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In-Home Care vs. Assisted Living

New York's $35/hour CareScout median for in-home care, and the crossover point where assisted living becomes the cheaper option.

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Short answer

CareScout's 2025 survey puts New York's non-medical caregiver median at $35/hour. At 44 hours a week that is roughly $6,673/month -- close to, but still under, the $7,110/month New York assisted living median. Past roughly 50 hours a week, in-home care in New York typically costs more than a licensed assisted living community.

The crossover math

Hours/weekApprox. monthly cost at $35/hr
10$1,517
20$3,033
40$6,067
44 (full-time)$6,673
60$9,100
168 (round-the-clock)$25,480

Once a parent needs more than roughly 45-50 hours of paid help a week, run the math directly against New York's $7,110/month assisted living median before assuming home is the cheaper option -- it frequently is not, once overnight or round-the-clock coverage is needed.

When home usually wins

Below about 20-25 hours a week, or when a spouse or family member covers unpaid hours, staying home is usually the lower-cost path, and it avoids a move entirely.

Questions families ask

What's the difference between standard assisted living and memory care in New York?

Standard assisted living in New York is licensed as an Assisted Living Residence (ALR) under 10 NYCRR Part 1001. Memory care is not a separate license; it's delivered through a Special Needs Assisted Living Residence (SNALR) certification, an additional certification an ALR can obtain to serve residents with dementia or cognitive impairments per an Individualized Service Plan, regulated under the same Part 1001 rules.

What's the difference between a nursing home and an assisted living residence in New York, regulation-wise?

Nursing homes are licensed under 10 NYCRR Part 415, Nursing Homes - Minimum Standards, a distinct regulatory chapter focused on skilled, medically intensive care. Assisted Living Residences are licensed under 10 NYCRR Part 1001, and can only exist as an additional certification on top of an already-licensed Adult Home or Enriched Housing Program, themselves licensed under 18 NYCRR Parts 487 and 488.

At what point does hourly in-home care cost more than assisted living in New York?

Using CareScout's 2025 New York State medians, in-home non-medical caregiving costs $35 per hour, or about $6,673 per month at 44 hours a week, compared to assisted living's median of $7,110 per month ($225 per day). At roughly 45 to 46 hours per week of paid in-home care, the monthly cost crosses over and exceeds the assisted living median; families needing care beyond that, including any overnight or 24/7 coverage, would generally spend more on home care than on a private one-bedroom assisted living apartment.

What's the difference between a CCRC or Life Plan Community and a standalone assisted living or nursing facility on Long Island?

A Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), also called a Life Plan Community, offers a full continuum of care, independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing, on one campus, so a resident can move between levels of care as needs change without relocating to a different facility or provider. Long Island examples include Jefferson's Ferry in South Setauket, which describes itself as Long Island's first Life Plan Community, and Peconic Landing in Greenport, which describes itself as New York's only equity-based CCRC; a standalone assisted living or nursing facility, by contrast, offers only one level of care and requires a resident to move elsewhere if their needs change.

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