Caregiver guides · Family caregiving
How Much Does a Professional In-Home Caregiver Cost in 2026?
The national median for a non-medical in-home caregiver is about $35 an hour in 2026. Here is a plug-in monthly estimator, real numbers by state, and a plain walk-through of what Medicare, Medicaid, and VA benefits will and will not cover.
Last verified · 9 min read
Caring Village may earn a commission from the Care.com partner link in this article, at no extra cost to you. Cost figures reflect 2025 CareScout Cost of Care data and were verified in July 2026.
If you are pricing in-home care for a parent or spouse right now, you want one number you can trust and a way to turn it into a monthly budget.
Here it is: the national median for a non-medical in-home caregiver is $35 an hour, measured across 2025 by CareScout’s Cost of Care Survey. Most families land in the $30 to $45 per hour range depending on the state and the kind of help needed.
This guide gives you that snapshot up front, a plug-in estimator to convert any hourly quote into a monthly figure, real state numbers, and a plain walk-through of what Medicare, Medicaid, and VA benefits will and will not cover.
No fear, and no fine print you have to decode alone.
Good to know
This guide is general information, not medical, tax, financial, or legal advice. Coverage rules and eligibility for Medicare, Medicaid, VA benefits, and tax relief change and vary by state and situation.
Confirm the specifics with the program or a licensed professional before you decide.
The 2026 Cost Snapshot
What families are paying for non-medical in-home care as they plan for 2026, based on the latest national dataset.
- National median: $35 an hour. That is the 2025 median for a non-medical caregiver, up 3% from $34 in 2024 (CareScout / Genworth, March 2026).
- A near-full-time week runs about $6,670 a month. At 44 hours a week that is roughly $80,080 a year at the national median (CareScout 2025 median cost tables).
- Most families budget $30 to $45 an hour once state and shift factors are added in. Your local quote is what matters most.
- Skilled home health is billed differently. When a doctor orders skilled nursing or therapy and your loved one qualifies, Medicare can cover it at $0, a separate track from the hourly help below (Medicare.gov).
One useful change in the data: CareScout now reports homemaker and home health aide together as a single non-medical caregiver category, because the two prices have converged (CareScout).
So the old habit of hunting for a cheaper homemaker rate mostly no longer saves money.
The Home Care Cost Estimator
Quotes come in by the hour. Budgets are monthly. This is the fastest way to bridge the two, no calculator gymnastics required.
The 4.33 is just the average number of weeks in a month (52 weeks divided by 12), the same conversion A Place for Mom uses.
Use your own agency quote for the hourly rate. If you do not have one yet, start with the $35 national median and adjust once you make a few calls.
Three Worked Scenarios
Each uses the 2025 CareScout national median of $35 an hour as the input so you can see the shape of the cost. Swap in your local rate for a real number.
A few mornings for bathing, meals, and a little company.
Weekday daytime help so a working caregiver can keep their job.
Awake coverage every hour, usually split across multiple caregivers.
Treat the around-the-clock figure as a pure-math ceiling. Agencies price 24/7 and live-in care differently, so this is where quotes vary the most.
What’s Actually Included in the Rate
Before you compare two quotes, make sure they cover the same things. Ask each agency, in writing:
- Nights, weekends, and holidays. These often carry a higher hourly rate.
- Minimum shift length. Many agencies require a 2 to 4 hour minimum per visit.
- Two-person assist. If your loved one needs two aides for safe transfers, that can double the rate for those hours.
- Mileage and errands. Some rates include transportation, some bill it separately.
- Backup coverage. What happens when the regular aide is sick?
- Supervision and care notes. Is a nurse overseeing the plan, and will you get updates?
Private hire (hiring an aide directly) can look cheaper per hour, but you take on payroll taxes, workers’ comp, backup coverage, and scheduling yourself.
Once you know the hours and the number, a written caregiving plan keeps everyone on the same page about who does what and when.
What Drives the Price Up or Down
Two families in the same town can get very different quotes. These are the levers that move the number.
- Type of care. Companionship and light housekeeping sit at the low end. Physical help with bathing, transfers, and toileting costs more.
- Dementia and behavioral support. Wandering, sundowning, and agitation call for trained aides and often raise the rate.
- Time of day. Evenings, overnights, weekends, and holidays typically add a premium.
