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Personal care caregiver needed in Escondido, CA
$25.00/hr offeredPosted Aug 21, 2026
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San Marcos, California · San Diego County
Caregiver Jobs in San Marcos, CA
San Marcos has two colleges, a hospital that opened in 2023 and families along the SPRINTER line who post care needs here. Caregivers already based in the city and the next towns over apply directly through a free profile.
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Finding caregiver jobs in San Marcos
San Marcos is a city of students, nurses in training and retirees around Lake San Marcos and the hillside subdivisions, and the care postings reflect that mix: weekday help for a parent while adult children work in Carlsbad or San Diego, respite for family caregivers, and short-term recovery care for patients discharged from Kaiser Permanente's San Marcos Medical Center on Craven Road or from Palomar Medical Center Escondido, about five road miles east. A fair number of caregivers on this site already live in or around San Marcos, and more live in Escondido and Vista, so a San Marcos family has choice and a new applicant needs a profile that says exactly what they offer.
If you search for this work online, watch the city name: autocomplete mixes San Marcos, California with San Marcos, Texas, and job boards do the same. Postings here are filtered by distance from San Marcos, California, and show the family's city so you can judge the drive along Mission Road or the 78 corridor. Set alerts; postings from the 92069 and 92078 ZIP codes appear as soon as a family publishes them.
Live postings
Open caregiver opportunities near San Marcos, CA
Real postings from families on CaregiverConnect, matched to San Marcos by distance. 51 caregivers within 50 miles already have profiles here.
Open
Meal preparation & homemaking caregiver needed in Encinitas, CA
$30.00/hr offeredPosted Aug 25, 2026
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Open
Companion care caregiver needed in Encinitas, CA
$40.00/hr offeredPosted Aug 20, 2026
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Open
Companion care caregiver needed in San Diego, CA
$30.00/hr offeredPosted Sep 11, 2026
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Personal care caregiver needed in Del Mar, CA
$30.00/hr offeredPosted Aug 29, 2026
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Open
Meal preparation & homemaking caregiver needed in Poway, CA
$20.00/hr offeredPosted Aug 2, 2026
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Open
Personal care caregiver needed in Santee, CA
$20.00/hr offeredPosted Oct 10, 2026
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Personal care caregiver needed in San Diego, CA
$25.00/hr offeredPosted Sep 15, 2026
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Showing 8 of 10 open postings within 50 miles of San Marcos, 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 San Marcos
Typical San Marcos requests are personal care and companionship for a parent at home, dementia supervision in the afternoons, overnight stays after surgery, and transport to appointments at the Craven Road medical campus. Students at Palomar College and Cal State San Marcos who are working toward nursing often take companionship and household-help postings, which are also the realistic entry point for anyone without experience; transfers, bathing and dementia care go to caregivers who can describe having done them.
- Senior caregiving: day-to-day help so an older adult can stay at home.
- Personal care: bathing, dressing, grooming, transfers.
- Companion care: company, errands, appointments, light help.
- Dementia care: routine-based support for memory loss.
- Respite care: cover so a family caregiver can rest or work.
- Live-in: room and board as part of the arrangement.
- Overnight: supervision through the night.
- Part-time and full-time: set by day and time block on your profile.
Pay
Caregiver pay in San Marcos
Public figures first, then what they mean for private work. Statistics describe employed aides across the San Diego–Chula Vista–Carlsbad, CA metro (San Diego 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, San Diego–Chula Vista–Carlsbad, CA metro (San Diego County) | $16.97 median ($17.71 mean) | BLS OEWS, May 2025; 57,080 jobs; concentration 1.34× national |
| IHSS provider wage, San Diego County | $20.40 | CDSS; effective March 1, 2026 |
| California minimum wage | $16.90 | effective January 1, 2026 |
| Nursing assistants, San Diego–Chula Vista–Carlsbad, CA metro (San Diego County) | $23.11 median | BLS OEWS, May 2025 (certified roles, for comparison) |
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.
