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Transportation & errands caregiver needed in Storm Lake, IA
$15.00/hr offeredPosted Nov 14, 2026
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Spencer, Iowa · Clay County
Caregiver Jobs in Spencer, IA
Spencer, a city of roughly 11,200 in Clay County, Iowa, is home to Spencer Hospital and to offices of the local aging agency and transit system. Family postings near ZIP 51301 appear above, each showing the town it comes from and a straight-line distance, and new ones are added as they go live.
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Finding in-home caregiver jobs in Spencer
On July 1, 2025 the Census Bureau put Spencer's population at 11,218, out of 16,202 in all of Clay County. Its residents are older on average than Storm Lake's, its median age being 41.4 in Census survey estimates for 2020–2024, and 21.9% of residents are 65 or over. About 6.6% are between 75 and 84 and another 3.7% are 85 or older. In roughly a third of Spencer households (32.6%) at least one person is 65 or more, and in 11.1% of households the only resident is a woman of 65-plus, and a further 5.2% an older man by himself. The survey estimates that 29.5% of older residents have a disability (margin plus or minus 7.8 points).
Getting around matters. An estimated 7.2% of Spencer households have no vehicle, with a wide margin, which can leave an older client depending on a caregiver for trips to the pharmacy, the grocery store or a clinic. Tell families up front whether you drive and whether your own car is available for their errands. Workers who live in Spencer average a 15.8-minute trip to work.
Storm Lake, in Buena Vista County, is about 34 miles away in a straight line between the two ZIP centers, which is not a driving distance. Widening your radius to 35 miles or more shows postings from both cities together. For first-time applicants, how to find private caregiver jobs covers the basics.
Live postings
Families looking for private caregivers near Spencer, IA
Real postings from families on CaregiverConnect, matched to Spencer by distance.
This opening is in Storm Lake, not in Spencer itself. It is listed here because caregivers in Spencer can reach it; distances are straight-line miles between ZIP-code centers, not driving miles.
Showing 1 of 1 open posting within 50 straight-line miles of Spencer, nearest 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 Spencer
Requests you may see in Spencer: help getting up and ready in the morning, a cooked meal and light housework, company for a widowed parent, transport to the hospital campus for therapy or tests, and respite that gives a husband or wife a few free hours.
Senior caregiving · Personal care · Companion care · Dementia care · Respite care · Live-in · Overnight · Part-time and full-time
Pay
Caregiver pay in Spencer: how much caregivers make
Public figures first, then what they mean for private work. Statistics describe employed aides across the Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area (Clay 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, Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area (Clay County) | $17.19 median ($17.71 mean) | BLS OEWS, May 2025; 1,890 jobs; concentration 0.47× national |
| Iowa minimum wage | $7.25 | effective January 1, 2008 |
| Nursing assistants, Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area (Clay County) | $18.79 median | BLS OEWS, May 2025 (certified roles, for comparison) |
Who is the employer. A family that hires you directly is your employer. The Iowa minimum wage is $7.25 an hour (effective January 1, 2008); the federal minimum of $7.25 and federal overtime rules apply to directly employed caregivers unless the work is exempt companionship under the FLSA. Source: US Department of Labor, direct care workers; the state source is listed at the end of this page.
The wage survey treats Clay County as one piece of a 22-county region that BLS calls the Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area, which also takes in Buena Vista, Dickinson, Emmet and Palo Alto. Across that region BLS counted 1,890 aide jobs with a $17.19 hourly median in May 2025, and half of them fell between $33,660 and $38,490 a year. The 3,070 nursing assistants in the same area did a little better, at an $18.79 median. Iowa's legal minimum is far below those numbers: $7.25 an hour, a rate the state code has carried since January 2008, with a $6.35 rate allowed for a new hire's first 90 days. Neither Clay County nor the City of Spencer can set a higher local floor: Iowa Code sections 331.304 and 364.3 forbid county and city ordinances on minimum or living wages. When you agree to private work, write down the rate, how mileage is handled and what an overnight shift pays.
Rules
Caregiver requirements in Iowa, applied to Spencer
For work you arrange directly with a family, no Iowa page we read calls for a state license. Medicaid-paid home care runs through the waivers: Iowa HHS lists Consumer-Directed Attendant Care among Elderly Waiver services for people 65 and older. The person receiving CDAC hires, trains and directs the attendant. The provider application Iowa HHS revised in February 2023 has each applicant confirm they are not the member's spouse or the parent or stepparent of a member 17 or younger, and asks for a signed Record Check Consent and a copy of a birth certificate or driver's license. Under the Consumer Choice Option, the member instead receives a budget, picks an Independent Support Broker, and a Financial Management Service pays the employees. To work as a nurse aide in an Iowa nursing home you must be active on the Direct Care Worker Registry. The U.S. Labor Department extended minimum wage and overtime to most direct care workers on January 1, 2015.
Local resources
Training and career resources near Spencer
All of these serve Spencer or Clay County; each was confirmed on the provider's own site on November 14, 2026.
- Avera@Home of Spencer HospitalThe hospital's home health and hospice service. Its team lists aides and care assistants and homemakers alongside nurses, therapists and social workers, and it accepts Medicare, Medicaid, most insurance and private pay. Phone (712) 264-6380.