- Two-person assist. Safe transfers for a heavier or less mobile adult can require two aides.
- Minimum shifts. A 2 to 4 hour minimum means a one-hour need can still cost you several hours.
- Where you live. State and metro differences are large, which is the next section.
Live-In vs 24/7 Care and How the Math Works
When one person needs help at all hours, families weigh two models, and they are not priced the same.
Live-in care means a caregiver stays in the home and is generally paid for a set daily block with built-in sleep and rest periods. It suits a loved one who is mostly stable overnight but needs someone present.
24/7 awake care means someone is alert and on duty every hour, usually two or three caregivers rotating across the day. This is the model for a loved one who wakes often, wanders, or needs repositioning through the night.
To estimate 24/7 from an hourly rate, run the full 168-hour week through the formula: 168 × $35 × 4.33 lands near $25,500 a month at the national median.
That is a math estimate, not a quote. Live-in day rates and agency 24/7 pricing frequently come in lower, so get real numbers before you panic.
When around-the-clock home care starts rivaling the cost of assisted living or memory care, that is the moment many families compare options side by side.
How Much Home Care Costs in Your State
State differences are the single biggest reason a national median can feel wrong for your family.
The figures below are the 2025 CareScout hourly medians, calculated from the survey’s annual tables (44 hours per week across 52 weeks), with rates collected July through November 2025 (CareScout state cost tables, PDF).
| State | Median Hourly | Roughly Per Month (44 hrs/wk) |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | $30 | $5,720 |
| Florida | $32 | $6,101 |
| Pennsylvania | $34 | $6,483 |
| New York | $35 | $6,673 |
| Illinois | $36 | $6,864 |
| California | $40 | $7,627 |
| Massachusetts | $40 | $7,627 |
| Minnesota | $44 | $8,389 |
| Washington | $45 | $8,580 |
Nationally the spread runs from about $24 an hour in the lowest-cost states such as Mississippi to the mid-$40s in the Pacific Northwest and upper Midwest.
For your exact state, the full 50-state table lives in the CareScout 2025 median cost data (PDF). Prices rose modestly in 2025, so treat these as a floor rather than a bargain to hold out for.
What Medicare and Medicaid Actually Cover
This is where the most expensive misunderstandings happen, so here is the plain version. The hourly help this guide has been pricing is one thing; skilled care ordered by a doctor is another, and they are covered very differently.
Non-Medical Home Care
Bathing, meals, companionship, and supervision. The day-to-day help most families are searching for.
Skilled Home Health
Nursing or therapy ordered by a doctor for a homebound patient who qualifies.
What Medicare covers. For eligible patients, Medicare pays $0 for covered home health services when a doctor certifies the need and the person is homebound (Medicare.gov).
A home health aide is covered only if your loved one is also receiving skilled care like nursing or physical therapy at the same time. Custodial or personal care by itself, the day-to-day help most families are searching for, is generally not covered by Medicare.
What Medicaid can cover. Medicaid is the largest payer of long-term care, and its Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers can fund personal care at home for those who qualify. Programs, benefits, and waitlists vary a lot by state (Medicaid.gov).
So for most non-medical, ongoing home care, plan on private pay or one of the pathways below, not Medicare.
General information only
Medicare, Medicaid, and VA coverage rules and eligibility change and vary by state and situation. This is not medical, tax, financial, or legal advice. Confirm your specifics with the program or a licensed professional before you decide.
Keep Every Receipt and Benefit Letter in One Place
Keep policies, receipts, benefit letters, and insurance cards in one secure family folder, ready for claims, applications, or tax time.
- Secure folders for financial and insurance records
- Share one document with the whole care team at once
- Paperwork sits beside the calendar and care plan
Ways to Pay Without Draining Retirement
A $35 hourly rate is easier to face when you know the funding sources. A few worth checking:
- VA benefits for veterans. The Aid & Attendance pension can add funds for a veteran or surviving spouse who needs help with daily activities (VA.gov), and the VA’s Homemaker and Home Health Aide program is part of its long-term care services.
- Long-term care insurance. If your loved one holds a policy, read it closely. Many cover in-home care but require a waiting period and proof of need for help with daily activities.
- Tax relief. Families may be able to use the Child and Dependent Care Credit for a qualifying adult dependent or itemize qualifying medical expenses. The IRS spells out the rules in Publication 502 and the Form 2441 instructions. Confirm your eligibility with a tax professional.
