Caregiver in San Jose, CA
about 11 mi from Sunnyvale · 10+ yrs experience
$25/hrSee full profile
Sunnyvale, California · Santa Clara County
In-Home Caregivers in Sunnyvale, CA
More than one Sunnyvale household in five includes someone aged 65 or older (ACS 2020–2024). List what your parent or partner needs without paying anything, weigh up the responses, and make the hire yourself.
- Free to join, browse and post
- Hire directly, no agency mark-up
- You stay in control of screening
Start here
How to find an in-home caregiver in Sunnyvale
Before you hire, call the Sunnyvale Senior Center on Remington Drive. Its care management program is free for city residents 50 and over: a care manager assesses what your relative needs, draws up a care plan, arranges services and keeps checking in, and visits people at home if they cannot get out. That assessment is a sensible starting point for deciding how many private hours to buy. The same center serves a reservation-only City Café lunch to adults 50 and up, with no membership needed, and Sunnyvale Community Services on Kern Avenue delivers food to homebound residents. County IHSS can cover authorized hours for Medi-Cal recipients. A caregiver you hire then covers what remains: personal care, evenings, weekends and nights.
A useful post gives duties, weekly hours, your ZIP code, where to park and whether there are pets. Caregivers who can work in Sunnyvale reply to you directly, and the list of profiles above changes as new people nearby sign up. Six in ten Sunnyvale residents over the age of four grew up with, or now use, a home language besides English, so name your relative's preferred language right away. If the caregiver will drive your relative, say whose car and who covers insurance.
Available now
Private in-home caregivers near Sunnyvale, 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.
Caregiver in San Marcos, CA
about 44 mi from Sunnyvale · 10+ yrs experience
$30/hrSee full profile
2 of 2 available caregivers within 50 miles of Sunnyvale, 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 Sunnyvale?
Open postings and a free profile.
What you can post
Types of in-home care families in Sunnyvale 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 · Personal care · Companion care · Dementia care · Respite care · Overnight and live-in · Post-surgery recovery · Part-time and flexible
Choosing well
Evaluating caregivers in Sunnyvale
Each credential can be checked. Every aide a licensed agency sends must appear on the state's public registry of home care aides, while a private caregiver may or may not have joined it. A CNA has finished an approved course and a state test, and an IHSS provider in this county has had a Department of Justice fingerprint check before Public Authority Services enrolled them. The rest is up to you: meet at the house with your relative taking part, phone two former employers, get the applicant's signature authorizing a background report you order, and book one paid trial day. CaregiverConnect does not vet anyone, and the Verified badge covers a single reviewed document.
Questions families here ask at interview
- My father's doctors are at El Camino in Mountain View. Have you done appointment runs or discharge care there?
- The City Café lunch on Remington Drive needs a reservation. Would you book it and take Dad there?
- My mother is happiest in her first language. Can you speak it with her?
- Show me any certificate, registry number or IHSS provider letter you have.
- How would you help someone with dementia who becomes anxious in the late afternoon?
- If my work-from-home schedule changes, how much flexibility do you have during the week?
- Will you keep a daily log we can both read?
Schedules and cost
What in-home care costs in Sunnyvale: hourly rates and schedules
Sunnyvale posts tend to fall into a few patterns: weekday daytime cover while family members work, two or three visits a week for someone still mostly independent, morning and bedtime personal care, a few weeks of overnights after a hospital stay, or Saturday and Sunday relief for a spouse.
| Reference point | Hourly | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employed aides, San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara metro (Santa Clara and San Benito counties) | $18.09 median | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| IHSS provider wage, Santa Clara County | $20.44 | 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.
In 2026 the Sunnyvale minimum is $19.50 an hour for workers putting in two hours or more weekly inside the city. The city's page does not address private households that employ a caregiver themselves, so either ask Economic Development (408-730-7902) or simply pay at least $19.50, which is above both the state $16.90 and the $18.09 metro aide median. IHSS pays county providers $20.44. Agency bills reflect payroll costs, insurance and supervision on top of the aide's wage. Long days carry an extra cost, because California's Domestic Worker Bill of Rights makes the ninth-plus hour of a day, and the 45th-plus hour of a week, overtime at one and a half times the usual rate. Write the rate, overtime and any mileage into your agreement before the first shift.
