How much does in-home care cost in Erie and Niagara counties?
Short answer: New York's 2024 CareScout state median for homemaker/home health aide services is $77,792 per year, or about $6,483/month for full-time coverage — but hourly non-medical caregiver rates (often $30-40/hour locally) don't scale linearly to 24/7 care.
The math trips people up: a $35/hour caregiver sounds cheaper than assisted living until you multiply it out. A few hours a day, a few days a week, in-home care can indeed cost less than a licensed community. But genuine around-the-clock coverage — which typically requires multiple caregivers working shifts, since no single aide can legally or safely work 24 hours straight — often ends up costing more per month than a private-pay assisted living apartment, once you account for total caregiver-hours needed. Get a written estimate of the actual weekly hours your family's situation requires before assuming in-home care is automatically the cheaper option.
