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Cost of careOakland / East Bay cost of care

Oakland / East Bay cost of care

Cost of home care in Oakland and the East Bay

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.

The East Bay runs from Oakland, Berkeley, and Fremont through Walnut Creek, Concord, and Antioch. Two counties share the commute: Alameda and Contra Costa. Bridges and BART make it easy to confuse the parent’s home with the adult child’s job. IHSS does not follow the job. 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.

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.

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Short answer

For Oakland / East Bay, use CareScout 2025 California statewide medians to plan private-pay home care ($40/hour midpoint), assisted living, memory care, and nursing homes. File IHSS in the county where the parent lives. This page does not invent a Oakland / East Bay private-pay table or an IHSS paycheck.

If you are the adult child

A parent in Oakland uses Alameda County IHSS. A parent in Richmond uses Contra Costa County. If you work in San Francisco and the parent lives in Hayward, Alameda County still takes the file. Do not mail SOC 295 to the city where you exit BART.

Local settings, statewide dollars

East Bay families often compare staying in a long-owned bungalow with a move to a Walnut Creek or Oakland community. Use the statewide calculator for order-of-magnitude dollars. Use the matching county IHSS page for the office path.

IHSS and Medi-Cal path

This metro spans more than one county. Open the IHSS page for the county of the parent’s home, not the county of your job. Alameda County, Contra Costa County each run their own file.

Open the local IHSS page

Compare settings for a parent in Oakland / East Bay

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.

SettingHow billedHoursMonthly midpointWho typically paysWhen IHSS may apply
Private home care (licensed HCO)Hourly20 hrs/week$3,467$3,033 to $3,900Usually 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/day84 hrs/week$14,560$12,740 to $16,380Private 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 feeFacility staffing, not hourly$7,000$5,600 to $8,400Usually 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 careMonthly community feeSecured unit staffing$9,100$8,400 to $9,800Usually 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 / SNFMonthly room and boardFacility nursing roster$13,673$12,167 to $15,178Private 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 pathCounty-authorized tasksSet on the Notice of ActionNot estimatedCounty wage pageMedi-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.

County IHSS and neighbor pages

Guides

Related tools and resources

Official sources

Official California sources

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.

Planning estimate only. Not a quote, not a facility admission, not a Medi-Cal or IHSS eligibility result, and not an hours authorization. Rates vary by county, agency, and facility. IHSS hours and provider pay are county and Medi-Cal decisions. We do not calculate IHSS paycheck amounts. Licensed agencies and facilities 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.

Illustrative cost planner

Live dollar totals for private-pay settings, using CareScout 2025 California medians. IHSS is shown as a program path, not as a household paycheck.

Hours of help per week

Private home care is billed by the hour. CareScout publishes its California home-care median on a 44 hour/week basis. Facility rows stay monthly fees even if you change hours.

About 2.9 hours/day across 7 days

Days per week (optional)

Used to show hours/day and to model live-in framing as 12 billed hours times the days you choose. Facility fees do not change with this number.

Which setting are you pricing?

Estimated private-pay cost

Private home care (licensed HCO)

$3,033 to $3,900monthly

Low
$3,033
Midpoint
$3,467
High
$3,900

Annual: $36,400 to $46,800Midpoint $41,600 per year

How this number was calculated

20 hours/week × $40/hour × (52 ÷ 12) weeks = $3,467/month at the midpoint. Low uses $35/hour. High uses $45/hour. 52 ÷ 12 is about 4.33 weeks.

Compare settings at these hours

Private home care (licensed HCO)

$3,467/month mid

$3,033 to $3,900 monthly · $41,600 per year at midpoint · 20 hours/week

Live-in home care (hourly framing)

$14,560/month mid

$12,740 to $16,380 monthly · $174,720 per year at midpoint · 84 hours/week

Assisted living (RCFE)

$7,000/month mid

$5,600 to $8,400 monthly · $84,000 per year at midpoint

Memory care

$9,100/month mid

$8,400 to $9,800 monthly · $109,200 per year at midpoint

Nursing home

$13,673/month mid

$12,167 to $15,178 monthly · $164,076 per year at midpoint

IHSS / Medi-Cal path

Wage set by county

Private-pay alternative: $3,033 to $3,900 per month for the same hours.

Assumptions and sources

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

  • Private home care midpoint uses the CareScout 2025 California non-medical caregiver median of $40 per hour.
  • Assisted living midpoint uses the CareScout 2025 California median of $7,000 per month for a private one-bedroom residential care facility.
  • Memory care is a 20% / 30% / 40% planning premium on that assisted living median. CareScout does not publish a separate memory-care row.
  • Nursing home low and high are the published semi-private and private-room medians.
  • Live-in framing bills 12 hours/day, not 24 times the hourly rate.
  • If a county authorizes in-home help, the program may cover those authorized services. A family member may be paid as the provider after enrollment. Hours and the hourly wage are county and Medi-Cal decisions. This planner does not calculate an IHSS paycheck and does not say anyone will receive a set amount.

Paying for care and official pages

Questions people ask

How much does home care cost in Oakland / East Bay?
This page uses the CareScout 2025 California statewide median of $40 per hour for a non-medical caregiver, not an invented Oakland / East Bay table. Licensed agencies set their own terms. Move the calculator for a monthly planning range, then ask a licensed agency for a written local rate.
Does IHSS pay private home-care rates in Oakland / East Bay?
No. IHSS hours and the hourly wage are set by the county that holds the home. Use the CDSS county wage-rate page and the local IHSS office. This site does not estimate a household IHSS paycheck for Oakland / East Bay.
How much does assisted living cost in Oakland / East Bay?
The CareScout 2025 California median for a private one-bedroom residential care facility is $7,000 per month. Oakland / East Bay communities quote their own fees. Ask for the monthly amount in writing, including care add-ons.
Which county files IHSS if the parent lives in Oakland / East Bay?
File in the county where the person who needs care lives. An adult child who commutes from somewhere else does not create a second office. Use the local IHSS page linked here, then the CDSS county office list.
Can I use a Oakland / East Bay hospital discharge as the IHSS office?
No. Discharge planners name a next setting. The county of the home the person will return to takes SOC 295. A hospital address does not replace that county.
Are Oakland / East Bay prices in this calculator local survey results?
No. CareScout’s published California table used here is statewide. Local agencies and communities still have to quote you. The calculator is a planning estimate so you can compare settings.

See if IHSS may apply

A coordinator can walk through Medi-Cal, county forms, and the home visit with you. The county still decides eligibility and hours.

For example: starting an IHSS application, provider enrollment, or county forms. Keep medical records and diagnoses for the county packet.