- Iowa Lakes Community College, Certified Nursing AideA state-approved course of 30 classroom, 15 lab and 30 clinical hours. The next listed section, #8905, is hybrid through the Emmetsburg campus from January 19 to April 1, 2027, with $899 tuition; it is eligible for Iowa's GAP tuition assistance for those who qualify. The college also offers the CNA skills test and a refresher course.
- Elderbridge Agency on Aging, Spencer officeOne of four Elderbridge offices, at 714 10th Avenue East, Suite 1. Elderbridge is the Area Agency on Aging for Clay and 28 other counties; call (800) 243-0678, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., about meals, caregiver support and options counseling. LifeLong Links, the statewide line for aging and disability help, is (866) 468-7887.
- Clay County Public HealthRun by Spencer Hospital since the 1980s from the second floor of the Spencer Medical Arts Building, just south of the hospital. Call (712) 264-6685 about its clinics and programs.
- RIDESThe regional demand-response transit system is based at 522 10th Avenue East in Spencer and carries the general public, riders with disabilities included, door to door in Clay and neighboring counties. Schedule at 800-358-5037.
The area
Spencer in numbers
Spencer Hospital began in 1914, when 17 women from local churches formed the Spencer Hospital Association, and became a municipal facility when the city moved it to its current site in 1935. For fiscal year 2025 it reported 535 full- and part-time staff, an average of 19 inpatients a day, 8,441 emergency visits and 220 births, and its new emergency department is entered from East 11th Street off Grand Avenue. Education, health care and social assistance employ 29.9% of working Spencer residents.
The same ACS estimates show a median household income of $59,667, against $65,428 for Clay County; 68.1% of homes are lived in by their owners, and the typical gross rent is $805. English dominates at home: only 3.6% of residents five and older speak another language. See the statewide Iowa page for other towns.
How it works
How to find private caregiver jobs in Spencer (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 Spencer
Families often post from neighbouring towns. Set your travel radius in your profile and you will appear in their searches too.
Sources (checked 2026-11-14):
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Iowa place codes (Spencer city, Clay County)
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates for Iowa cities
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 data profiles DP02–DP05, Spencer city
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 data profiles, Clay County, Iowa
- BLS, OEWS area definitions, May 2025 (Wayback copy, October 21, 2026)
- BLS OEWS May 2025 via the BLS Public Data API, Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area, aides and nursing assistants
- Iowa Code 2026, section 91D.1 (minimum wage requirements)
- Iowa Code 2026, section 331.304 (limits on county powers)
- Iowa Code 2026, section 364.3 (limits on city powers)
- Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, wage FAQ
- Iowa HHS, HCBS Guide, Comm. 270 (07/25)
- Iowa HHS, Universal HCBS Waiver Provider Application, form 470-2917 (02/23)
- Iowa HHS, Consumer Choice Option (CCO) page
- Iowa HHS, abuse and fraud reporting lines
- Iowa HHS, Elderbridge Area Agency on Aging (areas served, hours)
- Iowa HHS, location page listing the LifeLong Links call center
- Elderbridge Agency on Aging, offices
- Iowa DIAL, CNA requirements and Direct Care Worker Registry
- U.S. Department of Labor, home care rule for individuals and families
- Spencer Hospital, our history
- Spencer Hospital, fast facts (fiscal year 2025)
- Spencer Hospital, home page (emergency department entrance)
- Spencer Hospital, Avera@Home home health and hospice
- Spencer Hospital, Clay County Public Health
- Iowa Lakes Community College, Certified Nursing Aide classes
- Iowa DOT, transit agency RIDES
- RIDES, rider information
Questions
Caregiver jobs in Spencer: frequently asked questions
How much do in-home aides make around Spencer?
BLS figures for the Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area, which includes Clay County, put the aide occupation (home health and personal care) at a $17.19 hourly median and a $17.71 mean as of May 2025. Nursing assistants there had an $18.79 median. Private rates are whatever you and the family agree, but never below Iowa's $7.25 minimum where it applies.
Can an adult child be paid to look after a parent in Clay County?
Through Iowa Medicaid's Elderly Waiver, an adult child can be hired as a Consumer-Directed Attendant Care provider, since the enrollment rules exclude only spouses and the parents or stepparents of minors. The parent must already be on the waiver and the case manager must approve the CDAC agreement before any hours are paid. Elderbridge, (800) 243-0678, can explain the steps.
Who employs home care aides in Spencer itself?
Avera@Home of Spencer Hospital runs home health and hospice from the city and lists aides, care assistants and homemakers on its team; call (712) 264-6380. Spencer Hospital reported 535 staff in fiscal 2025.
Where is the nearest CNA class to Spencer?
Iowa Lakes Community College lists a hybrid section run through its Emmetsburg campus, January 19 to April 1, 2027, for $899 tuition. DIAL requires 75 hours of training, 30 of them clinical, plus a written and a skills test.
How do older Spencer residents without a car get to appointments?
RIDES, headquartered on 10th Avenue East, runs door-to-door rides open to the general public; schedule them through 800-358-5037.
What number should I call about suspected abuse of a dependent adult in Spencer?
Iowa HHS answers 800-362-2178 around the clock for reports of child or dependent adult abuse. Call 911 if the person is in immediate danger.
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