Caregiver Jobs in Ridgecrest, CA
Ridgecrest is a Kern County city of 28,638 whose biggest care employer, Ridgecrest Regional Hospital, also runs a hospice, a visiting nurse service and a non-medical personal care team from ZIP 93555. Requests from Ridgecrest families show up above as they are posted.
- Free to join and build a profile
- No agency fees, no cut of your pay
- Families can contact you directly
Finding in-home caregiver jobs in Ridgecrest
Most paid care work in Ridgecrest traces back to one organization. CDPH's facility list, dated October 16, 2026, puts Ridgecrest Regional Hospital at 1081 N. China Lake Blvd. with 72 general acute care beds and a 26-bed Transitional Care and Rehabilitation Unit, and lists Bella Sera, a 99-bed skilled nursing facility, next door at 1131 N. China Lake Blvd. The hospital's website describes Bella Sera as its long-term care and rehabilitation home, with round-the-clock staffing. From a suite at 1653 Triangle Drive the hospital also runs Ridgecrest Regional Hospice and RRH Personal Care Services, a home care organization CDSS has licensed; its aides help with bathing, dressing, meals, housekeeping, errands, medication reminders and pre-booked rides, in visits of 2 to 12 hours a day.
The rest of the local market is small and easy to map. CDSS's May 2025 files list just two licensed RCFEs (High Desert Haven on College Heights Boulevard, the large one, and Simply Caring Angels on West Wasp Avenue, licensed for six), one four-bed adult residential home and the SAILS Ridgecrest Adult Day Program, licensed for 60. Families also hire on their own. ACS 2020–2024 finds 1,341 Ridgecrest homes where a lone resident is 65-plus. In your profile, list the shifts you can cover, whether you have hospital or nursing-home experience, and whether you drive; then check for new 93555 postings above.
Families looking for private caregivers near Ridgecrest, CA
Real postings from families on CaregiverConnect, matched to Ridgecrest by distance.
No open postings in Ridgecrest right now
No family within 50 miles has an open posting today. Nearest current postings: Los Angeles, CA, about 113 miles away. A profile created now is visible to Kern County families as soon as they join, and they can send you a direct request.
This list is generated from live postings on CaregiverConnect. We never show sample, demo or expired jobs here.
Get an email when a family near Ridgecrest posts a job
Free; at most one email a day; 50-mile radius; one-click unsubscribe.
Need a caregiver in Ridgecrest?
Families post free; local caregivers apply.
Types of caregiver jobs in Ridgecrest
Typical Ridgecrest requests: a few hours a day at home once a parent leaves the transitional care unit; company and lunch runs to the senior center on South Warner Street; rides booked on the city Dial-A-Ride; and short breaks for a family member looking after someone on home hospice. With no experience, start with errands and companionship. Cerro Coso's CNA course is the usual next step toward facility or hospice aide work.
Senior caregiving · Personal care · Companion care · Dementia care · Respite care · Live-in · Overnight · Part-time and full-time
Caregiver pay in Ridgecrest: how much caregivers make
Public figures first, then what they mean for private work. Statistics describe employed aides across the Bakersfield–Delano, CA metro (Kern 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, Bakersfield–Delano, CA metro (Kern County) | $16.50 median ($16.92 mean) | BLS OEWS, May 2025; 17,270 jobs; concentration 1.84× national |
| IHSS provider wage, Kern County | $17.90 | CDSS; effective July 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.
About 5.0% of Ridgecrest's labor force was unemployed, on average, between August 2025 and August 2026, according to EDD estimates. Set against Kern County's 8.7% and the statewide 5.3%, the city's rate is lower than both. Ridgecrest's labor force averaged about 12,890 over those months, and the monthly figure moved between 3.8% and 6.5%. The city's own page on the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division calls China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station the major source of employment for residents, and ACS 2020–2024 counts 48.5% of employed Ridgecrest residents as government workers.
