Live-in caregiver pay in 2026 — real rates from real listings
Most salary sites estimate what a live-in caregiver earns from survey models. We do it differently: Only Livein scans live job postings every 8 hours, and the Pay Index below is computed from what employers are actually offering. First counted October 21, 2026: 45 live listings across 14 states.
Live-In Caregiver Pay Index
US median: $245/day — half of listings with stated rates pay more, half pay less.
| State | Median $/day | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $360 | 2 |
| New York | $286 | 2 |
| Connecticut | $285 | 5 |
| Texas | $250 | 1 |
| Illinois | $239 | 2 |
| New Jersey | $230 | 3 |
| Maryland | $200 | 3 |
| Pennsylvania | $200 | 1 |
| North Carolina | $182 | 2 |
| Ohio | $170 | 1 |
From 22 live-in listings with stated day rates, collected by Only Livein as of October 26, 2026. Unique listings only; weekly/annual conversions and unconfirmed premium rates excluded. Updated monthly.
The headline numbers
- US median day pay: about $228/day in the October 21, 2026 count — the Pay Index above carries the current figure, recomputed monthly.
- Stated day rates cluster around $200–$350/day; at that median, a 7-day week was about $1,596/week before days off.
- $400/day and up is premium territory — real, but rare, and the cases that justify it can always name the employer, the city, and the start date.
- Hourly live-in offers in current listings start around $20–$23/hour from families hiring directly, with a separate lane of hourly jobs at $25+/hour for shifts of 8 to 12 hours.
How live-in pay works
Live-in caregivers are usually paid a day rate — one rate per 24-hour day on the case — not an hourly wage. The rate normally assumes a private room, meals, and uninterrupted sleep at night; night duties, two-person transfers, and dementia care push rates up. Rotations (for example 4 days on, 3 off) are common, so compare offers week to week, not hour to hour. Our full explainer: how live-in pay works — and how to spot a scam.
Where the cases are
| Illinois | 54 open cases |
| Pennsylvania | 20 open cases |
| Connecticut | 19 open cases |
| New Jersey | 18 open cases |
| California | 17 open cases |
| New York | 14 open cases |
| Texas | 12 open cases |
| Maryland | 11 open cases |
| Massachusetts | 10 open cases |
| Florida | 8 open cases |
| North Carolina | 5 open cases |
| Minnesota | 4 open cases |
| Wisconsin | 4 open cases |
| Alaska | 3 open cases |
| Colorado | 2 open cases |
| Virginia | 2 open cases |
State pages with current samples: California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut. The feed is US-wide and new states appear as postings land.
Becoming a live-in caregiver
There is no license for live-in caregiving itself. What gets caregivers hired: verifiable experience (especially dementia, Parkinson's, hospice, and mobility care), references a family can actually call, a background check you can show, and the ability to commit to multi-day rotations. Agencies and families both post in our feed; family-posted cases skip the agency layer entirely. Before accepting any offer, run it through the free Rate check to see how the pay compares with current going rates near you.
How we count
Figures come from the Only Livein feed — real postings pulled from agencies, job boards, and family posts, deduplicated, with unconfirmed premium estimates excluded from the median. Listings are pruned when they age out, so the counts move; this page is refreshed as the feed grows.
See every current case. Start with a 7-day free trial — the full listings and your own caregiver profile, no card required. Members (then $19.99/year) see the full listings — who is hiring, the exact city, and the apply link — refreshed every 8 hours. Browse the current cases.
More live-in guides and job pages
All articles — the Only Livein blog · Live-in caregiver pay in 2026 · Live-in home care: costs and hiring · California jobs · Pennsylvania jobs · Illinois jobs · New Jersey jobs · Connecticut jobs · How live-in pay works · Rate check