Find Caregivers in Merced, CA
Merced has the county's hospital, its college students and its aging services, and the largest pool of caregivers in the county once they sign up. Post what your parent needs for free and hire directly, with no agency mark-up.
- Free to join, browse and post
- Hire directly, no agency mark-up
- You stay in control of screening
How to find a caregiver in Merced
Hiring in Merced works in layers. If your parent qualifies for Medi-Cal, apply for In-Home Supportive Services first: the county authorises a number of hours a month and pays $17.50 an hour to a provider your parent chooses, and the Public Authority registry on West Wardrobe Avenue can supply one if there is no relative to do it. A private caregiver, found here, covers what IHSS does not: evenings, weekends, the weeks after a discharge from Mercy Medical Center, or simply more hours than the county allows. Post with your ZIP code (95340 or 95348), the time blocks and the tasks, and caregivers whose travel radius covers you see it at once. Merced's caregiver pool will be a mix of experienced IHSS providers, Merced College nursing-assistant students and UC Merced students looking for evening and weekend hours, so say which you would prefer. Six in ten residents are Hispanic or Latino and 37.9% speak Spanish at home; 5.4% speak an Asian or Pacific Islander language. No caregiver has registered from Merced yet; the cards above fill as profiles are created.
Caregivers near Merced, CA
Independent caregivers with profiles on CaregiverConnect whose home base is within 50 miles. You agree on duties, schedule and pay directly with the person you hire.
No caregivers within 50 miles of Merced have joined yet
We do not pad this page with distant profiles. Posting is free, and caregivers who join in Merced County see it immediately.
Counts come from live caregiver profiles on CaregiverConnect. Sample and test profiles are never shown here.
Are you a caregiver in Merced?
Open postings and a free profile.
Types of in-home care families in Merced arrange
All non-medical. For nursing tasks (injections, wound care, catheters) you need a licensed home health agency, not a private caregiver.
- Senior care at home: meals, reminders, housekeeping, errands, company.
- Personal care: bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, transfers.
- Companion care: conversation, walks, appointments, errands.
- Dementia care: routine-based support; ask for experience.
- Respite care: shifts so a family caregiver can rest or work.
- Overnight and live-in: night supervision or room-and-board arrangements.
- Post-surgery recovery: non-medical help after a hospital stay.
- Part-time and flexible: a few hours on set days is the usual start.
Evaluating caregivers in Merced
Merced gives you three things to verify: IHSS enrolment through the county Public Authority (fingerprinted by the Department of Justice and oriented by the county), a listing on the state Home Care Aide Registry (voluntary for independents, searchable online), and a CNA certificate, often from the Merced College course on M Street and checkable with CDPH. Ask for two references and phone them; for a student, ask for a clinical instructor. Interview at home with your parent present, run a consumer-reporting background check with written consent, and pay for a trial shift before setting a schedule. CaregiverConnect does not screen caregivers; a Verified badge records an uploaded document that was reviewed.
Questions families here ask at interview
- Which part of Merced do you live in, and can you reach us by bus or do you drive?
- Are you enrolled with the Merced County IHSS Public Authority, and are you on its registry?
- Have you cared for someone after a discharge from Mercy Medical Center, and what did the first week look like?
- Do you speak Spanish, or another language, with the person you care for?
- If you are a student, how will your hours change at exam time and over the summer?
- How would you handle my mother refusing her medication or becoming confused in the evening?
- What is your rate, and what is extra for nights, weekends or driving?
Typical schedules and what care costs in Merced
Merced postings cover the full range: weekday daytime blocks for a parent whose children work, evening and weekend hours that suit student caregivers, short intensive help after a hospital stay, dementia supervision and occasional overnights. Families often start with three or four weekday blocks and add hours. Live-in is uncommon.
| Reference point | Hourly | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employed aides, Merced metro (Merced County) | $16.50 median | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| IHSS provider wage, Merced County | $17.50 | CDSS; effective January 1, 2026 |
| California minimum wage | $16.90 | effective January 1, 2026 |
| Agency non-medical home care, California median (CareScout 2025) | $40.00 | CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025 |
Who is the employer. When you hire a caregiver directly, you are a household 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.
Merced's reference points are close together: a $16.50 employed median, the $16.90 state minimum and $17.50 for IHSS providers. A private caregiver will usually quote from the IHSS rate upwards, with personal care, dementia supervision, nights and driving at the top of the range and the $40 statewide agency median as the ceiling. Hiring directly makes you a household employer, with payroll tax above the federal threshold and overtime after nine hours a day or 45 a week for a personal attendant.
No agency tracks private rates. A caregiver you hire directly will usually expect more than the employed-aide median and less than an agency rate; every caregiver on this site lists an hourly rate on their profile, and the hiring guide covers taxes and overtime.
Caregiver resources for families in Merced
- Merced County Area Agency on Aging851 W. 23rd Street, (209) 385-7550. Family Caregiver Support Program, Meals on Wheels referrals, and the weekday senior lunch served at the same address for residents 60 and over.
