Home Care Costs in Colorado Springs: What $42 an Hour Buys

The arithmetic

CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, Median Cost Data Tables (282102, March 2, 2026) and Ranked Median Costs by State (298701, March 6, 2026).

Round-the-clock care at home runs well past the cost of a nursing home. That is why most families use home care for defined hours, not for supervision through the night.

What the hours actually cover

Licensed home care agencies send aides for bathing, dressing, toileting, meals, laundry, housekeeping, errands and companionship. Agencies usually set minimum visits of two to four hours. A common pattern is a morning visit for bathing and breakfast and an evening visit for dinner and bedtime, with a medical alert device between.

Skilled nursing and therapy at home come from home health agencies under a doctor's order, often paid by Medicare, and are not part of the hourly bill.

Who helps pay

Long-term care insurance, VA programs for eligible veterans, and Health First Colorado's EBD waiver for those who qualify. Rocky Mountain PACE serves most El Paso County ZIP codes and can provide home care as part of its package for members at nursing facility level of care.

The Resource Exchange (719-380-1100) does waiver assessments for El Paso and Teller counties.

When to rethink the plan

When the hours climb past about 36 a week, when nights become unsafe, or when the caregiver at home is exhausted, compare two or three full assisted living quotes with the home care bill plus the cost of the house. Our advisors can run that comparison with you at no cost.

Agency or private hire?

Licensed agencies screen, train and supervise caregivers, carry insurance and workers' compensation, and send a replacement when an aide is sick. Families who hire privately can pay less per hour, but they become employers, responsible for payroll taxes, insurance and finding backup. Some long-term care insurance policies pay only for licensed agencies, so check before hiring.

CDPHE licenses home care agencies by category, from personal care and homemaker agencies to in-home support services agencies that serve Medicaid members who direct their own care. Our home care roster lists every agency with a CDPHE license in El Paso and Teller counties.

Hidden costs to ask about

Minimum visit lengths, weekend and holiday rates, overtime when one aide works more than 40 hours, travel charges for addresses outside the city, and the notice required to cancel a visit. A plan that looks like 20 hours a week can cost more once minimums and holidays are added.

Ask for a written estimate for a typical month before starting service, and review it after the first month against the actual bill.

A sample week and what it costs

Picture a parent who needs help getting up and showered three mornings a week, a dinner visit every evening, and a longer Saturday visit for errands and laundry. At three-hour minimums, that comes to roughly 9 morning hours, 21 evening hours and 4 Saturday hours, about 34 hours a week, or close to $6,200 a month at Colorado's $42 median. That is near the cost of assisted living, before counting the house, utilities and food.

Small changes move the number a lot. Adult day care on two weekdays can replace evening hours with a lower daily rate, and a medication dispenser and medical alert device can cut a visit. Our advisors can price the combinations with current local rates.