Caregiver in San Diego, CA
about 4 mi from San Diego County · 10+ yrs experience
$35/hrSee full profile
San Diego County, California
Find Caregivers in San Diego County
Independent caregivers in every part of the county, with the deepest pool in central San Diego, the South Bay and East County. Post once, free, and let caregivers whose travel radius covers your home apply directly.
- Free to join, browse and post
- Hire directly, no agency mark-up
- You stay in control of screening
Start here
How to find a caregiver in San Diego County
Hiring privately works the same way everywhere in the county: you post the care need with your ZIP code, days and time blocks, and caregivers whose radius covers your address apply. What changes by region is who applies. In the South Bay you will hear from Spanish- and Tagalog-speaking caregivers in Chula Vista and National City; in East County from La Mesa, El Cajon and Spring Valley, including Arabic speakers; in North County from Oceanside, Vista and Escondido, where most of the region's caregivers live because housing is cheaper inland than on the coast. The cards above draw from a 60-mile radius, nearest first; each region and city page narrows that to people who would actually drive to you.
One honest note on supply: the platform has far more caregivers in the city, the South Bay and East County than in North County, and none yet in the mountain and desert communities (Julian, Borrego Springs, Campo). A family in Carlsbad or Fallbrook should expect fewer applicants than one in Lemon Grove and may want to add a travel allowance.
Available now
Caregivers in San Diego County
Independent caregivers with profiles on CaregiverConnect whose home base is within 60 miles. You agree on duties, schedule and pay directly with the person you hire.
Caregiver in Westonhill San Diego, CA
about 4 mi from San Diego County · 10+ yrs experience
$30/hrSee full profile
Caregiver in San Diego, CA
about 4 mi from San Diego County · 10+ yrs experience
$25/hrSee full profile
Caregiver in San Diego, CA
about 4 mi from San Diego County · 2+ yrs experience
$27/hrSee full profile
Caregiver in San Diego, CA
about 4 mi from San Diego County · 1+ yrs experience
$25/hrSee full profile
Caregiver in San Diego, CA
about 4 mi from San Diego County · 0+ yrs experience
$27/hrSee full profile
6 of 48 available caregivers within 60 miles of San Diego County, nearest first. Names, photos, bios, references and the Verified badge details are shown once you create a free family account; this public page keeps caregivers anonymous.
Are you a caregiver in San Diego County?
Open postings and a free profile.
Cities and towns in San Diego County
Find caregivers by city and town
Each page below has its own local research and shows live caregiver profiles near that place. Towns without a page yet are covered by this hub.
North County San Diego
- Find caregivers in Oceansidepop. 174,027
- Find caregivers in Carlsbadpop. 115,867
- Find caregivers in Escondidopop. 152,196
- Find caregivers in San Marcospop. 97,554
- Find caregivers in Vistapop. 101,365
- Find caregivers in Encinitaspop. 62,193
- Find caregivers in Powaypop. 50,263
- Find caregivers in Solana Beachpop. 12,941
- Find caregivers in Del Marpop. 3,917
- Find caregivers in Fallbrookpop. 32,112
- Find caregivers in Ramonapop. 22,634
- Find caregivers in Rancho Santa Fepop. 2,260
- Find caregivers in Rancho Bernardopop. 41,810
South Bay San Diego
- Find caregivers in Chula Vistapop. 282,999
- Find caregivers in National Citypop. 58,701
- Find caregivers in Imperial Beachpop. 26,066
- Find caregivers in Coronadopop. 23,796
East County San Diego
- Find caregivers in El Cajonpop. 104,932
- Find caregivers in La Mesapop. 61,707
- Find caregivers in Santeepop. 59,812
- Find caregivers in Lemon Grovepop. 28,233
- Find caregivers in Spring Valleypop. 31,969
- Find caregivers in Lakesidepop. 22,447
- Find caregivers in Alpinepop. 15,180
San Diego County: other cities
- Find caregivers in San Diegopop. 1,419,531
- Find caregivers in La Jollapop. 29,467
Area by area
The communities of San Diego County
Who is likely to apply, and what the care landscape looks like, in each part of the county.
- North County San DiegoOceanside to Del Mar on the coast, Escondido, San Marcos, Vista and Poway inland, Fallbrook, Ramona, Rancho Santa Fe and Rancho Bernardo; 274 licensed residential care facilities and 69 agencies; Palomar, Sharp Tri-City and Scripps Encinitas hospitals.
- South Bay San DiegoChula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach and Coronado with San Ysidro and Otay Mesa; mostly Spanish- and Tagalog-speaking caregivers; four hospitals.
- East County San DiegoLa Mesa, El Cajon, Santee, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley, Lakeside and Alpine and the backcountry; Sharp Grossmont; a large Arabic-speaking caregiver community in El Cajon.
- San DiegoThe city itself, 1,419,531 residents, the largest number of caregivers on the platform and 104 of the county's 230 licensed agencies.
- La Jolla and Rancho BernardoTwo neighborhoods of the City of San Diego with their own pages; Rancho Bernardo is listed with North County.