For care work, the figures that matter are wages. IHSS pays $17.90 an hour when the client is a Ridgecrest resident, the Kern figure in force from July 1, 2026; enrollment steps are in the Kern County IHSS guide. Neither Ridgecrest nor Kern County appears in the UC Berkeley Labor Center's July 2026 wage table, so the statewide $16.90 is the minimum for a family that employs you directly. If a Ridgecrest family keeps you on as a personal attendant for more than nine hours on a given shift, or above 45 in a given week, the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights makes those hours time and a half. Ridgecrest's median household income is $89,250 and its median gross rent $1,186 (ACS 2020–2024).
How to enroll as a provider in Kern County, with the office phone lines and orientation steps, is in the IHSS Kern 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.
Caregiver requirements in California, applied to Ridgecrest
Ridgecrest adds no caregiver rules of its own. Private, non-medical work for a family carries no license; only the wage and overtime rules apply. RRH Personal Care Services, like every licensed home care organization, must see your CDSS Home Care Aide registration ($35 fee) before sending you to a client. Bella Sera, the transitional care unit and the hospice team (which lists certified home health aides among its staff) hire certified nursing assistants and home health aides, which means CDPH certification. IHSS providers enroll with Kern County; the Kern County page has the office details. The Attorney General's directory shows Live Scan at the Ridgecrest Police Department, 100 W. California Ave., Monday to Thursday by appointment, for $20. Elder abuse must be reported; the requirements guide explains the duty.
Training and career resources near Ridgecrest
Local employers, classes and services for caregivers in Ridgecrest, confirmed on their websites or in October 2026 state facility data.
- Cerro Coso Community College, Ridgecrest/IWV Campus3000 College Heights Blvd., (760) 384-6100, the college's main campus. HCRS C055 Certified Nursing Assistant (5.5 units, taken with EMTC C070) prepares you for the state competency exam; HCRS C057 Home Health Aide (27 hours of lecture and 27 clinical) is taught at this campus for students who already hold a CNA. A background check is required first, and Cerro Coso advises keeping your exam receipt, since certain nursing homes refund the fee to staff who stay a year.
- Ridgecrest Regional Hospital and Bella SeraCDPH lists the hospital as a critical access hospital with 72 acute beds plus the 26-bed transitional unit, and Bella Sera with 99 skilled nursing beds.
- RRH Personal Care Services and HospiceSuite B at 1653 Triangle Drive, phone (760) 499-3617. The personal care team visits by appointment; the hospice office is staffed around the clock and its team includes hospice aides and certified home health aides.
- Desert Area Resources and Training (DART)201 E. Ridgecrest Blvd., (760) 375-9787. Supported employment, work activity and supported living programs for adults with developmental disabilities, a different kind of direct-care job.
- Ridgecrest Senior Center (Kern County nutrition site)125 S. Warner St., (661) 221-3414, open 8:00 to 2:00; the weekday noon meal is open to residents aged 60-plus.
- Ridgecrest Transit Dial-A-RideFree since November 1, 2024, until further notice, Monday to Friday inside the city. Book on (760) 499-5040 between one business day and seven days ahead; every vehicle has a wheelchair lift.
Ridgecrest in numbers
The Department of Finance counted 28,638 Ridgecrest residents on January 1, 2026, and its residents skew young: the ACS 2020–2024 median age is just 33.4, 3,494 residents (12.4%) are 65 or older and 209 (0.7%) are 85 or older. Still, 2,698 of the city's 11,303 households (23.9%) include someone 65-plus, more than a third of older residents (36.8%) report a disability, and 13.9% of residents 65-plus have incomes under the poverty level. ACS counts only 276 people in group quarters, so these figures describe households, not institutions.
