In-home care costs $35 an hour — $1,517 a month at 10 hours a week, $7,583 at 50
Most care costs on this site are a monthly fee you either can or cannot afford. This one is a rate you multiply. That difference is why in-home care is the cheapest option for a family that needs 15 hours a week and the most expensive one for a family that needs 50.
Data: CareScout Cost of Care Survey — 2025 national medians
Data: CareScout Cost of Care Survey — 2025 national medians — fieldwork July–November 2025.
The cost at each weekly hours level
The survey annualizes in-home care at 44 hours per week over 52 weeks, which comes to $80,080 a year. Families rarely need exactly that number of hours, so here is the same rate spread across the range you are likely to be quoted.
| Hours per week | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| 10 hrs | $1,517 | $18,200 |
| 15 hrs | $2,275 | $27,300 |
| 20 hrs | $3,033 | $36,400 |
| 25 hrs | $3,792 | $45,500 |
| 30 hrs | $4,550 | $54,600 |
| 35 hrs | $5,308 | $63,700 |
| 40 hrs | $6,067 | $72,800 |
| 44 hrssurvey default | $6,673 | $80,080 |
| 50 hrs | $7,583 | $91,000 |
Every row is the same rate multiplied by a different number of hours — nothing here is a quote from a provider.
How the monthly figure is calculated
Hourly rate × hours per week × 52 weeks ÷ 12 months. At 44 hours a week that is $35 × 44 × 52 = $80,080 a year, or $6,673 a month. Two consequences follow from that formula, and both catch families out:
- A year of care is 52 weeks, not 48. Pricing four weeks a month understates the annual cost by about 8%. At 44 hours that is roughly $6,160 a year.
- Small changes in hours are not small changes in cost. Every extra hour a week adds $1,820 a year. Ten hours a week more is the difference between $18,200 and $36,400 a year.
Where hourly care stops being the cheap option
Compare this page with the assisted living median of $6,200 a month and the crossover sits at about 41 hours of in-home care a week. Below that, hourly care is the cheaper way to buy the same amount of help. Above it, you are paying more per month than a care community charges, and the money is buying hours rather than a place to live.
That comparison only counts money. It ignores what the two settings actually provide — a community covers nights, meals, and supervision continuously, while 41 hours of in-home care leaves 127 hours a week uncovered. Work out the hours your parent needs first, then run both settings through the calculator.
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What gets billed on top of the hourly rate
$35 an hour is the median price of the caregiving hour itself. Ask any provider to itemize these before you sign, because the survey does not publish medians for them:
- Minimum billed hours per visit — a two-hour visit billed as four changes the effective hourly rate.
- Weekend, evening, and holiday surcharges.
- Agency placement or administrative fees, which are typically charged once rather than per hour.
- Reassessments and care-plan changes if your parent needs more help later.
Compare an agency quote against hiring independently with care: an independent caregiver may charge less per hour, but you become the employer, which brings tax, insurance, and coverage questions this page cannot answer. A licensed advisor or elder-law attorney can.
Where this fits against the other four options
| Care type | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Medical Caregiver (In-Home)this page | $6,673 | $80,080 |
| Adult Day Health Care | $2,058 | $24,700 |
| Assisted Living Community | $6,200 | $74,400 |
| Nursing Home — Semi-Private Room | $9,581 | $114,975 |
| Nursing Home — Private Room | $10,798 | $129,575 |
What families actually buy — and how to choose it
These are the categories that come up again and again when people try to keep someone at home longer. Prices change constantly, so instead of quoting a number that will be wrong next month, here is what to check before you buy.
Bed rails & fall protection
Falls are the most common reason a family moves from home care to a facility — and the most expensive to recover from.
- Check the weight limit and whether it fits the mattress thickness you have
- Adjustable height beats fixed if the bed is not a hospital bed
- Look for a model that folds down, so it does not block getting out
Walkers & rollators
A rollator with a seat and brakes lets someone stay mobile — and keep the hours of paid care lower.
- Measure the handle height with the person standing; wrong height causes back pain
- Test the brakes: loop brakes are easier for arthritic hands than squeeze brakes
- Width matters if hallways or bathroom doors are narrow
Bathroom safety
Most falls happen in the bathroom. Grab bars and a shower chair are the cheapest intervention on this page.
- Grab bars must be screwed into studs — suction cups are not a fall-prevention device
- A shower chair with a back and arms is easier to stand up from
- Non-slip mat inside and outside the tub
Medical alert systems
If the person is alone for part of the day, this is the difference between a fall and a fall found hours later.
- Decide between a landline base and cellular — no landline means cellular only
- Check the monthly cost, not just the device price; it is the recurring part that adds up
- Fall detection is a separate feature and usually costs more
Incontinence supplies
A recurring cost families rarely budget for — and one of the first things that pushes hours of care up.
- Match absorbency to overnight vs daytime use; one product for both wastes money
- Check the size chart by waist measurement, not clothing size
- Subscribe-and-save pricing is usually cheaper than one-off orders for this category
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This does not change what we recommend — the selection criteria above are the same ones we would give a friend.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the survey report a single rate for a non-medical caregiver?
CareScout states it has streamlined its reporting: due to price convergence, homemaker services and home health aide services are now collectively classified as one category, non-medical caregiver. That is why this page has one hourly rate rather than two.
Is $35 an hour the rate for a licensed or a non-medical caregiver?
Non-medical. The same survey publishes a separate $90/hour median for skilled nursing in the home, which is a clinical service and a different product. If a provider quotes you $90 an hour, you are being sold skilled nursing, not the service this page prices.
Does the hourly rate include a minimum number of billed hours?
The survey publishes one national median hourly rate and does not break out minimum-shift rules, so this site does not state one. It varies per agency. Before signing, ask in writing: what is the minimum billed hours per visit, and is there a surcharge for weekends or holidays?
At what point does hourly care cost more than a care community?
Using this site's two published medians — $35/hour and the $6,200/month assisted living rate — the lines cross at about 41 hours per week. Above that, buying hours individually costs more per month than the assisted living median; below it, hourly care is cheaper. Shift the hours slider in the calculator to see the point move.
Next, price out the other options
- How much care costs rose this year
Four of the five care types went up between the last two surveys and one went down. Here is the change for each, in dollars rather than in adjectives — including the one that fell.
- Adult day health care cost
The cheapest care type in the survey, and the one families most often skip past without pricing. Here is what a day of attendance buys compared with the same hours of in-home care.
- Assisted living cost
The most common step up from care at home. What the monthly fee covers, what gets billed on top of it, and the two line items to ask for in writing before signing.
- Nursing home costs
Two published rates, and a $14,600-a-year gap between them. Room type and billing period (31-day months cost more than 28-day months) are the two things that move this number.