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 Sunnyvale
- Sunnyvale Senior CenterCommunity Center, 550 E. Remington Drive; front desk 408-730-7360, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free care management for residents 50+, with home visits for the homebound. Annual membership $40 for residents, $60 for nonresidents.
- Sunnyvale Community Services1160 Kern Avenue, 408-738-4321, weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a midday break. Food, homebound delivery and financial assistance for low-income residents.
- Santa Clara County IHSSAuthorized hours, social worker contact and payroll: (408) 792-1600 or IHSS.SCC@ssa.sccgov.org.
- Public Authority Services RegistryIHSS recipients can ask for lists of pre-screened providers to interview; an On-Call Registry may cover urgent gaps. (408) 350-3251.
- VTA ACCESS ParatransitParatransit for riders whose disability makes regular VTA service impossible some or all of the time; age alone does not qualify anyone.
- SourcewiseSanta Clara County's aging and disability resource agency: free HICAP Medicare counseling and referrals. (408) 350-3200, option 1.
Safety
Hiring safely in Sunnyvale
Agree the terms in writing: tasks, schedule, pay, overtime, sick days, transport and notice. Keep timesheets, secure valuables and medications, and turn on transaction alerts for your relative's accounts. The county's Adult Protective Services hotline never closes: (408) 975-4900 or 1 (800) 414-2002, for suspected abuse or exploitation; call 9-1-1 in an emergency. A printable checklist is in our private caregiver hiring guide.
How it works
How to hire a private caregiver in Sunnyvale (no agency)
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
- Your posting goes live
- Review caregivers and applicants
- Message and hire
- Agree terms and pay directly
Pricing, plainly
What is free and what costs money
Browsing, posting and receiving applications are free. Messaging and confirming a hire are part of Family Premium ($24.99/month, cancel any time). No commission on what you pay the caregiver; see the pricing page.
Widen your search
Find caregivers near Sunnyvale
Caregivers set a travel radius, so a caregiver based in a neighbouring town may well cover your home. These pages show who is nearby.
Sunnyvale is part of Santa Clara County; the hub pages list every town and area they cover.
Guides
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) · How to hire a private caregiver: cost, screening, taxes and a written agreement · Imperial County caregiver resources: training, job centres, IHSS, senior services and transport
Sources (checked 2026-10-15):
- City of Sunnyvale, Senior Center (Wayback capture September 28, 2026)
- City of Sunnyvale, Minimum Wage in Sunnyvale (Wayback capture September 28, 2026)
- Sunnyvale Community Services
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year profile, Sunnyvale city (via MCDC)
- Public Authority Services, contact numbers (APS, IHSS, Sourcewise)
- Public Authority Services, Independent Provider Registry
- Public Authority Services, enrollment process
- Sourcewise
- VTA, ACCESS Paratransit
- HCAI hospital profile, El Camino Health (Mountain View)
- BLS OEWS May 2025, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
- CDSS, IHSS wages by county
- CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey 2025
- California DIR, Domestic Worker Bill of Rights
Questions
Hiring a caregiver in Sunnyvale: frequently asked questions
Does Sunnyvale offer free help planning care for an older parent?
Yes. Senior Center care managers assess needs, plan care and arrange services at no cost for Sunnyvale residents aged 50 and up, and they visit people who are homebound. Call 408-730-7360.
How much should I pay a caregiver in Sunnyvale?
The city minimum is $19.50 an hour in 2026. County IHSS providers earn $20.44, a fair reference point for someone experienced; agree a separate rate for overnights or dementia care.
Can my mother get meals delivered in Sunnyvale?
Sunnyvale Community Services delivers food to homebound residents; call 408-738-4321. If she can get out, the Senior Center serves lunch to adults 50 and older by reservation.
Could a family member be paid by IHSS to look after Grandma?
Public Authority Services enrolls providers whether or not they are related to the recipient, once the county has authorized hours. Start with Santa Clara County IHSS at (408) 792-1600 and the Santa Clara County IHSS guide.
Where do I report suspected elder abuse in Sunnyvale?
Santa Clara County Adult Protective Services: (408) 975-4900 or 1 (800) 414-2002, at any hour. For immediate danger, call 9-1-1.
Does CaregiverConnect run background checks?
No. You decide what to check and pay for it yourself; the evaluation steps above cover registry searches, references and a screen.
Post your care need in Sunnyvale
It is free, takes about ten minutes, and caregivers in Santa Clara County can see it as soon as it is live.
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