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What In-Home Care Costs in the Austin Area

Texas median hourly rates for home care and home health, and the point where a community becomes cheaper.

HomeCosts & PayingWhat In-Home Care Costs in the Austin Area
Short answer

The 2025 CareScout survey puts the Texas median for a non-medical caregiver at $30 an hour, roughly $5,720 a month at 44 hours a week. Skilled private duty nursing at home runs about $90 an hour. Austin rates typically run above statewide medians.

The crossover math

At the Texas median of $30 an hour, in-home care costs roughly:

Hours per weekApproximate monthly cost
10 hoursabout $1,300
20 hoursabout $2,600
40 hoursabout $5,200
60 hoursabout $7,800
168 hours (around the clock)about $21,800

Calculated from the published Texas median hourly rate. Actual Austin rates are typically higher, and most agencies have minimum shift lengths that raise the effective cost of short visits.

The published Texas assisted living median is $5,666 a month. So somewhere between forty and fifty hours a week of in-home care, the arithmetic starts favouring a community — and around-the-clock home care costs roughly four times what assisted living does.

That said, arithmetic is not the whole decision. Staying home has real value that does not show up in a table, and a spouse who is already providing care may be covering far more than the paid hours suggest. The number is a starting point for the conversation, not the answer to it.
What senior care costs. The Texas median is $5,666 a month for assisted living and $7,604 for a private nursing room. No Austin-specific median is published by any primary source. Read the full explanation →

Questions Austin families ask

Is memory care a separate license in Texas?

No. Memory care isn't a license type. Under Texas rule 26 TAC 553.27, any community advertising specialized Alzheimer's or dementia care must hold an Alzheimer's certification, and it must be licensed as Type B to qualify. Always ask to see the Alzheimer's certificate, not just the license.

How do I check if an Austin assisted living facility is licensed?

Search the Texas HHSC provider database. Use TULIP at tulip.hhs.texas.gov for current license status, and the legacy tool at apps.hhs.texas.gov/ltcsearch for inspection history and cited deficiencies. Both are free and public. Confirm the license type, Type A or Type B, matches your parent's actual care needs.

Do Texas assisted living facilities have star ratings like nursing homes?

No. CMS star ratings on Medicare Care Compare cover nursing facilities only. Texas assisted living facilities are regulated solely by state HHSC and receive no federal star rating. To evaluate an Austin assisted living community, review its HHSC inspection history and deficiency reports directly.

Where can I see nursing home inspection results in Texas?

Two places. Texas HHSC publishes survey results with cited and corrected deficiency dates at apps.hhs.texas.gov/ltcsearch. Medicare's Care Compare adds one-to-five star ratings covering health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. HHSC surveys most nursing facilities about once a year on health and life safety code compliance.

Who do I call to report a problem at an Austin nursing home?

Call Texas HHSC Complaint and Incident Intake at 1-800-458-9858, weekdays 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. That line covers nursing homes, assisted living, home health, and hospice. You can also contact the Capital Area ombudsman at 512-916-6054 for free, confidential advocacy.

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