Guides
Pay rates in a home care agency, with the on-costs
Home care pay planning starts with the care hour, then adds payroll on-costs, travel time, mileage and the coverage a schedule really needs.
What to take away
- Build pay rates from the care houra visit carries travel, documentation and handoff time that the client never sees on an invoice.
- On-costs sit on top of the wage. Canada adds CPP and EI contributions plus WSIB or WCB premiums, about 15% to 25% of wages. The US adds the employer share of FICA, unemployment insurance and workers' compensation, about 20% to 35% once benefits are counted.
- Set the hourly rate, then check it against break-even client hours before you post the job.
- Review fill rate, caregiver turnover and gross margin per visit monthly, not annually.
Fully loaded hourly cost = base wage + (base wage x on-cost rate) + (travel hours x travel wage)
Break-even hours = loaded hourly cost / (client hourly rate - cost per visit)
At a $32 client rate and $6 a visit of overhead, a $21.25 loaded hour needs about 49 minutes of billable care.
This article covers home care agency business operations. It is not clinical, legal, tax or licensing advice. Confirm requirements with your provincial licensing body, the CRA or IRS, and a qualified accountant.
2027 outlook: projected wage bands and on-costs
Every figure in this article comes from 2024 to 2026. The BLS wage tables are 2026, the IRS mileage rates are 2024 and 2025, the employer EI premium is 2024 and the CPP rate is 5.95%.
The 2027 bands below are planning projections, not published rates. They apply annual wage growth of roughly 3% to 5%, rounded.
2027 outlook
| Role | 2026 typical hourly range | 2027 projected hourly range |
|---|---|---|
| Caregiver, aide (US) | $14 to $20 | $14.50 to $21 |
| Personal support worker (Canada) | CAD $17 to $25 | CAD $17.50 to CAD $26 |
| Scheduler | $19 to $26 | $19.50 to $27 |
| Recruiter | $24 to $32 | $25 to $33 |
| RN supervisor or case manager | $35 to $50 | $36 to $52 |
| Administrator or biller | $18 to $25 | $18.50 to $26 |
Projected 2027 on-cost loads sit near today's: about 20% to 35% of wages in the US once benefits are counted, and about 15% to 25% in Canada.
Your own 2027 figure moves with published rates: the FICA wage base, the CPP ceiling and CPP2 threshold, the EI premium, and your state unemployment and WSIB or WCB rate.
Pay rates by role: aide, scheduler, nurse, recruiter, biller
Home care pay is a small set of roles, each with its own market rate and its own replacement cost.
US Hourly Pay Ranges by Role
- Caregiver$14–$20
- Scheduler$19–$26
- Recruiter$24–$32
- RN supervisor$35–$50
- Biller$18–$25
Caregivers, personal care aides and home health aides deliver the care hour. They are the largest line in any agency budget and the hardest to replace on short notice.
In most US markets they earn roughly $14 to $20 an hour as of 2026, with unionized agencies and coastal metros at the top of the band. Canadian personal support workers typically earn CAD $17 to $25 an hour, more in Alberta and parts of British Columbia, less in some rural placements.
For current occupation wage estimates by state and metropolitan area, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics tables publish the figures employers use as one local input.
Schedulers hold the day together. When a caregiver calls in sick at 6am, the scheduler decides whether the shift gets filled or the family gets a cancellation call. Pay is typically $19 to $26 an hour in the US and CAD $20 to $28 in Canada.
Recruiters typically earn $24 to $32 an hour. An RN supervisor or case manager earns $35 to $50. Administrators and billers handle payroll, claims and receivables, usually at $18 to $25 an hour.
Each role has a different replacement cost. Losing a biller is inconvenient. Losing a caregiver mid-care-plan is a service failure the family will remember. Filling one caregiver vacancy typically costs $1,000 to $2,500 in advertising, trial shifts and shadowing.
What the wage actually costs
The posted hourly rate is not the hourly cost. Employer payroll contributions add a percentage on top, and that percentage varies by province, state and classification.
US statutory on-costs, as a share of wages:
| On-cost | Typical share of wages | What sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Employer FICA | 7.65% | Social Security 6.2% to the yearly wage base, Medicare 1.45% |
| Federal unemployment (FUTA) | 0.6% | First $7,000 of wages per employee |
| State unemployment (SUI) | 0.3% to 5.4% | State law and your experience rating |
| Workers' compensation | 1% to 5% | State, class code and claims history |
| Paid time off and benefits, if offered | 0% to 15% | Vacation, sick leave, health cover |
| Typical full load | 20% to 35% | With benefits counted |
US Statutory On-Cost Rates
- 7.65%FICA combined
- 0.6%FUTA after credit
- 2–4%State unemployment
- $1.50–$4.00Workers' comp per $100
A typical US full load lands between 20% and 35% of the wage.
Canada adds these:
- CPP5.95% of pensionable earnings up to the yearly maximum, plus CPP2 at 4% above it.
- EIemployer premium of 1.4 times the employee rate, which was $1.66 per $100 of insurable earnings in 2024.