- Merced County IHSS Public Authority2115 W. Wardrobe Avenue, (209) 383-9504. Registry of enrolled providers for recipients who need one; IHSS applications through the Human Services Agency.
- Merced County Adult Protective Services(209) 385-3105; statewide 24-hour reporting line 1-833-401-0832.
- Valley Caregiver Resource Center(800) 541-8614 or (559) 224-9154, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Free family-caregiver support groups, classes and respite for Merced County; ask for the current Merced group schedule.
- Mercy Medical Center Merced333 Mercy Avenue; 186 licensed beds with a basic emergency department. Ask the discharge planner about home-health orders and equipment before the first private shift.
- The Bus paratransitDoor-to-door service for approved riders anywhere in Merced County, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends; apply on 1-877-232-7433, reserve on (209) 384-3111. Seniors ride free under Measure V on paratransit and the fixed routes.
- Merced College Nurse Assistant programme3600 M Street, nursing office (209) 384-6128. A source of CNA-trained caregivers; ask whether a candidate completed ALLH-63.
Hiring safely in Merced
Agree duties, hours, rate, overtime, mileage, notice and emergency contacts in writing; keep a weekly timesheet, and keep IHSS hours and private hours on separate records if the same person does both. Secure documents, cards and medication, set up account alerts, and keep the Area Agency on Aging's respite in reserve. Report suspected abuse or neglect to Merced County Adult Protective Services on (209) 385-3105. The hiring guide covers screening, the agreement and taxes.
How to find and hire a caregiver in Merced
CaregiverConnect is a marketplace, not an agency: you hire the caregiver directly, which is why there is no agency mark-up on their hourly rate. That also means screening is your responsibility, and we tell you how.
Describe the care you need
Who, which tasks, which days and time blocks, budget, start date. About ten minutes, free.
Your posting goes live
Caregivers in range see it immediately. Edit or close it any time from your dashboard.
Review caregivers and applicants
Experience, care types, languages, rates, availability. Applicants appear under your posting.
Message and hire
Messaging and confirming a hire are part of Family Premium ($24.99/month, cancel anytime). Browsing, posting and applications are free.
Agree terms and pay directly
Rate, schedule and payment are between you and the caregiver. No percentage is taken.
What is free and what costs money
Free family account
- Browse profiles, post and edit care needs, receive applications
Family Premium
- Messaging, direct job requests, confirming a hire; cancel any time
No commission on what you pay the caregiver; payments are between you. Details on the pricing page.
Find caregivers near Merced
Caregivers set a travel radius, so a caregiver based in a neighbouring town may well cover your home. These pages show who is nearby.
Merced is part of Merced County; the hub pages list every town and area they cover.
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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 hire a private caregiver: cost, screening, taxes and a written agreement
What a private in-home caregiver costs compared with an agency, how to screen and check references, the household-employer tax and overtime rules in California and Arizona, and what to put in writing.
Imperial County caregiver resources: training, job centres, IHSS, senior services and transport
A verified directory of the agencies and programmes caregivers and families in El Centro, Calexico, Brawley, Imperial, Holtville, Westmorland and Calipatria actually use, with addresses and phone numbers checked on 12 October 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 data profiles, Merced city
- California Department of Finance, E-1 2026 population estimates
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Merced, CA
- CDSS, IHSS wages by county
- CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey 2025, California
- California DIR, Domestic Worker Bill of Rights FAQ
- Merced County Human Services Agency: AAA, IHSS Public Authority, APS
- Merced County Rescue Mission, Senior Nutrition Program
- Valley Caregiver Resource Center
- HCAI facility profile, Mercy Medical Center Merced
- The Bus, paratransit
- Merced College, Nurse Assistant program
- CDSS, Home Care Aide Registry search
Hiring a caregiver in Merced: frequently asked questions
How do I find a caregiver in Merced?
Post your need free with your ZIP code and the hours; caregivers in Merced, Atwater and Winton whose radius covers you see it immediately, and anyone available within 50 miles appears in the cards above.
How do IHSS and a private caregiver fit together?
IHSS pays for the hours Merced County authorises, at $17.50; a private caregiver covers the rest under your own arrangement. The same person can do both if you keep the two sets of hours on separate timesheets.
Is there a city senior centre in Merced?
We could not reach the City of Merced's pages to confirm its senior centre details, so we have not listed them. The county senior lunch runs weekdays at 851 W. 23rd Street, and the Area Agency on Aging at the same address can point you to the rest.
Should I hire a student caregiver?
Merced College nursing-assistant students and UC Merced students are a real part of the local pool and suit evening and weekend blocks; ask how exams and summer will affect their hours, and ask for a clinical reference.
Does CaregiverConnect screen caregivers?
No. A Verified badge means a caregiver uploaded proof of a background check that was reviewed; identity, references and history are yours to confirm.
What does the site charge families?
Browsing, posting and receiving applications are free. Messaging and confirming a hire are part of Family Premium ($24.99 a month, cancel any time); nothing is deducted from the caregiver's pay.
Post your care need in Merced
It is free, takes about ten minutes, and caregivers in Merced County can see it as soon as it is live.
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