Almost every family facing this decision frames it as a money question, then makes it on something else entirely. Both halves of that are fine. It helps to do them in the right order.
The money, using figures that are actually comparable
| Measure | Figure | What it covers | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-medical caregiver, hourly | $37 an hour | Nevada statewide median | CareScout (Genworth), 2025 |
| Non-medical caregiver, monthly | $7,055 a month | Nevada statewide median, at 44 hours a week | CareScout (Genworth), 2025 |
| Assisted living, monthly | $6,241 a month | Nevada statewide median | CareScout (Genworth), 2025 |
| Nursing home, semi-private room | $11,786 a month | Nevada statewide median | CareScout (Genworth), 2025 |
At the Nevada median hourly rate, in-home care crosses Nevada's median assisted living cost at roughly 32 to 33 hours a week. That is the number to hold onto. Under about thirty hours, home is usually cheaper. Over it, you are paying a premium to stay home.
See what care costs per month at every hours-per-week level.
The comparison is not apples to apples and you should know how. Assisted living rent includes housing, utilities, meals, activities and 24-hour staff presence. The in-home figure is caregiver hours only — the mortgage or rent, utilities, food, home maintenance and yard are all still yours. If you are comparing a $6,200 community against $5,000 of caregiver hours, you are not comparing like with like unless you add the cost of running the house.
The five questions that actually decide it
Is the isolation the problem?
This is the one families underweight most. Someone alone in a house with a caregiver four hours a day is alone for twenty. If loneliness and inactivity are what is driving the decline, a community frequently outperforms more hours at home — and families are often surprised by how much.
Can the house support care?
Stairs, a step-in shower, narrow doorways, a bedroom on the second floor. Some homes can be adapted cheaply. Some cannot be adapted at all, and paying for care in a house that fights the care is expensive twice over.
Are nights safe?
Home care is at its weakest overnight, because that is when it costs the most. If nights are the risk — wandering, falls on the way to the bathroom, confusion — the arithmetic moves toward a community faster than daytime needs do.
How much unpaid family labor is holding this up?
Most home care plans are a paid caregiver plus a family member doing far more than they admit. Price the plan as if that family member stopped tomorrow, because eventually they will. A plan that only works while a daughter is doing twenty unpaid hours a week is not a plan, it is a countdown.
What does the person actually want, and how firmly?
This deserves real weight, not sentimental weight. Some people would trade years for staying home and mean it. Others say it reflexively and settle happily within a month. You usually know which one you are dealing with.
Where home clearly wins
- Needs are concentrated in a few hours a day and are likely to stay that way
- A spouse or family member is present and healthy, and care is supplementing rather than replacing them
- The house is single-story, adapted, and close to family
- The person has an active social life outside the home already
- The situation is temporary — recovery from surgery, a stroke, a fall
Where a community usually wins
- Needs exceed about thirty hours a week and are increasing
- Nights are unsafe
- Isolation is driving the decline
- The primary family caregiver is at or past their limit
- The house cannot be adapted, or is far from anyone
- Wandering has started
The both-answer. Plenty of families use in-home care for six to eighteen months while they tour communities without a gun to their head, get the person used to the idea, and get on a waitlist. Care at home is a legitimate bridge, not only a destination.
We do both. Assisted living in Las Vegas · in-home care. Where we refer to assisted living, Nevada's referral rules apply to us and we follow them — that is on our how we are paid page.
Find in-home care that fits — in about 60 seconds
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Related
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Hourly vs live-in vs 24-hour
Hourly or live-in vs 24-hour awake coverage
Home care vs adult day care
A caregiver at home vs An adult day program
Dementia care at home vs memory care
Dementia care at home vs A memory care community
Common questions
At how many hours does assisted living become cheaper than home care?
At the Nevada statewide median hourly rate, in-home care passes Nevada's median assisted living cost at roughly 32 to 33 hours a week. Remember the comparison is not like-for-like — assisted living rent includes housing, utilities, meals and 24-hour staff presence, while the in-home figure is caregiver hours only.
Is it better for someone with dementia to stay at home?
It depends on wandering, sleep, and engagement more than on preference. Many people do well at home with consistent caregivers; others become more isolated and decline faster than they would in a well-run community. Once exit-seeking starts, home becomes considerably harder and more expensive.
Sources for this page
- CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025 — state data tables — CareScout (Genworth), 2025. More than 25,000 rates collected from long-term care providers nationwide between July and November 2025. Annual figures assume 44 hours a week for 52 weeks.
Reviewed by the Vegas Senior Advisor care team. Last updated November 11, 2026. Spot something wrong? Call (725) 465-8617 and we will correct it within one business day.
