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Meal preparation & homemaking caregiver needed in California, CA
$20.00/hr offeredPosted Oct 2, 2026
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Petaluma, California · Sonoma County
Caregiver Jobs in Petaluma, CA
Petaluma sits at the south end of Sonoma County, and 22.1% of its residents have passed 65. Create your profile at no cost, say which parts of town you can reach, and then answer Petaluma requests in the list above.
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Finding in-home caregiver jobs in Petaluma
Petaluma's 2026 Department of Finance estimate is 59,160 residents. The city's age profile is what drives private care here: the 2020–2024 American Community Survey puts the median age at 45.3, and 37.5% of Petaluma households include someone 65 or older. Of those older residents, 3,565 live alone. Most of them own the house they are in (64.5% of homes are owner-occupied), and a good share of the housing is old; 10.8% of units were built before 1940, so expect stairs, narrow bathrooms and a client who wants to stay put anyway. Requests from the 94952 and 94954 ZIP codes show up above as households publish them.
Check the address on each posting before you apply, since a short trip across town can still mean a 101 interchange at rush hour. Petaluma Valley Hospital is on North McDowell Boulevard and the county's Petaluma office is on Old Redwood Highway North, two places you may end up driving clients to. Most clients drive or are driven (just 5.2% of Petaluma households lack a vehicle), and a caregiver with a car and a clean record can take on appointment runs that others cannot. If you do not drive, the SMART train stops at Petaluma Downtown and Petaluma North, and Sonoma County Transit runs buses up to Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa. Spanish is spoken at home by 13.5% of residents over age four, and close to half of those speakers (45.0%) fall short of the Census "very well" mark for English, so list Spanish first among your skills if you speak it.
Live postings
Families looking for private caregivers near Petaluma, CA
Real postings from families on CaregiverConnect, matched to Petaluma by distance. 1 caregiver within 50 miles already have profiles here.
Showing 1 of 1 open posting within 50 miles of Petaluma, newest first. Family names and care-recipient details are shown after you sign in. Postings are removed from this page as soon as a family hires or closes them.
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Types of caregiver jobs
Types of caregiver jobs in Petaluma
Typical Petaluma posts want early-day help with showering and getting dressed, a few afternoon hours of company plus lunch for a widowed parent, drives to appointments on North McDowell, and short-term cover after a stay at Petaluma Valley Hospital. Families of clients with memory loss often want one familiar caregiver on a fixed weekly pattern. Newcomers should begin with companionship, cooking, errands and light housekeeping; families tend to reserve hands-on personal care for applicants holding a nurse assistant certificate or references that prove it.
Senior caregiving · Personal care · Companion care · Dementia care · Respite care · Live-in · Overnight · Part-time and full-time
Pay
Caregiver pay in Petaluma: how much caregivers make
Public figures first, then what they mean for private work. Statistics describe employed aides across the Santa Rosa–Petaluma, CA metro (Sonoma County); private rates on CaregiverConnect are agreed between each caregiver and family and are not tracked by any agency.
| Measure | Hourly | Source and coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Home health and personal care aides, Santa Rosa–Petaluma, CA metro (Sonoma County) | $17.72 median | BLS OEWS, May 2025; 10,150 jobs; concentration 1.79× national |
| IHSS provider wage, Sonoma County | $20.25 | CDSS; effective March 1, 2026 |
| California minimum wage | $16.90 | effective January 1, 2026 |
Who is the employer. A family that hires you directly is your employer under California's Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. The state minimum wage ($16.90 an hour from 1 January 2026; some cities set more, for example $17.75 in the City of San Diego) is the legal floor, and a personal attendant earns overtime at 1.5× after 9 hours in a day or 45 in a week. The main exceptions are IHSS recipients and an employer's own parent, spouse or child. Source: California DIR, Domestic Worker Bill of Rights FAQ.
