CareScout's 2024 Ohio state medians put a home health aide at roughly $75,504 a year and homemaker services at roughly $73,216 a year -- both well above Ohio's assisted living median of $66,000 a year once care is needed close to full-time.
Why the hourly rate hides the real number
A quoted hourly rate looks affordable until you multiply it by the hours a parent actually needs. Ohio's statewide home health aide median works out to roughly $145 a day if delivered eight hours a day, seven days a week -- more than Ohio's assisted living median once care needs approach full-time.
When home care usually wins
Home care tends to be the better value under roughly 30-40 hours a week, when a family can supplement with their own time, or when a parent's needs are narrow (medication reminders, help bathing) rather than continuous supervision.
When a community usually wins
Once care approaches around-the-clock, a licensed community's flat monthly rate usually beats stacking enough home care hours to match it -- and it adds staff redundancy a single in-home caregiver cannot.
