For families

How Much Does a Live-In Caregiver Cost?

By the CaregiverConnect team · Updated 2026-10-31 · Sources checked on the same date and listed at the end.

A live-in caregiver is paid for the hours they actually work, not for every hour they spend under your roof, so the cost depends on the schedule you agree in writing and on whether your state adds overtime. This guide explains the federal live-in rules, what room and board can and cannot offset, and works through budgets from a five-day live-in week to full-week cover. All figures were confirmed against their sources on October 31, 2026.

A smiling caregiver with her arm around an older woman in a bright room at home

Live-in caregiver cost: the figures that exist

There is no published national median for live-in care. The public numbers measure different things, so treat each as a separate input:

Pay floor if you employ the caregiver yourself: the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour (USA.gov), or your state's higher rate; California's is $16.90 in 2026 (Department of Industrial Relations).
Wages of employed aides: a national median of $17.21 an hour for home health and personal care aides, per the May 2025 OEWS survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, published on O*NET OnLine. That is what the worker earns, not an agency's price.
Provider prices: CareScout's 2025 survey of care providers puts the national non-medical caregiver median at $35 an hour, which it converts to $6,673 monthly on 44 hours weekly. It gives no live-in or daily figure.
Program wages: Medicaid-funded home care and California's IHSS pay their own set rates; see IHSS pay by county.

For local minimum wages and city budgets, start at caregiver rates by state and city.

What a live-in caregiver does, and what they do not

A live-in caregiver resides in the household and helps through the day with washing, getting dressed and the bathroom, cooking, light housework connected to your relative, medication reminders, company and getting to appointments. The defining features are a private place to sleep, set duty hours and real time off.

Live-in care is not the same as round-the-clock awake care. If someone must be alert and working through the night, that is 24-hour shift care staffed by several people; live-in vs. 24-hour care compares the two. Injections, wound care and other medical tasks need licensed staff; CareScout's national median for that is $90 an hour.

Federal rules for live-in domestic workers

Under 29 CFR 552.102, a household employee who resides in your home:

must get minimum wage for every hour actually worked, exactly as a daily worker would;
is exempt from federal overtime, under section 13(b)(21) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, when employed by the individual or family;
can be left unpaid for sleep, meals and stretches that are entirely off duty, provided you and the caregiver have agreed this. Off-duty stretches have to be long enough to be genuinely usable, and whenever you call the caregiver back to work, that time is paid;
should have a new agreement if the hours actually worked drift significantly from the first one.

Two further points change the cost. Agencies and other third-party employers are barred from the live-in overtime exemption, even where the household also counts as an employer (552.109 of the same rules), while a family hiring on its own account keeps it. And you must keep a copy of the live-in agreement and a record of the exact hours worked (29 CFR 552.110).

States may require more. California is one example. Under its Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, personal attendants (workers whose job is mainly supervising, feeding and dressing someone who needs help because of age or disability) earn time-and-a-half once a workday passes nine hours or a workweek passes 45 (Department of Industrial Relations). That 45 is California's line for attendants; an attendant who lives out and mostly does hands-on care also gets federal overtime after 40 weekly hours (29 CFR 552.100), since only live-in workers are exempt. Live-in household workers who are not personal attendants fall under Wage Order 15, which requires a minimum of 12 straight off-duty hours in every 24-hour workday, a working span of no more than 12 hours that includes at least 3 hours free of duty, premium pay for work in those off-duty hours, and no more than five days a week without a 24-hour day off.

Room and board: what it can offset

Lodging and meals have a value, but they reduce the wage bill only within limits:

Federally, credit for food and lodging is allowed only where the worker accepts them voluntarily (29 CFR 552.100). For a live-in, the Department of Labor accepts a lodging credit of up to 7.5 times the federal minimum hourly wage a week, which is 7.5 × $7.25 = $54.375, about $54.38. Meal credits are capped at 37.5%, 50% and 62.5% of the minimum hourly wage for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and 150% a day in total, which is $10.88.
In California, meals or lodging may be credited only with a voluntary written agreement, and the 2026 caps are: single room $79.46 weekly, shared room $65.59 weekly, breakfast $6.10, lunch $8.42, dinner $11.28 (Wage Order 15).

These credits matter only when pay is close to the minimum wage. They count toward the minimum-wage obligation; they are not a substitute for paying the hours worked.

Live-in day rate vs. hourly pay: sample budgets

Illustrative calculations, not quotes. The schedule is five 10-hour duty days a week, with sleep, meals and free time excluded by written agreement: 50 paid hours. Monthly figures are weekly × 52 ÷ 12.

