How much does home care cost in California?

CareScout’s 2025 California median for a non-medical caregiver is $40 per hour. At 20 hours/week that planning midpoint is about $3,467 per month. At the published 44-hour basis it is about $7,627 per month. Agencies quote their own rates. IHSS is a different, county-set wage.

How much does assisted living cost in California?

The CareScout 2025 California median for a private one-bedroom residential care facility is $7,000 per month ($84,000 per year). A ±20% planning band runs $5,600 to $8,400. Community fees, care add-ons, and county markets vary.

How much does memory care cost in California?

CareScout does not publish a separate California memory-care median. This site applies a 20% / 30% / 40% planning premium to the $7,000 assisted living median, or about $8,400 to $9,800 per month. Ask the community for its actual fee.

How much does a nursing home cost in California?

CareScout’s 2025 California medians are $12,167 per month for a semi-private room and $15,178 per month for a private room. Medicare may cover a limited skilled stay. Long-stay custodial care is typically private pay or Medi-Cal, not Medicare.

Does IHSS pay these private-pay rates?

No. IHSS authorizes listed tasks after a county assessment. The hourly wage is set by the county, not by CareScout and not by this calculator. Use the CDSS county IHSS wage-rate page. This site does not estimate a household IHSS paycheck.

Are these figures a quote for my ZIP Code?

No. They are statewide medians plus labeled planning bands. Use the live calculator to change hours, then ask licensed agencies and communities for written local terms. File IHSS in the county where the parent lives.

California cost of care

What home care, assisted living, memory care, and nursing homes cost in California

Updated September 16, 2026. Reviewed September 16, 2026 against public CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, VA, and CareScout 2025 California tables. County wages, hours, and wait times still change. Official .gov pages decide.

Adult children comparing a parent’s next month of help can start here. The figures are CareScout 2025 California statewide medians with labeled planning bands, then a live calculator you can move. IHSS and Medi-Cal are the public path at home. Those wages are set by county and are not estimated on this page.

Planning estimate only. Figures use CareScout 2025 California statewide medians plus labeled planning bands. They are not a quote, not a facility admission, not a Medi-Cal or IHSS eligibility result, and not an hours authorization. Agency and community prices vary by county and by acuity. IHSS hours and provider pay are county and Medi-Cal decisions. This site does not calculate an IHSS paycheck. Licensed home care organizations and residential communities set their own private-pay terms. County IHSS staff authorize tasks. County Medi-Cal staff decide coverage and any share of cost. Ask those offices and providers for the number that counts.

En español: Costos

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Short answer

CareScout’s 2025 California survey reports a $40/hour statewide median for a non-medical caregiver and $7,000/month for a private one-bedroom residential care facility. Nursing-home medians are $12,167/month (semi-private) and $15,178/month (private). Memory care is not a published CareScout row here. This hub applies a labeled 20% / 30% / 40% planning premium to the assisted living median. IHSS pay is a county figure.

CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, collected July through November 2025. California statewide median. Published 2025 by CareScout.

Key facts

CareScout’s 2025 California median for a non-medical caregiver is $40 per hour. At 20 hours/week that planning midpoint is about $3,467 per month. At the published 44-hour basis it is about $7,627 per month. Agencies quote their own rates. IHSS is a different, county-set wage.
The CareScout 2025 California median for a private one-bedroom residential care facility is $7,000 per month ($84,000 per year). A ±20% planning band runs $5,600 to $8,400. Community fees, care add-ons, and county markets vary.
CareScout does not publish a separate California memory-care median. This site applies a 20% / 30% / 40% planning premium to the $7,000 assisted living median, or about $8,400 to $9,800 per month. Ask the community for its actual fee.
CareScout’s 2025 California medians are $12,167 per month for a semi-private room and $15,178 per month for a private room. Medicare may cover a limited skilled stay. Long-stay custodial care is typically private pay or Medi-Cal, not Medicare.

California planning snapshot (CareScout 2025)

Statewide medians, not a city quote. Open a setting page or a metro page, then move the calculator hours. Low and high bands are labeled as planning ranges, not published percentiles.

Setting	How billed	Planning monthly	Source note
Private home care, 20 hours/week	Hourly, licensed Home Care Organization	$3,467$3,033 to $3,900	Uses the CareScout 2025 California non-medical caregiver median of $40/hour, with a $35 to $45 planning band.
Private home care, 44 hours/week	Hourly (CareScout published basis)	$7,627$6,673 to $8,580	CareScout publishes its California home-care median on a 44-hour week. Midpoint $7,627/month.
Assisted living (private one-bedroom)	Monthly community fee	$7,000$5,600 to $8,400	CareScout 2025 California median $7,000/month. Low and high are a ±20% planning band.
Memory care (planning premium)	Monthly community fee	$9,100$8,400 to $9,800	CareScout does not publish a separate California memory-care median. These figures apply a 20% / 30% / 40% planning premium to the assisted living median.
Nursing home / skilled nursing	Monthly room and board	$13,673$12,167 to $15,178	Semi-private median $12,167/month. Private-room median $15,178/month.
IHSS / Medi-Cal at home	County-authorized tasks	County sets payNot estimated here	Hours and the hourly wage are county and Medi-Cal decisions. Use the CDSS county wage-rate page. This hub does not invent a paycheck.

