How much does home care cost in 2026?

Nationally, home care costs a median of $35 an hour in 2025, according to the CareScout/Genworth Cost of Care Survey, up 3% from the year before. At that rate, a family using 44 hours of care a week is looking at roughly $80,080 a year, though most families start with far fewer hours and build up as needs grow.

Washington runs higher than the national number. In the most recent state-level breakout, homemaker and home health aide services in Washington both came in at $96,096 a year, about $42 an hour on the same basis. That makes Washington one of the more expensive states in the country for home care. If your loved one lives with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia, plan for the higher end of that range: in-home dementia care typically starts around $34 an hour and can run $2,145 to more than $24,000 a month, depending on how many hours of supervision are needed.

Those are averages, not your number. The real cost depends entirely on how many hours a week your family needs, which is exactly what a free, no-obligation in-home assessment is for.

What's the average hourly rate for home care?

The CareScout/Genworth Cost of Care Survey, the most comprehensive study of its kind, drawing from more than 15,000 provider surveys, puts the 2025 national median at $35 an hour for non-medical caregiver services. We don't publish a single flat rate, because pricing follows a personalized plan of care built around exactly what your family needs, not a one-size number. Whatever that number comes to, ask about the SYNERGY Price Promise at your free consultation.

How much does home care cost in Washington State?

State-level data tells a more specific story: in the most recent Washington Cost of Care release, both homemaker services and home health aide services averaged $96,096 a year statewide, well above the national figure, and up 5% year over year for home health aide care. We serve two Washington communities directly: East King County, including Issaquah, Sammamish and Renton, and North Seattle, Shoreline, Everett and Lynnwood. A free in-home assessment gives you a number specific to your household, not a statewide average.

Does home care cost more in King County than Snohomish County?

The statewide survey above doesn't break Washington's home care rates out by county. What is tracked city by city is the minimum wage that sets the floor for caregiver pay, and it's a real driver of local pricing. Washington's state minimum wage is $17.13 an hour in 2026. Some cities set their own floor above that, and WA L&I publishes those local rates by employer size. The figures below use the mid-size tier, roughly 15 to 499 employees, which is where a locally owned agency like ours falls. Largest-employer rates run about a dollar higher, and each city defines employer size a little differently.

City lines matter more here than county lines. Issaquah and Lynnwood, the two cities our offices sit in, have no local wage ordinance, so the $17.13 state floor applies in both. Where a city does set its own rate, the King and Snohomish figures land within a nickel of each other: unincorporated King County at $19.82, Everett at $19.77. Everett sat a dollar lower for the first half of the year, at $18.77, and stepped up on July 1, so older comparisons show a wider gap than exists now. Renton and Seattle both run higher than either.

These are wage floors, not agency billing rates. What a family pays turns on hours, level of care, and the cost of running a licensed agency, which the sections below get into.

How much does in-home dementia and memory care cost?

Memory care almost always costs more, because it typically requires more hours and more specialized training. According to A Place for Mom, in-home dementia care starts around $34 an hour, with monthly costs ranging from roughly $2,145 for a few hours a week to more than $24,000 for around-the-clock supervision. Costs also tend to climb as the disease progresses and supervision needs grow. See how home care needs change through the stages of dementia for what to expect and plan around. Our memory care program is built specifically for families navigating Alzheimer's and dementia, with patient, specially trained caregivers and calm, consistent routines that keep cost tied to actual need, not a flat package.

How much does 24-hour or live-in care cost?

Around-the-clock care changes the math, because you're paying for continuous coverage rather than a set of scheduled hours. According to A Place for Mom's 2026 Cost of Long-Term Care and Senior Living Report, the national median for 24/7 in-home care is $34 an hour, or roughly $24,733 a month, about $816 a day.

Live-in care and 24-hour awake care are billed on different structures. Live-in arrangements are typically built around a flat daily or weekly rate for one caregiver who stays in the home and sleeps overnight, with scheduled breaks. 24-hour awake care instead rotates a team of caregivers through 8- or 12-hour shifts so someone is alert around the clock. Which structure costs less depends on your loved one's actual overnight needs, and a free in-home assessment is the way to get a real number for your family. Our 24-hour and live-in care page explains how each is staffed, and live-in care vs. 24-hour awake care walks through how families decide between them.

What actually changes the cost of home care?

• Hours per week: a few mornings a week costs far less than daily visits or around-the-clock care.
• Level of care: companionship and light housekeeping cost less than personal care (bathing, dressing, mobility) or specialized medical-adjacent support.
• Day versus overnight or live-in: extended and overnight coverage carries a different billing structure than daytime hours (see above).
• How soon care needs to start: urgent, same-week starts are still possible, just ask.

What's included in the hourly rate?

Home care pricing isn't just the caregiver's wage. A licensed agency's rate also covers criminal background checks, bonding and liability insurance, workers' compensation, ongoing caregiver training, a care coordinator supervising the plan, and backup coverage if your regular caregiver is sick. That's the trade-off against hiring an independent caregiver privately: a lower sticker price, but you take on the screening, scheduling, taxes and liability yourself. A free in-home assessment walks through exactly what's included before you commit to anything.

Is home care cheaper than assisted living?

It depends on the hours. The CareScout survey behind the hourly rates above puts the national median for assisted living at $6,200 a month. A Place for Mom measures an average rather than a median, and its 2026 figures come in at $5,830 nationally and $6,480 for Washington, which puts Washington above the national average on its own numbers. The two national figures differ because they are different statistics from different surveys. Home care tends to cost less than either for families needing under about 40 hours of help a week; past that point, or for round-the-clock supervision, a facility's flat monthly fee can become the more economical option. We've broken down that comparison, and the tradeoffs beyond cost, in Home Care vs. Assisted Living: How Do You Decide?

How do I pay for home care?

Most families pay privately, but private pay isn't the only option: long-term care insurance, Medicare Advantage plans with an in-home support benefit, and VA benefits for eligible Veterans can all help offset the cost. Original Medicare itself is narrower than most families expect, and Washington's Medicaid program fills part of that gap through the COPES waiver. See Does Medicare or Medicaid Cover Home Care in Washington? for exactly what each one pays for. Our full guide to paying for care walks through every option in detail.

How does cost change as needs grow?

Most families don't start at 40 hours a week. A typical path begins with a few hours here and there (help with errands, meals or bathing) and grows as a loved one's needs increase, whether that's a slow decline, a hospital stay, or a diagnosis like dementia that adds supervision needs over time. That's exactly why we build plans around actual hours rather than a flat package: your cost today reflects today's needs, and it's revisited any time those needs change, with no long-term contract locking you into more (or less) than your family actually uses.

How do I get an accurate number for my family?

The only way to know your real cost is a conversation about your loved one's actual needs. A free, no-obligation in-home assessment builds a plan around the hours and support your family needs, with no long-term contract, and the flexibility to adjust as things change. And if you're already holding a lower quote from another agency, bring it to your free consultation and ask about the SYNERGY Price Promise. Reach out any time to get started.