How much does in home care cost? The national median for non-medical in-home care is $35 an hour, and the monthly bill depends mostly on how many hours of care a week a family needs.
A few visits a week costs far less than daily care, and round-the-clock care sits at the top of the range. The type of help, the time of day and where you live move the rate as well.
This post covers hourly rates, how to turn a rate into a monthly budget, what pushes a quote up or down, how 24-hour and live-in care are priced, and who helps pay. It also sets home care next to assisted living and nursing homes, so families can weigh the choices with real numbers.
How Much Does In-Home Care Cost Per Hour?
The national median for non-medical in-home care was $35 an hour in 2025, up 3% from the year before. Local rates run higher or lower depending on the type of care and the area.
Non-medical care covers companionship, help around the house and hands-on personal care such as bathing and dressing. Skilled nursing at home is a separate service. It calls for a licensed nurse, so it is billed at a higher rate: a national median of $90 an hour, or $160 per visit.
The rate an agency charges is a different number from what a caregiver takes home. Home health and personal care aides earned a median of $17.21 an hour in May 2025. The rest of an agency rate pays for payroll taxes, insurance, screening, scheduling and supervision of the care.
Non-medical home care is help with daily activities that lets a senior stay at home. At Cardinal Home Care, that means meals, transportation, errands and shopping, companionship and reminders to take medications. In most cases non-medical caregivers remind clients about medications and do not administer them.
Companion caregivers focus on conversation, hobbies and outings. Personal care caregivers help with bathing, toileting, mobility and safe transfers.
Turning an Hourly Rate Into a Monthly Budget
Turning a rate into a monthly budget takes one formula: hourly rate × hours per week × 4.33 weeks in an average month. At the $35 national median, the cost of in home care for seniors works out like this for four common schedules:
- 12 hours a week (three four-hour visits): about $1,819 a month
- 20 hours a week (five four-hour visits): about $3,031 a month
- 40 hours a week (eight hours, five weekdays): about $6,062 a month
- 44 hours a week: about $6,668 a month, or $80,080 a year
These figures use the national median, so a quote in Northern Virginia may differ. The formula stays the same, and it gives families a way to check any quote they receive.
A visit minimum sets the smallest realistic schedule. At Cardinal Home Care, most visits have a four-hour minimum, and exceptions are handled case by case. Two visits a week start at eight hours of care, which is about $1,212 a month at the national median. Care plans can increase or decrease as needs change, so a family can begin with a smaller schedule.
Families planning long-term care often think in years. Multiply the weekly cost by 52 for a yearly figure: 20 hours a week at $35 comes to $700 a week, or $36,400 a year. Someone turning 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care. About 20% will need it for more than five years, and people who use any care at home use it for two years on average.
What Drives the Price Up or Down
Several things shape how much in home care costs for an elderly parent. Each one moves the quote in a way a family can plan around.
- Type of care. Companionship and light housekeeping sit at the lower end. Hands-on personal care and dementia support call for more skill and attention, and the rate follows.
- Hours per week. More hours raise the monthly total, and the biggest budget changes happen as a schedule grows toward full time.
- Minimum visit length. A visit minimum sets the smallest bill. At Cardinal Home Care it is four hours in most cases.
- Evenings, overnights, weekends and holidays. Many agencies price these hours differently from weekday daytime hours, so ask for each rate.
- Needing two people for safe transfers. When moving a person safely takes two caregivers, two caregivers are on the clock.
- Where you live. Caregiver pay follows local wages. Virginia's minimum wage is $12.77 an hour in 2026, and aide employment is projected to grow 18% from 2025 to 2035. Northern Virginia agencies hire in that market, and their rates follow local labor costs.
- Agency or private hire. An agency rate includes screening, insurance, scheduling and backup coverage. A privately hired caregiver may charge less per hour, and the family then takes on those jobs.
Two families in the same town can receive very different quotes because these levers combine in different ways. A parent who needs companionship for four hours twice a week and a parent who needs two-person transfers every evening are pricing two very different plans.
24-Hour Care and Live-In Care Are Priced Differently
Round-the-clock care is set up in two ways. With shift care, awake caregivers work in turns so someone is alert at every hour. With live-in care, one caregiver stays in the home with set sleep and rest periods. Cardinal Home Care provides 24-hour home care in shifts or with live-in caregivers, depending on the situation.
The two are priced differently because they use caregiver time differently. Shift care pays for every hour of an awake caregiver. A live-in arrangement pays one caregiver who has designated sleeping hours, rest periods and limits on the hours worked each day.
Multiplying an hourly rate by 168 hours gives only a ceiling. At $35 an hour, 168 hours comes to $5,880 a week, or about $25,460 a month. A quote built around a live-in schedule starts from the caregiver's working hours, which is how a total can land below that ceiling.
Awake overnight care is the safer choice when a senior wanders, wakes often during the night or lives with dementia or another cognitive impairment. An awake caregiver can redirect a confused parent, help with a trip to the bathroom and stay alert to safety concerns at 3 a.m.