- Chula Vista282,999 residents; 46.8% speak Spanish at home; 27 residential care facilities including Fredericka Manor, the South Bay's largest.
- Oceanside174,027 residents, 17.0% aged 65 or older; county IHSS office and career centre share one building on Ocean Ranch Boulevard.
- Escondido152,196 residents; 86 residential care facilities, the most outside the city; county IHSS office on West Mission Avenue.
- Carlsbad115,867 residents; 18.8% aged 65 or older; La Costa Glen, the largest licensed retirement community in the county (1,233 places).
- El Cajon104,932 residents; Arabic spoken at home by 11.0% of residents aged five and over; county IHSS office on North Magnolia Avenue.
- Vista and San Marcos101,365 and 97,554 residents; younger than the county average; SPRINTER rail to Oceanside and Escondido.
- Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del MarCoastal cities with 19.9%, 26.7% and 31.8% aged 65 or older and median home values from $1.6 million upwards; caregivers mostly commute in.
- La Mesa and Santee61,707 and 59,812 residents; Sharp Grossmont Hospital (562 beds) in La Mesa; Grossmont Gardens and The Montera are the larger facilities.
- National City58,701 residents; 51.5% speak Spanish and 12.2% Tagalog at home; Paradise Valley Hospital and its South Bay Rehabilitation Center.
- Poway50,263 residents, 19.0% aged 65 or older; Palomar Medical Center Poway and The Villas at Poway skilled nursing.
- Lemon Grove and Imperial BeachSmall cities of 28,233 and 26,066 with working-age profiles and Spanish-speaking households (31.3% and 37.7%).
- Coronado23,796 residents, 22.1% aged 65 or older, 14.5% veterans; Sharp Coronado Hospital with Villa Coronado skilled nursing.
- Spring Valley, Lakeside and AlpineUnincorporated communities (census-designated places) in East County of 31,969, 22,447 and 15,180 residents; Lakeside and Alpine have older profiles (19.7% and 19.5% aged 65 or older).
- Fallbrook, Ramona and Rancho Santa FeUnincorporated communities (census-designated places) in North County: Fallbrook (32,112) and Ramona (22,634) are working towns, Rancho Santa Fe (2,260) an estate community where 29.1% are 65 or older.
What you can post
Types of in-home care families in San Diego County 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.
Choosing well
Evaluating caregivers in San Diego County
Three county-level credentials can be checked. IHSS enrolment means the Public Authority in National City has taken the caregiver's SOC 426, run a Live Scan fingerprint check and had them sign the provider agreement; ask to see the ID badge. The state Home Care Aide Registry is mandatory for aides of the county's 230 licensed Home Care Organizations and voluntary for independents; search it online. A CNA certificate from CDPH is verifiable too, and the free SDCCE Personal Care Assistant course, MiraCosta's or Southwestern's CNA course and the Grossmont Health Occupations Center all issue completion documents. Then do what no credential replaces: interview with your relative present, phone two previous families, run a consumer-reporting background check with written consent, and start with paid trial shifts. CaregiverConnect does not run checks; a Verified badge shows that a caregiver uploaded proof of one.
Questions families here ask at interview
- Which region do you cover, and how long is your drive to us in morning traffic on I-5, I-15 or I-8?
- Are you enrolled with IHSS, on the Home Care Aide Registry, or a CNA?
- Have you cared for someone after a discharge from a Sharp, Scripps or Palomar hospital?
- What languages do you speak with the person you care for: Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic?
- Have you cared for someone with dementia, and how do you handle refusals and sundowning?
- Can you drive my mother to appointments, and do you charge mileage?
- What hours can you commit to for six months, and who covers when you are away?
- What is your rate, and what is extra for overnights, weekends or short notice?
Schedules and cost
Typical schedules and what care costs in San Diego County
Choosing a region page. Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach and Coronado use the South Bay page; La Mesa, El Cajon, Santee, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley, Lakeside and Alpine the East County page; Oceanside, Carlsbad, Escondido, San Marcos, Vista, Encinitas, Poway, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Fallbrook, Ramona and Rancho Santa Fe the North County page. The City of San Diego, La Jolla and Rancho Bernardo have their own pages.
County-wide, families most often post three to five weekday blocks of personal care and company, then add hours. Overnight requests follow hospital discharges and dementia progression; weekend respite is common where an adult child is the main carer. Live-in postings are rare and mostly coastal.
| Reference point | Hourly | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employed aides, San Diego metro (San Diego County) | $16.97 median | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| IHSS provider wage, San Diego County | $20.40 | CDSS; effective March 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.
Expect to pay a private caregiver between the $20.40 IHSS wage and the $40 statewide agency median; the $16.97 employed median is a floor, not a target. Inside the City of San Diego the minimum wage is $17.75, elsewhere in the county $16.90. Households that hire directly are employers: payroll taxes apply above the federal threshold, and California personal attendants earn overtime after nine hours a day or 45 a week. If your relative qualifies for Medi-Cal, apply for IHSS through the AIS call centre first; the county pays the caregiver you choose for the authorised hours and you pay privately only for the rest.