Scenario	Weekly arithmetic	About a month
Family employs directly, federal rules only, at the $17.21 aide median as an illustrative rate (live-in overtime exemption applies)	50 × $17.21 = $860.50	$3,729
Same caregiver and rate, employed by an agency, which cannot use the exemption (wage cost to the agency, not its price)	40 × $17.21 + 10 × $25.815 = $946.55	$4,102
Provider price at the $35 CareScout median applied to the same 50 hours (CareScout publishes no live-in rate, so this is an assumption)	50 × $35 = $1,750	$7,583
California personal attendant at the $16.90 state minimum, overtime after 9 hours a day	45 × $16.90 + 5 × $25.35 = $887.25	$3,845

The two days off. Someone has to cover them. A relief caregiver working two 10-hour days at the same illustrative $17.21 adds 20 × $17.21 = $344.20 weekly (roughly $1,492 monthly), unless relatives take those days.

Converting a day rate. If a caregiver quotes a daily amount, divide it by the duty hours. On a 12-hour duty day the federal floor is 12 × $7.25 = $87.00; a California personal attendant is owed at least 9 × $16.90 + 3 × $25.35 = $228.15 for the same day. A day rate below the floor is not legal however the room is valued.

What pushes live-in care costs up or down

Night calls. The more often your relative needs help after bedtime, the more of the sleep period becomes paid time. If help is needed most nights, live-in may be the wrong model.
Direct hire or agency. A family can use the federal live-in overtime exemption; an agency cannot.
State law. In California, each duty hour beyond the ninth costs time-and-a-half for a personal attendant.
Relief cover for days off, holidays and illness.
Payroll taxes. The 2026 household threshold is $3,000 of cash pay to one worker; beyond it you normally deduct the caregiver's Social Security and Medicare (7.65%), match it, and owe federal unemployment tax after $1,000 of wages in a quarter (IRS Topic 756). The first budget row passes $3,000 in its fourth week.
Coverage. Medicare will not fund a live-in: it excludes full-time care at home and stand-alone custodial help (Medicare.gov). Enrolled veterans who meet clinical criteria may get VA Homemaker and Home Health Aide care, which can include respite at home; a copay may apply (VA).

Questions to agree before a live-in caregiver moves in

Which hours each day are duty hours, and which are sleep, meals and free time? Put them in writing.
How will night calls be recorded, and at what rate are they paid?
Is the caregiver a personal attendant under your state's rules, and what overtime applies?
Which days are off, and who covers them?
Will room and board be credited against wages? If so, is there a signed agreement and are the amounts within the legal limits?
What is the private space: a room of their own, a bed not shared?
How will hours be reviewed if the schedule drifts from the agreement?
What notice does either side give to end the arrangement, and how long can the caregiver stay after it ends?

Live-in caregivers on CaregiverConnect, and related pages

A live-in job can be listed on CaregiverConnect without charge; applicants show the rates they have set themselves. The person you take on is your own employee, and the platform keeps no share of their wage. Vetting is your job, since CaregiverConnect carries out no background checks; some caregivers attach evidence of a check they arranged (safety). Optional premium plans are listed on pricing; the hiring guide covers agreements and references.

Live-in caregivers: the service hub.
Caregiver rates, plus cost pages for Long Beach, Los Angeles, Carlsbad, San Diego and Santa Ana.
Overnight caregiver costs and 24-hour home care.
Interview questions for families.

Frequently asked questions

What does a live-in caregiver cost each month?

It depends on duty hours. Five 10-hour days a week at an illustrative $17.21 an hour, the national aide median (BLS OEWS, May 2025), comes to $860.50 a week, about $3,729 a month, for a family employing directly under federal rules. Add relief cover for the days off, payroll taxes and any state overtime.

Do live-in caregivers get overtime?

Federally, a live-in domestic worker employed by the family is exempt from overtime but must be paid the minimum wage for all hours worked (29 CFR 552.102). An agency cannot use that exemption (29 CFR 552.109). Some states add overtime regardless; California is one, for personal attendants on long days or long weeks.

Can room and board count as pay for a live-in caregiver?

Only partly. At the federal level, lodging the worker freely accepts may be credited at up to $54.38 weekly, which is 7.5 times $7.25. California demands a signed agreement and caps a single room at $79.46 weekly in 2026.

Is a live-in caregiver paid for sleeping?

Not when you have both agreed in advance that the sleep period is unpaid and it really is undisturbed. Being woken to help turns that stretch back into paid time (29 CFR 552.102). Your state may be stricter.

Is a live-in caregiver cheaper than 24-hour care?

Usually, because fewer hours are paid. A live-in works set duty hours and sleeps; 24-hour care pays someone to be awake every hour. The trade-off is that live-in suits only people whose nights are mostly quiet.

What day rate is legal for a live-in caregiver?

Divide the day rate by duty hours: it must meet the minimum wage plus any state overtime. For a 12-hour duty day that is at least $87.00 federally and $228.15 for a California personal attendant in 2026.

Sources

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