For a parent who sleeps through the night and needs help only now and then, a live-in caregiver's rest periods can fit the household routine. A free consultation helps a family sort out which setup matches the nights their loved one actually has.
What a Home Care Quote Should Include
Two quotes can only be compared when they cover the same things. Ask every agency:
- What are the rates for nights, weekends and holidays?
- What is the minimum shift?
- Who covers when the regular caregiver is out?
- Who supervises the care plan, and how does the family get updates?
- Is the agency licensed, bonded and insured, and are caregivers background checked?
Cardinal Home Care's answers to common home care questions list a provider that is licensed, bonded and insured, with trained, experienced and background-checked staff, as what to look for. A written quote that answers each question above makes the comparison simple.
At Cardinal, a client care manager is present when care begins to introduce the caregiver and confirm it is a proper fit. The office keeps in touch with families about scheduling and the client's needs.
Private hire can cost less per hour. The family then handles payroll taxes, workers' compensation, screening and backup coverage for the days the caregiver is sick or on vacation. When comparing a private hire with an agency rate, add the hours that work takes and the time spent finding a replacement.
Home Care Compared With Assisted Living and Nursing Homes
Part-time home care usually costs less than a facility because a family pays only for the hours used. Assisted living has a national median of $6,200 a month, or $74,400 a year. A nursing home costs a median of $315 a day for a semi-private room and $355 a day for a private room, which is about $9,581 and $10,798 a month. Adult day health care has a median of $95 a day.
At the $35 median, home care matches the assisted living figure at about 41 hours a week. Below that, home care costs less. At 44 hours a week, about $6,668 a month, home care sits under both nursing home figures. The gap with assisted living closes as hours approach full time, and round-the-clock care costs more than either.
Caring for a parent yourself has a price too. Family caregivers spend an average of $7,242 a year out of pocket, about 26% of their income. Families weighing paid help against doing it themselves can put that figure beside a home care quote. Cardinal Home Care also offers respite care for family caregivers who need time away.
What Medicare, Medicaid and Other Programs Cover
Several programs help with some part of the bill. Each has its own rules about who qualifies and what it pays for.
- Medicare: covers part-time skilled home health for people who are homebound when a doctor orders it. Aide help is covered while skilled nursing or therapy is under way. Part-time or intermittent generally means up to 8 hours a day and 28 hours a week combined. Medicare does not cover 24-hour care or personal care when that is the only care needed.
- Virginia Medicaid: the CCC Plus waiver can fund personal care and respite at home for Medicaid-eligible older adults who would otherwise need nursing facility care. The local Department of Social Services handles the screening. Personal care has a soft cap of 56 hours a week, with exceptions based on criteria.
- VA Aid and Attendance: helps veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily activities. The maximum annual pension rate is $29,093 for a veteran with no dependents and $34,488 for a veteran with one dependent, through November 30, 2026. The net worth limit is $163,699.
- Long-term care insurance: coverage depends on the policy, so ask the insurer which services and hours it pays for.
- Medical expense tax deduction: IRS rules count qualified long-term care services, including personal care, as medical expenses when a chronically ill person requires them. A licensed health care practitioner must certify the condition within the previous 12 months. Only the part of medical expenses above 7.5% of adjusted gross income is deductible.
Most ongoing non-medical care is paid privately or through long-term care insurance. Those are the two payment options Cardinal Home Care lists for its services.
How Cardinal Home Care Builds a Care Plan and Quote in Northern Virginia
We start with a free consultation. Before care begins, we meet with you to learn about your loved one's background and interests. Then we match a caregiver and create a schedule that fits.
Care runs from a few hours a day to 24-hour live-in care across Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Leesburg, Reston, Herndon, Manassas, Ashburn, Falls Church, McLean and nearby communities. Our caregivers can also work in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities to supplement the facility's staff. Respite care gives family caregivers a break.
Payment is private pay or long-term care insurance. When you fill out the form on our Get Started page, you can expect information, pricing and communication with a caring staff member from our office.
If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in Arlington, VA, please contact the caring staff at Cardinal Home Care today! (703) 934-4610
Cardinal Home Care provides exceptional home care services in Arlington, Alexandria, Leesburg, Reston, Herndon, Manassas, Ashburn, Falls Church, McLean, Fairfax, Virginia, and the surrounding communities.
Cardinal Home Care launched in 2019, with the purpose of providing quality non-medical home care to seniors wishing to remain in the comfort of their homes.
Cardinal Home Care provides exceptional home care services in Arlington, Alexandria, Leesburg, Reston, Herndon, Manassas, Ashburn, Falls Church, McLean, Fairfax Virginia and the surrounding communities.
- How Much Does In-Home Care Cost? What Families Pay and What Drives the Price - October 19, 2026
- Home Health Care vs. Home Care: What the Difference Means for Your Family - October 12, 2026
- What Kinds Of Home Care Are Available For Seniors? - October 7, 2026
