Live-In Care Rates: How to Price a Daily Rate
Build a live-in daily rate from the hours you actually pay: a 24-hour shift minus excludable sleep and meals, plus burden, overtime risk, overhead and margin.
By Caregiver Scheduling Team ·
Price live-in care as a daily rate built from the hours you will actually pay: the 24-hour day minus the sleep and meal time you can legally exclude, plus payroll burden, overtime risk, overhead and margin. For most agencies that is 13 paid hours a day, and the example below lands at about $393. Live-in beats 24 hours of hourly care for the family only when the client sleeps through the night and the arrangement meets wage rules. See live-in caregiver pay.
How many hours of a live-in day do you pay?
Usually 13: 24 hours minus up to 8 hours of sleep and about 3 hours of meals. On a shift of 24 hours or more, you and the caregiver can agree to exclude a regularly scheduled sleep period of up to 8 hours and bona fide meal periods (29 CFR 785.22). Three conditions apply:
- There is an express agreement, in writing, before the shift pattern starts.
- The client’s home provides adequate sleeping facilities, meaning a private room and a bed.
- The caregiver can usually get an uninterrupted night’s sleep.
Every interruption to help the client is paid time. If the caregiver cannot get at least 5 hours of sleep, the whole 8 hours is paid. For a caregiver who truly lives in the home for extended periods, the rules allow any reasonable agreement on hours that reflects the facts (29 CFR 785.23, 29 CFR 552.102). DOL defines a live-in worker as one who lives there permanently or at least five days a week, 120 hours or more (Fact Sheet 79B).
What does a worked example look like?
An agency paying $18.00 an hour with 13 paid hours a day:
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Paid hours per 24-hour day (24 minus 8 sleep minus 3 meals) | 13 |
| Caregiver wage | $18.00 |
| Payroll burden 17% | $21.06 loaded |
| Daily labor | 13 × $21.06 = $273.78 |
| Overtime risk allowance (10%) | $27.38 |
| Overhead per day | $45.00 |
| Cost per day | $346.16 |
| 12% margin | $393/day |
Compare that with 24 hours of hourly care at $30 to $36 an hour, which runs $720 to $864 a day. If the client wakes two or three times a night and sleep cannot be excluded, paid hours jump from 13 to 21 and the labor line rises about $168 a day. Price that client as 24-hour hourly care instead. See 24-hour home care shifts.
Can an agency use the live-in overtime exemption?
Not safely. The FLSA’s live-in exemption removes overtime, never minimum wage, and since 2015 third-party employers such as agencies have been barred from claiming it (29 CFR 552.109). In July 2025 the Department of Labor proposed rescinding that rule and told its investigators in Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-4 to stop enforcing it while the proposal is pending. As of November 2026 no final rule has been published, caregivers can still sue privately, and many states have their own overtime laws for home care workers. Build the daily rate assuming you pay overtime after 40 hours. See home care overtime rules.
How does rotation change the cost?
One caregiver covering seven days is an overtime machine. Two or three caregivers rotating keep each one near 40 paid hours.
| Staffing pattern | Paid hours per caregiver per week | Overtime hours per week |
|---|---|---|
| One caregiver, 7 days | 91 | 51 |
| Two caregivers, 4 and 3 days | 52 and 39 | 12 |
| Three caregivers, 3, 2 and 2 days | 39, 26 and 26 | 0 |
At $18 an hour, 51 overtime hours cost $459 a week in premium alone. Most agencies use two caregivers and cover the overtime with the 10% allowance above.
What else moves the rate?
- State rules. New York lets agencies pay 13 hours of a 24-hour shift only if the aide gets 8 hours of sleep, 5 of them uninterrupted, and 3 hours for meals. The state’s highest court upheld that rule in 2019. California and several other states have daily overtime or domestic worker laws that change the math.
- Holidays. Set a holiday daily rate in the client service agreement and list the dates.
- Food and lodging. The family provides them. Don’t credit their value against wages without records and a rules check.
- Minimum wage check. Divide the week’s total pay by all hours worked, including interruptions. It must clear the federal and state minimum every week.
Compare your result against local hourly rates in how much to charge for home care.
How Caregiver Scheduling handles this
Recurring schedules handle two- and three-caregiver live-in rotations, and caregivers can note sleep interruptions in the visit note from the app, so you have a record when paid hours need adjusting. Timesheets that split overnight shifts across workweeks, and invoices at the daily rate you set, are coming soon. $199/month for up to 10 caregivers or $299/month for up to 50, free for 30 days.
FAQ
What does live-in care cost per day? It depends on your wage, burden and overhead. The example above comes to about $393 a day at an $18 wage; your numbers will differ.
Is live-in cheaper than 24-hour hourly care? Usually, by roughly half, when sleep and meal time can be excluded.
Do I pay the caregiver for sleep time? Not if you have a written agreement, adequate sleeping facilities and the caregiver gets at least 5 hours of sleep. Interruptions are always paid.
Can I pay a flat daily rate to the caregiver? Yes, but you still track hours, meet minimum wage and pay overtime on the regular rate the day rate produces.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Check your state’s wage, sleep-time and domestic worker rules.