At home, 16.7% of those five and older speak another language, chiefly Spanish (11.5%). Work trips are short, averaging 16.9 minutes, but 73.3% of workers drive alone and 0.4% ride public transit, which makes a car useful for reaching more clients. The city Dial-A-Ride also runs to Randsburg and Johannesburg on Fridays and links with Eastern Sierra Transit buses at Inyokern. Other Kern pages: California City, Boron and Lake Isabella.
How to find private caregiver jobs in Ridgecrest (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.
Caregiver jobs near Ridgecrest
Families often post from neighbouring towns. Set your travel radius in your profile and you will appear in their searches too.
Ridgecrest is part of Kern County; the hub pages list every town and area they cover.
- Caregiver jobs in California City, CA38 mi
- Caregiver jobs in Boron, CA43 mi
- Caregiver jobs in Lake Isabella, CA44 mi
- Caregiver jobs in Wofford Heights, CA45 mi
Elsewhere in Kern County: Bakersfield · Delano · Shafter · Wasco · Arvin · Tehachapi · Oildale · Mojave · Pine Mountain Club · Lamont · Rosamond · McFarland · Frazier Park · Bodfish · Lost Hills
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
- California EDD, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), 12-month average August 2025 to August 2026
- CDSS, IHSS wages by county
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Bakersfield-Delano, CA (31-1120)
- UC Berkeley Labor Center, inventory of local minimum wage ordinances (July 1, 2026 California table)
- California DIR, Domestic Worker Bill of Rights FAQ
- CDSS, Home Care Aide registration ($35 fee)
- CDPH, Licensed and Certified Healthcare Facility Listing (data date October 16, 2026)
- CDSS Community Care Licensing facility files (elder care, adult residential and day, home care organizations; May 2025)
- Ridgecrest Regional Hospital, careers, personal care, hospice, visiting nurse services and Bella Sera
- Cerro Coso Community College, Allied Health course descriptions
- Cerro Coso Community College, hours and locations
- City of Ridgecrest, Transit Division
- City of Ridgecrest, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division
- Kern County Aging and Adult Services, senior nutrition sites
- California Attorney General, Live Scan locations, Kern County
- Desert Area Resources and Training
- California Department of Finance, E-1 population estimates 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year profiles DP02–DP05 and B26001, Ridgecrest city
Caregiver jobs in Ridgecrest: frequently asked questions
Who hires caregivers in Ridgecrest?
Ridgecrest Regional Hospital is the main one: its acute and transitional care units, Bella Sera, the hospice and RRH Personal Care Services all need aides. Beyond the hospital, state files list two licensed elder care homes, an adult residential home and the SAILS adult day program, and families hire directly.
Does Cerro Coso offer a home health aide class in Ridgecrest?
Yes. Cerro Coso teaches HCRS C057 Home Health Aide at its Ridgecrest/IWV campus on College Heights Boulevard. You need a current CNA certificate to enroll, which the same campus's HCRS C055 course prepares you for.
What does IHSS pay for a Ridgecrest client?
CDSS lists $17.90 for Kern County, in effect from July 1, 2026. Ridgecrest clients use the Kern rate because it is set by the county the client lives in.
Is unemployment high in Ridgecrest?
No. EDD's estimate, a mean of the monthly rates through August 2026, is about 5.0%, well under Kern County's 8.7% and below the 5.3% statewide figure.
Does Ridgecrest have its own minimum wage?
No. The Labor Center at UC Berkeley shows no local ordinance for the city or for Kern County, so California's $16.90 is the floor for a household employer.
Is Live Scan available in Ridgecrest?
The Attorney General lists the Ridgecrest Police Department at 100 W. California Ave. (by appointment Monday to Thursday, $20) and two private operators, on South Gold Canyon Street and North Balsam Street.
How do Ridgecrest families reach me on this site?
They post on the Ridgecrest family page, and each new request appears above. Profiles are free for caregivers, and we keep no cut of what families pay you.
Ready to find caregiver work in Ridgecrest?
Create your free caregiver profile in about ten minutes. Families in Kern County can find you as soon as it is live.
Create your free caregiver profile