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.
Local help
Caregiver resources for families in San Diego County
- Aging & Independence Services call centre(800) 339-4661, weekdays 8 am to 5 pm; abuse reports 24 hours a day. IHSS applications, care coordination, meals, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman and Adult Protective Services (adults 60 and older, dependent adults 18 and older).
- Family Caregiver Support ProgramCounty programme for family caregivers of people 60 and older: assessment, care management, support groups, counselling, skills training, respite, legal help and minor home modifications, most at no charge. Respite and counselling via Southern Caregiver Resource Center (800) 827-1008; legal via Elder Law & Advocacy (858) 565-1392; home fixes via JFS Fix-it (858) 637-3210 (central, south, east) or Interfaith Community Services (760) 504-4486 (North County).
- IHSS Public Authority registry401 Mile of Cars Way, Suite 200, National City, (866) 351-7722. Free registry matching IHSS recipients with enrolled caregivers; back-up provider system; serves over 48,000 recipients.
- Alzheimer's San Diego3635 Ruffin Road, Suite 300, San Diego, (858) 492-4400. Says nearly 100,000 county residents live with Alzheimer's or another dementia; support, education, support groups, respite and services in Spanish.
- County IHSS offices by regionEl Cajon 389 N. Magnolia Ave; Escondido 649 W. Mission Ave, Suite 5; National City 401 Mile of Cars Way, Suite 210; Oceanside 3708 Ocean Ranch Blvd, Suite 320; San Diego 5560 Overland Ave, Suite 310 and 5101 Market St, Suite 2100. Discharge planners can refer online.
- Transit for appointmentsRideFACT $5–$20 rides for seniors and people with disabilities in all 18 cities, weekdays 7 am to 8 pm, (888) 924-3228; MTS Access paratransit $6 a trip from 1 October 2026, (888) 517-9627; NCTD LIFT in North County $6, (760) 726-1111.
- 2-1-1 San DiegoFree, confidential, 24-hour information line and online directory for county services.
Safety
Hiring safely in San Diego County
Put duties, hours, rate, overtime, mileage, notice and emergency contacts in a one-page agreement; keep a weekly timesheet both of you sign; lock away valuables and set up bank alerts. Report suspected abuse, neglect or financial exploitation to Adult Protective Services through (800) 339-4661, any hour. The hiring guide walks through screening, household-employer taxes and overtime.
How it works
How to find and hire a caregiver in San Diego County
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.
Pricing, plainly
What is free and what costs money
Free family account
$0
- Browse profiles, post and edit care needs, receive applications
Family Premium
$24.99/month
- 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.
Widen your search
Find caregivers near San Diego County
Caregivers set a travel radius, so a caregiver based in a neighbouring town may well cover your home. These pages show who is nearby.
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 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.
Sources (checked 2026-10-13):
- BLS OEWS May 2025, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
- CDSS, IHSS wages by county
- CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey 2025, California
- California DIR, Domestic Worker Bill of Rights FAQ
- County of San Diego AIS: about, IHSS offices, Family Caregiver Support Program, Adult Protective Services
- San Diego County IHSS Public Authority (about, steps to enrol)
- California Department of Finance, E-1 population estimates 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 (S0101, S1601, C16001, DP02, DP04), county and places
- CDSS Community Care Licensing open data (HCO and RCFE, May 2025 file)
- Sharp HealthCare hospital pages (Grossmont, Chula Vista, Coronado, Tri-City)
- Palomar UC San Diego Health locations
- Alzheimer's San Diego
- FACT RideFACT; MTS Access; NCTD LIFT
- 2-1-1 San Diego
- IRS Topic 756, household employees
Questions
Hiring a caregiver in San Diego County: frequently asked questions
Should I post on the county page or my city page?
Post from your own account with your ZIP code; the posting appears on every page whose radius covers you. The pages differ in what they show you, not in who sees your posting.
How do I get IHSS to pay for part of the care?
Call Aging & Independence Services at (800) 339-4661 or ask the discharge planner to refer online. Your relative must be 65 or older, blind or disabled, on full-scope Medi-Cal and unable to stay home safely without help; the county then authorises hours and pays the caregiver you choose $20.40 an hour.
Is there free help for family caregivers in San Diego County?
Yes. The county's Family Caregiver Support Program funds respite, counselling and support groups through Southern Caregiver Resource Center, legal help through Elder Law & Advocacy and minor home modifications through JFS Fix-it or Interfaith Community Services, most at no charge.
Which part of the county has the most caregivers available?
Central San Diego, the South Bay and East County. North County has fewer profiles and the mountain and desert communities none yet, so allow more time there.
What does CaregiverConnect charge?
Browsing, posting and receiving applications are free. Family Premium ($24.99 a month, cancel any time) adds messaging and confirming a hire. Nothing is taken from what you pay the caregiver.
Post your care need in San Diego County
It is free, takes about ten minutes, and caregivers in San Diego County can see it as soon as it is live.
Create your free family account