San Diego County projection: 52,820 aide jobs in 2023 to 69,580 in 2033 (+31.7%), about 105,890 openings over the decade including replacements (California EDD, 2023–2033 projections). Openings are not the same as net new jobs.
San Marcos has no minimum-wage ordinance of its own, so the $16.90 state rate applies rather than the City of San Diego's $17.75. The figures above describe the whole metro; in practice a San Marcos caregiver measures a private offer against the $20.40 IHSS wage and against what the new hospital and the colleges' clinical partners pay nursing assistants ($23.11 median). The city is not cheap to live in: the median rent is $2,348 and owner-occupied homes have a median value of $868,000 (ACS 2020–2024), both slightly above the county, which is one reason private rates here tend to sit above the employed median.
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 San Marcos
Nothing about San Marcos changes California's rules, but the city's institutions shape which credential matters. If a family employs you directly for non-medical help, no licence is required; the Home Care Aide Registry is voluntary for independents ($35) and compulsory only for aides employed by a licensed agency. IHSS providers enrol with the county Public Authority, whose National City office ((866) 351-7722) is about 39 road miles away, with a Department of Justice fingerprint check and the state orientation. CNA certification comes from CDPH; Palomar College, on West Mission Road in San Marcos, states on its own site that it does not offer a CNA or an LVN programme, though it does run an associate-degree RN programme, and Cal State San Marcos offers BSN and accelerated BSN pathways. Mandated-reporter duties under WIC §15630 apply to anyone caring for an older adult. See the requirements guide for the three tracks in full.
Local resources
Training and career resources near San Marcos
San Marcos is where North County trains its nurses; caregiver-level courses are thinner on the ground.
- Palomar College nursing education1140 West Mission Road, (760) 744-1150 ext. 2580. Associate-degree RN programme (four semesters after prerequisites) and an LVN-to-RN path; the college does not offer CNA or LVN training and directs students to the CDPH programme list.
- Cal State San Marcos School of Nursing333 South Twin Oaks Valley Road, (760) 750-4000. Traditional BSN, accelerated BSN, LVN-to-BSN, online RN-to-BSN, a veteran BSN pathway and a DNP.
- San Marcos Senior Center111 Richmar Avenue, (760) 744-5535, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., just north of the 78 freeway at Twin Oaks Valley Road. Weekday lunch (ext. 3607), transportation (ext. 3605) and senior classes; a good place to meet the families who hire.
- County IHSS Public Authority (National City)Phone (866) 351-7722; office at 401 Mile of Cars Way, Suite 200. Enrolment, the provider registry and job listings for IHSS work.
- Workforce Partnership, North County Coastal Career CenterWalk-in, no-cost job-search help at 3708 Ocean Ranch Boulevard in Oceanside, weekdays 8 to 5; (619) 319-9675. There is no San Marcos office.
- NCTD SPRINTER and BREEZESPRINTER stations in San Marcos between Vista and Escondido; BREEZE 347 links Cal State San Marcos and Palomar College, 304 runs Encinitas to San Marcos via Rancho Santa Fe Road, 445 Carlsbad to Palomar College. Adult fare $3, senior $1.50 on BREEZE; LIFT paratransit (760) 726-1111.
The area
San Marcos in numbers
San Marcos is an incorporated city in San Diego County with 97,554 residents on 1 January 2026 (DOF E-1); the adjacent Lake San Marcos community is unincorporated and counted separately by the Census. 13.2% of city residents are 65 or over (ACS 2020–2024), a younger profile than the county's 15.4% because of the two campuses, and 36.8% are Hispanic or Latino, with 24.8% of residents speaking Spanish at home. Median household income is $109,377.
Kaiser Permanente San Marcos Medical Center began taking patients in August 2023 with 168 beds and room for 206, an emergency department and labour and delivery; it is not a trauma centre, so trauma cases still go to Palomar Medical Center Escondido. Sharp Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside is about eleven road miles west. For a caregiver this means discharge-related postings from three hospitals within a short drive. Neighbouring markets with their own pages are Escondido and Vista; the county overview is on the San Diego page.
How it works
How to find caregiver work in San Marcos on CaregiverConnect
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
Years of experience, the care types you provide, any certifications. No licence is needed for non-medical care.