Price a setting

Cost of home care in California

At $40/hour, 20 hours/week is about $3,467/month at the midpoint ($3,033 to $3,900). The CareScout published 44-hour basis is about $7,627/month. Live-in framing uses 12 billed hours/day, not 24 times the hourly rate.

Open cost of home care California

Cost of assisted living in California

The published midpoint is $7,000 per month, or $84,000 per year. The planning band is $5,600 to $8,400. Hours of help at home do not change this facility fee. The calculator still prices licensed private home care for the same weekly hours so you can compare staying in the house.

Open cost of assisted living California

Cost of memory care in California

The planning band is $8,400 to $9,800 per month, with a midpoint of $9,100. That is not a published survey row. Protective supervision under IHSS is a narrower in-home category and is not a memory-care admission.

Open cost of memory care California

Cost of nursing home and skilled nursing care in California

Low $12,167/month (semi-private median). High $15,178/month (private-room median). Mid $13,673 is the average of those two published monthly figures. Annual private-room median is $182,135.

Open cost of nursing home California

Hours, monthly planning dollars, who pays, and IHSS

Monthly figures are midpoints at 20 hours/week for hourly rows, and published or labeled medians for facility rows. Move the live calculator below to change hours. Facility fees do not change with the slider.

Setting	How billed	Hours	Monthly midpoint	Who typically pays	When IHSS may apply
Private home care (licensed HCO)	Hourly	20 hrs/week	$3,467$3,033 to $3,900	Usually the family or another private payer. Medicare home health is a different skilled benefit.	IHSS may cover authorized tasks in the same house on a separate calendar. It does not pay the agency invoice.
Live-in home care (hourly framing)	Modeled as 12 billed hours/day	84 hrs/week	$14,560$12,740 to $16,380	Private pay. Agencies often quote a daily package instead of 24 times the hourly rate.	IHSS is not a live-in staffing pattern. Authorized tasks may still run in the home. The county sets those hours.
Assisted living (RCFE)	Monthly community fee	Facility staffing, not hourly	$7,000$5,600 to $8,400	Usually private pay or long-term care insurance. Medi-Cal rarely pays the room.	IHSS does not follow someone into a licensed residential care facility. Own-home rules still apply.
Memory care	Monthly community fee	Secured unit staffing	$9,100$8,400 to $9,800	Usually private pay. CareScout does not publish a separate California memory-care median.	A licensed memory-care unit is not the IHSS own-home setting. Ask the county before assuming hours continue.
Nursing home / SNF	Monthly room and board	Facility nursing roster	$13,673$12,167 to $15,178	Private pay or Medi-Cal long-term care after a stay qualifies. Medicare may cover a limited skilled stay, not custodial long-stay care.	A nursing facility is not own home. IHSS stops while someone lives there. A return-home plan can restart the county file.
IHSS / Medi-Cal path	County-authorized tasks	Set on the Notice of Action	Not estimatedCounty wage page	Medi-Cal funds authorized tasks. The recipient is generally the employer of an enrolled individual provider. The State issues the warrant.	May apply when the person lives in their own home, has a Medi-Cal determination, and the county authorizes listed tasks.

Major California metros

Each metro page frames the commute and the county IHSS office that actually files the case. Dollar totals still use the statewide CareScout medians. We do not invent a Los Angeles or Bay Area private-pay table.

All 58 counties

County cost pages add local filing geography, the IHSS office path, and a registry link when one exists. They do not invent a county home-care wage or an IHSS paycheck.

Browse all 58 county cost pages

North Coast

Shasta Cascade

Sacramento Valley

Sierra Nevada

San Francisco Bay Area

Central Coast

San Joaquin Valley

Greater Los Angeles

San Diego and Imperial

How families actually pay

Official California sources

Reviewed against CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, and CareScout public pages. We do not quote IHSS wages. County IHSS offices and Medi-Cal decide eligibility, hours, and pay. For current county wage rates, use the official CDSS wage page. CDSS county IHSS wage rates.

Official program pages: CDSS: In-Home Supportive Services, CDSS: IHSS for children, County IHSS offices, CDSS: IHSS providers, CDSS: county IHSS wage rates, CDSS: provider orientation, CDSS: Electronic Visit Verification, CDSS: Electronic Services Portal, DHCS: Medi-Cal, Apply for Medi-Cal, BenefitsCal, CDSS: hearing requests, CDSS: forms catalog, CDSS: IHSS overtime and workweek, DDS: regional centers.