Petaluma has its own minimum wage ordinance. Petaluma appears in UC Berkeley's Labor Center tracker of city wage laws at $18.31 an hour from January 1, 2026, $1.41 above the state's $16.90. The inventory does not say whether a household paying a caregiver directly counts as a covered employer, so confirm that with the city before you quote the rate as a legal floor. For pricing, look at two other numbers. The BLS May 2025 survey found a $17.72 median for home care aides across the Sonoma County metro area, and the metro employs 1.79 times the national share of these aides. Sonoma County IHSS pays providers $20.25 an hour from March 1, 2026. Petaluma's median household income is $115,430 (ACS 2020–2024), so a rate at or above the IHSS figure is a reasonable opening ask for private work, more for overnights or dementia care. Long days trigger personal attendant overtime after nine hours.
How to enroll as a provider in Sonoma County, with the office phone lines and orientation steps, is in the IHSS Sonoma County guide. IHSS wages for every county we cover, with effective dates, are in the IHSS pay by county guide.
How the public numbers relate to private rates, and what affects them, is covered in the caregiver pay guide.
Rules
Caregiver requirements in California, applied to Petaluma
No state license is needed for a Petaluma household to employ you directly in non-medical work. Licensed home care agencies must register every aide they employ with CDSS, at $35 per aide registration; independent caregivers may register voluntarily. If a client's IHSS hours pay you, the IHSS Public Authority, (707) 565-5700, handles provider applications and registry referrals, and the county's Adult and Aging Division keeps a Petaluma office at 5350 Old Redwood Highway North, Suite 100, open weekdays 8 to 5. Payroll and timesheet questions go to 707-565-2852. Hospitals and nursing homes hire only CDPH-certified nurse assistants. State law makes you a mandated reporter, and Sonoma County's APS hotline, (707) 565-5940, is staffed around the clock. The California requirements guide and the Sonoma County IHSS guide cover the details.
Local resources
Training and career resources near Petaluma
Where Petaluma caregivers can train, find work and get around; every entry was confirmed against the provider's website this October.
- Santa Rosa Junior College, Certified Nurse Assistant program226 hours of lecture, skills lab and clinical practice over 10 weeks, offered spring, summer and fall with up to 30 students; students do their clinical rotation in a local long-term care home. The college estimates total cost at about $300 to $400, and grant money covers Live Scan, CPR, the workbook, uniform and state exam fees. SRJC's Petaluma campus is at 680 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, (707) 778-2415.
- IHSS Public Authority of Sonoma CountyApplication for IHSS work and registry referrals: (707) 565-5700. Medical and dental coverage opens after three straight months at 75 hours or more, subject to a waiting list; the county also points providers to the state's paid Career Pathways training.
- Sonoma County Job LinkThe county's career center (2227 Capricorn Way in Santa Rosa, phone 707-565-5550): résumé workshops, job-search sessions in English and Spanish, and training support for adults.
- Petaluma People Services Center (PPSC)Nonprofit at 1500 Petaluma Blvd South, (707) 765-8488, running local senior programs: adult day respite, home-delivered meals, case management and the iRIDE volunteer driver program. Useful to know when a client needs more than your hours cover.
- SMART trainStations at Petaluma Downtown (220 Lakeville Street, beside the Copeland Street transit mall) and Petaluma North (320 Corona Road). Adults pay $1.50 per zone; riders 65 and over travel free, which helps when you accompany a client.
- Sonoma County TransitRoute 44 links Petaluma, the junior college, Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa; route 48 runs Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati and Petaluma; 48X is an express between Coddingtown and Petaluma Mall.
The area
Petaluma in numbers
Census estimates for 2020–2024 put 13,071 Petaluma residents at 65 or over, 22.1% of the city, including 1,612 who are 85 or older. Among residents 65 and up, 30.2% report a disability and 7.9% live below the poverty line. The median home value is $878,600 and the median gross rent $2,440, and 53.8% of renters are cost-burdened by that measure; that helps explain why many caregivers who work here live in Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa or further out. One worker in five (20.5%) works from home, and the average commute is 30.7 minutes.
