Guide · Reviewed September 29, 2026
How much does home care cost in Los Angeles?
The short answer
No public source shows what Los Angeles agencies actually charge, because agencies rarely publish their rates. The most useful independent benchmark is the California median for a non-medical caregiver: $40 an hour, or $7,627 a month at 44 hours a week, from CareScout’s 2025 survey.1 Other Los Angeles figures run from about $25 to $35 an hour because they measure different things.34
The benchmark: the California median
CareScout, a Genworth company that runs an annual cost of care survey, reports a California median of $40 an hour for a non-medical caregiver. That equals $251 a day, $7,627 a month and $91,520 a year, using 44 hours of care a week.1 Nationally the median is $35 an hour.5
In 2025 the survey stopped separating homemaker services from home health aide services and reports them together as “non-medical caregiver”.2 The survey does not include holiday rates.2 It reports the state, not the city.
What other sources report for Los Angeles
We do not blend these into one number. Until agencies in the county publish their own signed rates, the honest answer is a range, and the way to narrow it is to ask agencies the same questions.
| Source | Figure | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| CareScout 2025, California | $40 an hour | Median across surveyed providers, statewide.1 |
| A Place for Mom, Los Angeles | About $35 an hour, $3,031 a month | The company’s own data for non-medical home care in Los Angeles.3 |
| Care.com, Los Angeles | $25.43 an hour average starting rate, $28.65 average maximum | Rates on the Care.com marketplace. The page does not describe them as agency rates, so treat them as a different measure.4 |
What moves the price
- Level of care. Companion care, personal care and dementia care are often priced on separate lines.
- Hours. Agencies set a minimum per visit and often a minimum per week. See home care minimum hours.
- Shift type. Hourly, 12-hour shifts and live-in care can be priced differently. See 24-hour and live-in care.
- Holidays, nights and weekends. CareScout’s figures exclude holiday rates, so ask.2
- Wage floors. The California minimum wage is $16.90 an hour in 20266 and $18.47 an hour from 1 July 2026 in unincorporated Los Angeles County.7 An agency’s rate has to cover the caregiver’s pay and the agency’s own costs, so it sits above those floors.
What a month of care costs
| Hours a week | At $35 (national median) | At $40 (California median) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | $1,517 | $1,733 |
| 20 | $3,033 | $3,467 |
| 30 | $4,550 | $5,200 |
| 44 | $6,673 | $7,627 |
How to get a real number
- Call at least three licensed agencies. See how to choose a home care agency.
- Ask each one for its rate for the level of care you need, its minimum hours per visit and per week, and its rate for nights, weekends and holidays.
- Ask whether the rate changes for two caregivers, for lifting or for dementia care.
- Ask for the rates in writing and note the date. A signed, dated rate card is exactly that. Agencies in our directory publish theirs, and every licensed agency in the county is listed.
Medicare does not pay for this care when it is the only care needed. See does Medicare cover home care, and how to pay for home care.
See what licensed agencies near you charge
Every licensed agency in Los Angeles County is listed, A to Z. Rate cards appear as agencies sign them.
Find licensed agenciesCommon questions
What is the average hourly rate for a caregiver in Los Angeles?
No source publishes an average of what Los Angeles agencies charge. CareScout’s 2025 California median is $40 an hour, and A Place for Mom reports about $35 an hour for Los Angeles from its own data.13
How much does part-time home care cost?
At the California median of $40 an hour, 20 hours a week comes to about $3,467 a month. That is our arithmetic, not a quote.
Is it cheaper to hire a caregiver directly?
A direct hire has no agency fee, but you become the employer with the legal duties that come with it. See agency versus private caregiver in California.
Do agencies charge the same on weekends and holidays?
Not always. CareScout’s survey excludes holiday rates, so ask each agency for its weekend, night and holiday rates in writing.2
Sources
- CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, ranked median costs by state CareScout, accessed 29 Sep 2026
- CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, methodology CareScout, accessed 29 Sep 2026
- Home care costs in Los Angeles A Place for Mom, accessed 29 Sep 2026
- Home care cost in Los Angeles, CA Care.com, accessed 29 Sep 2026
- CareScout Cost of Care Survey CareScout, accessed 29 Sep 2026
- California minimum wage FAQ California Department of Industrial Relations, accessed 29 Sep 2026
- Minimum wage, unincorporated Los Angeles County Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, accessed 29 Sep 2026