- Free planning tools. Caring Village’s caregiver checklists help you gather the benefit letters, policies, and documents these programs ask for.
Getting Quotes and Building the Schedule
You do not need a perfect plan to start. You need three quotes and a schedule you can actually run. Call three agencies and ask each the same short list:
- Hourly rate, plus night, weekend, and holiday rates.
- Minimum shift length.
- Two-person assist policy and cost.
- Backup coverage when an aide is out.
- Who supervises the care and how you get updates.
- Whether they carry insurance and run background checks.
If you want a walk-through of vetting and hiring, the guide on how to hire a nurse for home care covers the questions that separate a good agency from a cheap one.
Prefer to search directly? Caring Village partners with Care.com so you can find screened caregivers near you. Caring Village may earn a commission from this partner link, at no extra cost to you.
Once the hours and budget are set, the hard part is coordination: who covers Tuesday, when meds change, where the insurance card lives.
That is exactly what Caring Village is built for. The Caring Village FAQ explains how privacy and role-based access keep your family’s information secure.
Turn the Hours You Pay For Into a Shared Plan
Turn paid care hours into a shared schedule so family and aides can see every shift, handoff, and update without another group text.
- One care plan the whole family can open
- Assign shifts to family or paid caregivers
- Updates reach everyone the moment they change
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is in-home care per hour in 2026?
The national median for a non-medical in-home caregiver is $35 an hour, based on 2025 data from CareScout’s Cost of Care Survey, up 3% from $34 the year before. Most families see $30 to $45 an hour depending on state and needs.
How much does 24/7 in-home care cost?
Using the $35 national median across a full 168-hour week (168 times $35 times 4.33), the math estimate is about $25,500 a month. Agencies price live-in and 24/7 care differently, so treat that as a ceiling and get quotes for your area.
Does Medicare cover in-home caregivers?
Generally no for non-medical, custodial help. Medicare pays $0 for covered home health when a doctor orders skilled care and the person is homebound, and a home health aide is covered only alongside skilled care. Day-to-day personal care on its own is usually private pay.
What’s the difference between home care and home health care?
Home care is non-medical help: bathing, meals, companionship, supervision. Home health is skilled nursing or therapy ordered by a doctor. Home care is mostly private pay; home health can be Medicare-covered when the person qualifies.
How do I estimate my monthly cost quickly?
Multiply the hourly rate by hours per week by 4.33. At $35 an hour and 44 hours a week, that is about $6,670 a month. Swap in your local quote for a number you can budget against.
Turn Care Hours Into a Plan Everyone Can Follow
Caring Village helps families coordinate paid and unpaid care through one shared schedule, care plan, document library, and update feed.
Create Your Village
- Paid and family care on one schedule
- Documents and medications together
- Clear handoffs between caregivers
“I'm just blown away. I love the app! It has allowed me to document my son's journey from a near fatal accident. It is so user friendly and has so many useful features.”
App Store reviewer
Sources and verification
- CareScout (Genworth). 2025 Cost of Care Survey, national and state medians for the non-medical caregiver category, carescout.com/cost-of-care. Verified July 2026.
- CareScout / Genworth. 2025 Cost of Care Survey results, 3% year-over-year increase to a $35 national median, press release dated March 2, 2026. Verified July 2026.
- CareScout. 2025 Median Cost Data Tables (PDF), state annual and monthly medians at 44 hours a week across 52 weeks, rates collected July to November 2025. Verified July 2026.
- Medicare.gov. Home health services coverage, the $0 covered benefit, the homebound and skilled-care conditions, and the custodial-care exclusion. Verified July 2026.
- Medicaid.gov. Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers for personal care at home, which vary by state. Verified July 2026.
- VA.gov. Aid & Attendance pension and the VA Homemaker and Home Health Aide long-term care program. Verified July 2026.
- IRS. Publication 502 (medical and dental expenses) and the Form 2441 instructions (Child and Dependent Care Credit). Verified July 2026.
- A Place for Mom. In-home care cost methodology, the 4.33 weeks-per-month monthly conversion. Verified July 2026.
Cost figures reflect 2025 CareScout data and were verified in July 2026. Coverage rules and eligibility for Medicare, Medicaid, VA benefits, and tax relief change over time and vary by state and situation.