Petaluma Valley Hospital, 400 North McDowell Boulevard, is the city's acute care hospital; HCAI lists 80 licensed beds and a basic emergency department, and Medicare covered 65.4% of its inpatient revenue in the year to June 2024. Patients going home from there often need a few weeks of help. See also Rohnert Park, Novato and the Sonoma County hub.
How it works
How to find private caregiver jobs in Petaluma (no agency)
CaregiverConnect is a marketplace, not an agency. Families post what they need, caregivers apply, and the two of you work out the arrangement directly.
- Tell us about your experience
- Set your availability and rate
- Create your account
- Browse, apply or respond
- Agree on the details
Applying to open postings and starting a new conversation are part of Caregiver Premium ($7.99/month, cancel anytime). Replying to a family who contacts you is always free. CaregiverConnect takes no cut of what you earn.
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Widen your search
Caregiver jobs near Petaluma
Families often post from neighbouring towns. Set your travel radius in your profile and you will appear in their searches too.
Petaluma is part of Sonoma County; the hub pages list every town and area they cover.
Guides
Useful reading
How to become a caregiver in California: requirements, HCA registry, IHSS and CNA explained · How much do caregivers make in California and Arizona? BLS, IHSS and minimum wage (2026) · Private caregiver jobs near you: how to find them without an agency · Caregiver interview preparation: questions families ask and how to answer them
Sources (checked 2026-10-15):
- UC Berkeley Labor Center, inventory of local minimum wage ordinances (Petaluma $18.31, 1/1/2026)
- California DIR, minimum wage FAQ
- California DIR, Domestic Worker Bill of Rights
- CDSS, IHSS wages by county
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA (31-1120)
- California Department of Finance, E-1 population estimates 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year profile, Petaluma city (via MCDC)
- County of Sonoma, become a paid IHSS caregiver (Public Authority)
- County of Sonoma, I am an IHSS caregiver (payroll, benefits, training)
- County of Sonoma, Adult Protective Services
- CDSS, Home Care Services application fees
- Santa Rosa Junior College, Certified Nurse Assistant program and costs
- Sonoma County Job Link
- Petaluma People Services Center, senior services
- SMART, stations and fares
- Sonoma County Transit, routes and paratransit
- HCAI hospital profile, Petaluma Valley Hospital
Questions
Caregiver jobs in Petaluma: frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in Petaluma in 2026?
Since January 1, 2026 the Petaluma floor has been $18.31 per hour (Labor Center listing), against California's $16.90. Ask the City of Petaluma whether its ordinance reaches a job paid directly by a household.
How much does Sonoma County IHSS pay in Petaluma?
$20.25 an hour since March 1, 2026, the same anywhere in the county. That beats the typical 2025 aide wage in the Santa Rosa–Petaluma metro, $17.72, by roughly $2.50.
Can I train as a CNA close to Petaluma?
SRJC offers its 226-hour nurse assistant course over 10 weeks in spring, summer and fall, with 30 places per term. SRJC has a Petaluma campus on Sonoma Mountain Parkway; check the program site for where each session meets.
Do IHSS providers in Sonoma County get health insurance?
Yes, once a provider logs at least 75 hours monthly for three consecutive months, though enrollment has a waiting list. Dublin Insurance answers plan questions on (888) 838-5370.
Where is the county IHSS office nearest Petaluma?
Suite 100 of 5350 Old Redwood Highway North, in Petaluma, houses a county Adult and Aging office. Phone the division on (707) 565-5900.
Can I get to Petaluma clients without a car?
Partly. SMART stops at Petaluma Downtown and Petaluma North, and county buses connect Petaluma with Cotati, Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa. Homes far from a route still need a driver, so be clear about range in your profile.
Where do Petaluma families post?
Families use the Petaluma family page, and what they post, along with posts from surrounding towns, shows up in the job list higher on this page.
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