- WSIB or WCBtypically $1.50 to $4.00 per $100 of payroll.
- Vacation pay4%, or 6% after five years in most provinces, plus statutory holiday pay.
| On-cost | Typical share of wages | What sets it |
|---|---|---|
| CPP | 5.95% | Pensionable earnings to the yearly maximum, plus CPP2 at 4% above it |
| EI | 1.4 times the employee premium | Federal rate, reset each year |
| WSIB or WCB | 1.5% to 4% | $1.50 to $4.00 per $100 of payroll, by classification |
| Vacation pay | 4%, or 6% after five years | Provincial employment standards |
| Statutory holiday pay | 2% to 4% | Provincial rules, where paid separately |
| Typical full load | 15% to 25% | Excluding extended benefits |
A typical Canadian load lands between 15% and 25% of the wage.
Mileage and unpaid travel between clients add more. The IRS standard business mileage rate was 67 cents a mile for 2024 and 70 cents for 2025. The 2025 figure of 70 cents is the mileage assumption this article uses until the IRS publishes a later rate.
Write the arithmetic in your own numbers:
A $17 an hour aide at a 25% on-cost load costs $21.25 an hour before travel. Substitute your own on-cost rate from your payroll provider or accountant.
Break-even client hours
Once you know the loaded hourly cost, you can work out how many billable hours each caregiver must deliver to cover themselves.
Break-Even Care Minutes
49 minutes | billable care needed
$32 | client hourly rate
$6 | overhead per visit
$21.25 | loaded hourly cost
Cost per visit includes scheduling time, mileage, software and billing overhead. If the answer is more hours than the caregiver can physically work in a week, the client rate is too low or the visit is too short.
Client charge per visit at a $32 an hour rate, a $21.25 loaded hour and $6 a visit of overhead:
| Visit length | Charge at $32 an hour | Loaded care cost | Overhead | Margin per visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 minutes | $16.00 | $10.63 | $6.00 | -$0.63 |
| 60 minutes | $32.00 | $21.25 | $6.00 | $4.75 |
| 90 minutes | $48.00 | $31.88 | $6.00 | $10.13 |
At a $40 an hour client rate the same 30 minutes returns $3.37 and the 60-minute visit returns $12.75. Substitute your own rate and overhead.
Short visits are the usual culprit. A 30-minute visit with 20 minutes of unpaid travel between clients barely covers its own cost.
Winter illness and holiday cover
Home care demand does not pause for flu season or December. It rises, because families travel and clients need more coverage.
Winter and Holiday Cover Plan
- Track call-offs weekly through January and February
- Watch for one caregiver covering every holiday
- Build a float of on-call caregivers
- Pay $1–$3/hour above standard for holiday cover
Plan for it the way you plan for any peak. Track call-offs by week through January and February. If the same caregiver covers every holiday, you have a retention problem forming, not a scheduling one.
Build a small float of caregivers who can take a shift with a few hours' notice. Pay them enough that they answer the phone, typically $1 to $3 an hour above the standard rate for holidays and same-day cover.
Hiring and training, in order
- Define the role around the care hourwhat one person must be able to do alone, and with whom.
- Set a paid trial shift using your scheduling software on a real or realistic care hour.
- Check references for reliability first, skill second.
- Train alongside a trusted worker through a full cycle, including winter illness and holiday cover if the timing allows.
- Hold the first-quarter review against the written role.
The hiring process for reliable home care staff is where most of this either holds or falls apart.
Hiring and Training Sequence
- Define the role around the care hour
- Set a paid trial shift on a real care hour
- Check references for reliability first
- Train alongside a trusted worker
- Hold first-quarter review against written role
Compliance checks before you post the job
Wage, overtime, timekeeping and recordkeeping duties apply from the first employee. The U.S. Department of Labor small business compliance assistance sets out what a new employer must understand under federal law, and your state adds its own rules.
Nondiscrimination, accommodation and record retention apply to hiring decisions at every size. The EEOC small business resource center covers what small employers must do.
In Canada, provincial employment standards, WSIB or WCB registration and PSW registry rules in some provinces add further duties. Confirm with your provincial ministry and licensing body.
Common questions
Should I match the national average wage?
No. A national average blends hospital and facility work, where aides earn more than the $14 to $20 an hour typical of home care. Use it as one input, then weight it for your local market, your visit lengths and your travel distances.
What is the biggest hidden cost in a care hour?
Unpaid travel between clients. A caregiver driving 20 minutes between two 30-minute visits is paid for one hour of a two-hour block. At 67 to 70 cents a mile (the 2024 and 2025 IRS standard rates), 40 miles of driving between visits costs about $28 a day in mileage alone.
Build the gap into the client rate or shorten the gap.
How often should I review pay?
Twice a year at minimum, and immediately when fill rate drops or turnover rises. Pay compression shows up first in your scheduler's call log, not in your payroll report.
Do on-costs differ between provinces and states?
Yes, sometimes by several percentage points. Get your own rate from your payroll provider, your workers' compensation board and your accountant rather than applying a figure from another jurisdiction.