Set your availability and rate
Full-time, part-time or live-in; days and time blocks; hourly rate; travel radius; vehicle.
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Name, email, ZIP code, password. Your profile is live immediately for families in your radius.
Browse, apply or respond
Open postings plus a matched list. Apply, or answer a family's direct request; the family chooses who to hire. 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.
Agree on the details
Message to settle schedule, duties and pay. CaregiverConnect takes no cut of what you earn.
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Widen your search
Caregiver jobs near San Marcos
Families often post from neighbouring towns. Set your travel radius in your profile and you will appear in their searches too.
San Marcos is part of North County San Diego, which sits within San Diego County; the hub pages list every town and area they cover.
- Caregiver jobs in Vista, CA5 mi
- Caregiver jobs in Escondido, CA5 mi
- Caregiver jobs in Carlsbad, CA7 mi
- Caregiver jobs in Encinitas, CA8 mi
- Caregiver jobs in Oceanside, CA10 mi
- Rancho Bernardo, CA10 mi
- Caregiver jobs in Rancho Santa Fe, CA11 mi
- Solana Beach, CA11 mi
Guides
Useful reading before you apply
California caregiver requirements: HCA registry, IHSS and CNA explained
Which rules apply to a caregiver in California depends on who pays them. A plain-language map of the Home Care Aide Registry, IHSS provider enrolment and CNA/HHA certification, with the official sources.
What caregivers earn in California and Arizona: BLS, IHSS and minimum wage (2026)
Median hourly pay for home health and personal care aides by metro area from the May 2025 BLS survey, county IHSS wages, state minimum wages, and how private rates relate to them.
How to find private caregiver jobs without an agency
Where families who hire directly actually look, how to be found, what to put in writing, and the legal basics of being a household employee.
Caregiver interview preparation: questions families ask and how to answer them
What a family interview for private caregiving work really covers, the questions to expect, the questions you should ask, and what to bring.
Sources (checked 2026-10-13):
- California Department of Finance, E-1 2026 (San Marcos 97,554)
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year summary file, San Marcos city; 2024 Gazetteer (Lake San Marcos CDP)
- BLS OEWS May 2025, San Diego–Chula Vista–Carlsbad
- California EDD, 2023–2033 occupational projections, San Diego County
- CDSS, IHSS wages by county
- San Diego County IHSS Public Authority
- Palomar College Nursing Education; Find a CNA or LVN Program
- Cal State San Marcos School of Nursing
- KPBS, Kaiser Permanente San Marcos hospital opens (7 August 2023)
- Times of San Diego, Kaiser San Marcos Medical Center (400 Craven Road)
- Sharp HealthCare, Tri-City Medical Center partnership
- City of San Marcos, Senior Center
- San Diego Workforce Partnership career centers
- NCTD schedules and fares
Questions
Caregiver jobs in San Marcos: frequently asked questions
Are these San Marcos, California postings?
Yes. Everything on this page is filtered by distance from San Marcos in San Diego County; the Texas city of the same name is not included, whatever the search engines suggest.
Can a nursing student take caregiver work in San Marcos?
Many do. Companionship and household postings fit around classes at Palomar or CSUSM, and documented hours with a client are worth describing on a profile when you later apply for clinical roles.
Where can I get CNA training near San Marcos?
Not at Palomar College, which says it does not offer CNA or LVN courses. Use the CDPH approved-programme list the college links to; the requirements guide explains when a CNA certificate matters and when it does not.
What pay should I expect?
Private rates are set with each family. The reference points are the $20.40 county IHSS wage, the $16.97 employed median and the $23.11 nursing-assistant median; San Marcos rents push most private offers above the employed median.
Does the new Kaiser hospital hire through this site?
No. Hospitals employ staff directly. Families post here when a relative comes home from Kaiser San Marcos or Palomar Escondido and needs help for the first weeks.
Where do San Marcos families post?
On the San Marcos families page, which shows caregiver cards nearest the city.
Ready to find caregiver work in San Marcos?
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