What are you actually paying — per month?
Drag the slider to the hours of paid home care your family uses each week. The math updates live. Monthly cost = hours per week × $35/hour × 52 weeks ÷ 12 months.
About the $35/hour rate: Planning estimate based on the CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey — 2025 national median of $35/hour for a non-medical caregiver (homemaker / home health aide), with a Florida median of $32/hour in the same 2025 survey (2024 Florida survey: $68,640/year at 44 hrs/week for both homemaker services and home health aide). Local agency quotes in Brevard County vary by agency and care level; many families are quoted at or above this planning rate once nights, weekends, and minimum-shift rules apply. This calculator uses $35/hour so your estimate does not understate the real bill. It is an estimate, not a quote from any agency — check your own invoices against it.
The ladder most families climb — one step at a time
Nobody starts at 40 hours a week. Families add a few hours after each scare — a fall, a hospital stay, a night nobody slept. Here is what each step costs at $35/hour, and what remains uncovered at every single step.
| Home care | Estimated / month | What it typically covers | What is still NOT covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 hrs / week A few visits a week |
$1,820 | Bathing help, meals, light housekeeping, companionship on visit days | Nights & early mornings alone · weekends not guaranteed · no backup if the caregiver cancels · family still coordinates everything · no 24/7 medication supervision |
| 20 hrs / week Weekday daytime help |
$3,033 | Daily daytime support on weekdays, dressing, meals, mobility help | All nights uncovered · weekend coverage extra or unavailable · a call-out leaves a gap that day · family is still the care manager · medications only supervised during paid hours |
| 27 hrs / week Most of the day, most days |
$4,095 | Longer daily coverage, more personal care, some weekend hours | Overnights still alone — the highest-risk hours · fill-in caregivers your loved one doesn't know · scheduling and payroll headaches grow · no one watching medications overnight |
| 40 hrs / week Full-time, business hours |
$6,067 | A full-time weekday presence in the home | 128 hours a week still uncovered — every night, every weekend · turnover means starting over with strangers · family still coordinates care, supplies, and emergencies · medication supervision ends when the shift ends |
Math for every row: hours/week × $35 × 52 ÷ 12. Example for 20 hrs/week: 20 × $35 = $700/week; $700 × 52 = $36,400/year; $36,400 ÷ 12 = $3,033/month. Even at 40 hrs/week, home care covers less than one quarter of the 168 hours in a week.
The question underneath the math
The cost is only half of it. The other half is coverage: falls, wandering, stove accidents, and medication mistakes do not schedule themselves inside paid hours. When nights become the worry — not the daytime — most families are no longer shopping for more hours. They are looking for a place where someone is there.
What adding hours cannot fix
- Nights and early mornings — unless you pay for overnight shifts, every night is uncovered
- Weekends — guaranteed weekend coverage is the first thing agencies struggle to staff
- Call-outs and turnover — when the caregiver is sick, quits, or is on vacation, the gap is yours
- Coordination — schedules, fill-ins, supplies, and doctor calls still fall on the family
- Medication supervision — only during paid hours; the other hours rely on memory
What changes in a care home
- Someone is in the house day and night — nights are covered, not scheduled around
- Weekends and holidays are staffed the same as weekdays
- If one caregiver is out, the home covers the shift — not your family
- Meals, medications, laundry, and coordination are handled in one place
- Your job goes back to being family — visiting, not managing a schedule
About Bella Vita — the contrast, plainly
Alejandro Cardozo — Owner and Administrator
Bella Vita is a six-resident home in Palm Bay where one caregiver can truly know every resident — their medications, their routines, how they take their coffee. I handle admissions and families myself: when you call, I answer, and care evaluations happen the same day. Every Friday, families receive a written report on their loved one's week — appetite, medications, activities, and anything that changed.
Bella Vita Assisted Living Facility · 1405 Graves St SE, Palm Bay, FL 32909 · AHCA License #14019 · (407) 914-5350
Get this comparison as a printable sheet — free
The full ladder in one page you can print, share with siblings, and bring to a family conversation: every level, what it costs, and what it leaves uncovered. Tell us where to text it — we'll send a quick code to confirm your number, then the sheet is yours.