingsforlittles in our house and think they are the best! #spreadlovenothate #julessongsforlittles #msrachelsongforlittes #momsoftoddlers #millenialmom
Accurso’s break from TikTok and YouTube didn’t last long, though – she returned to the channel only a few weeks later. She and Songs for Littles were signed to Creative Artists Agency that same year, so she kept posting content as part of her deal, the financial details of which remain undisclosed.
A few months later, in September 2023, Ms Rachel responded to internet trolls’ comments about her weight:
“Finishing my second masters in education while someone comments I’ve gained weight and should lose weight and try to be prettier if I’m going to have a show teaching toddlers,” she captioned an Instagram video.
View this post on Instagram
In May 2024, Accurso announced a fundraising campaign on her Instagram and TikTok accounts, offering to make videos on Cameo with the revenue going to Save the Children. She raised over $50,000 in only a few hours and paused the campaign soon after to record the requested videos. Even though she did this for a good cause, Ms. Rachel shared that she was bullied online for the matter, clarifying that she cares deeply for all children.
“That is who I am. I love my neighbor, I love every child. Imagining for one second what a mom is going through unable to feed her child, or give her child clean water, or keep her child safe,” she said.
More recently, in June 2024, Accurso received backlash as well as a boycott campaign, from conservatives after she wished her viewers a happy Pride Month in a TikTok video.
“Happy pride to all of our wonderful families and friends! This month and every month, I celebrate you. ‘I’m so glad you’re here. I’m so glad you’re exactly who you are,” she said in her clip.
@msrachelforlittles Happy pride! #pridemonth #pride
This video was subsequently shared by Daily Wire host and far-right influencer Matt Walsh who urged parents to stop following Ms Rachel.
“Ms Rachel is an extremely popular YouTuber who makes content for babies and toddlers,” he wrote. “She just posted a video celebrating Pride Month. This is a message to conservative parents. She doesn’t want your business. You should respond accordingly.”
Ms Rachel’s Earnings from Social Media
Ms. Rachels’ fame has grown at an impressive pace since she started posting on YouTube in 2019. She now stands in the ranks of major children entertainers such as Blippi, though this competitor has had a five-year head start and is therefore significantly richer. Despite being competitors, the two collaborated in 2023 together with Meekah and filmed two episodes at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan.
It should come as no surprise that Ms Rachel’s main source of income is her YouTube channel, followed by her other successful social media channels. Her YouTube channel Ms Rachel generates $8 million a year from ad revenue and merchandise sales.
Her live performances alone earn her up to $50,000 per show.
However, other sources give different numbers. The Daily Mail, for instance, has reported her yearly earnings at $15.7 million a year since she launched her channel in 2019. Meanwhile, SocialBlade puts her yearly earnings from YouTube at between $1.1 million and $18.1 million a year.
YouTube typically pays content creators $2 – $5 per 1,000 views. Based on Ms Rachel’s view count, she can earn up to $50,000 per episode in ad revenue alone, so the annual income estimates look about right. If we add her merchandise sales and brand deals to this, she’s likely earning millions from YouTube every year.
While TikTok isn’t her primary platform, Miss Rachel has a major presence there, which means that she likely earns millions through it, as well. Based on her TikTok following, Ms. Rachel is a mega-influencer, which means that she most likely earns $5,000 to well over $20,000 per post.
TikTok also pays creators from its Creator Fund based on views. It pays $0.02 – $0.04 per 1,000 views. Ms. Rachel’s videos have collectively garnered over 2 billion views to date. This means she’s earned between $60,000 and $120,000 from the Creator Fund alone.
Other Income Sources of Ms Rachel
Ms Rachel’s financial success mostly stems from her YouTube career, as well as her TikTok and Instagram presence. However, this is not all that contributes to her net worth these days.
Merchandise
On August 21, 2024, Rachel Griffin Accurso announced that she was launching a merchandise line. Inspired by her genuine love for children, as well as by her personal brand, she created a line that benefits children.
The Ms Rachel speak-and-sing doll product features 20+ of her most famous songs and phrases. They started selling in September 2024, though the details of her earnings from these are not publicly disclosed.
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Endorsement Deals
One of the biggest income sources on Ms Rachel’s YouTube and Twitter accounts is endorsement deals. So far, the famous entertainer and educator has worked with well-known brands like Gerber, Sprout Food, Huggies, Target, Amazon, Little Passports, and more.
Publishing
In addition to her brand deals, Ms Rachel has also ventured into publishing with her collaboration with Penguin Random House. Her deal includes a children’s book series, starting with Ms Rachel and the Special Surprise!
Assets
Details about Ms. Rachel’s expenditures and assets like real estate are limited. While reports mention her financial growth, she and her family live a very private life so we couldn’t find anything specific about her assets.
What Can We Learn from Ms Rachel’s Story?
Ms Rachel’s journey to becoming a beloved figure in children’s education offers valuable insights to those pursuing a mission-driven career. Her success stems from her unique approach to teaching. She identified a gap in early childhood education and tailored her content to address it.
By using clear enunciation, repetition, and a set of engaging methods, Ms Rachel created a learning environment that has helped many and made her rich and famous in the process.
Central to Ms Rachel’s appeal is her use of original music, engaging young audiences while facilitating learning. Her songs show how creativity can make education fun and impactful. Through her collaboration with her husband on these details, Ms Rachel has taught us that leveraging your unique talents and collaborating with others can set you apart.
Ms Rachel has been vocal about the importance of self-care, especially for parents and educators. Her honesty about her struggles with mental health has made her relatable and authentic. This highlights the value of self-awareness.
Lastly, Ms. Rachel’s work is driven by her desire to make a difference in the world, particularly for children and families. Her story teaches us the value of purpose-driven work and how focusing on making a positive impact can lead to meaningful, long-lasting success.