Who provides home care in Santa Barbara?
11 home care agencies serve Santa Barbara. Agency rates run $38 to $65 an hour, averaging $45, and every one of them sets a minimum visit, from one hour to six. Here is each agency, what it charges and the number to call.
We are not an agency and we take no fee from any agency on this list. Rates are what each agency quoted directly, checked again in November 2026.
Answered by
Jessica Solomon, Founder, care, legal and financial clarity
20+ years in Santa Barbara senior care, CA DRE #01972520
This month in numbers
11
Agencies surveyed
Serving Santa Barbara
$38 to $65
Hourly range
Per hour, agency rates
$45
Local average
Per hour
$8,574
44 hours a week
Monthly at the average
5 of 11
Four hour minimum
One hour only: BrightStar Care, Senior Helpers
Assisted Home Health & Hospice
Medicare and hospice
Skilled care under the same license
The hourly rate is only part of the bill. A four hour minimum turns a two hour need into a $180 visit, and weekends, holidays and overnight shifts usually run above the weekday rate. If two quotes look far apart, the difference is usually the minimum visit rather than the hourly rate.
Every agency, its rate and its number
Self reported in November 2026. Rates move, so treat these as the starting point for the conversation rather than the quote you will be given.
SB & Ventura · 4 hr min (caregiver) · Medicare · Hospice
$40–$45/hr
(805) 569-2008SB & Ventura · 1 hr min, no ongoing commitment required / Private duty nursing $125/hr
$42–$50/hr
(805) 335-1200
Who to call first
Before you work down that list one call at a time, call Jessica Solomon at Next Best Home on 805-883-8800, answered 24 hours a day, every day. One call gets the hours you actually need priced at the local average, the agencies whose minimum visit fits those hours, and what pays for it: long term care insurance, VA Aid and Attendance, IHSS, or savings. No charge to the family, and no placement fee from an agency.
- The hours you actually need, priced
- Minimum visits and weekend rates compared
- Insurance, VA and IHSS checked first
What it costs at different hours
At the local average of $45 an hour, four hours a week is about $780 a month, twenty hours a week is about $3,900, and 44 hours a week, which is the number most families land on, is about $8,574. Compare that with the local median assisted living rate of $7,000 a month, which includes meals, utilities, housekeeping and staff on site: the two lines cross somewhere around 36 hours a week. Under that, home care is usually both cheaper and the better fit. Past it, a community usually costs less than the same hours bought at home.
How this list is collected
Each month Next Best Home contacts every home care agency serving Santa Barbara and asks the same questions: the hourly rate, the minimum visit, the weekend and overnight rates, and whether the agency carries Medicare certified home health or hospice. The list is published with what each agency said, including the agencies that charge the most, and no agency pays to appear on it or to move up it. Where a rate has not been re-confirmed it is shown as the last quoted figure, so an old date tells you something too.
Questions families ask first
Who provides home care for seniors in Santa Barbara?
11 home care agencies serve Santa Barbara: Arosa, Assisted Home Health & Hospice, BrightStar Care, Helping Hands, Legacy Concierge, Love & Care, NurseCore, Right at Home, Senior Helpers, The Key, Visiting Angels. Agency rates run $38 to $65 an hour, averaging $45, and every one of them asks for a minimum visit. The list with each agency's phone number, minimum visit and whether it takes Medicare or hospice cases is published at https://nextbesthome.com/santa-barbara-home-care-agencies. Next Best Home is not an agency: it surveys the market, publishes the list and takes no fee from any agency on it. Call or text 805-883-8800 for the same list read for one family's situation.
How much does home care cost in Santa Barbara?
Our November 2026 survey puts agency home care in Santa Barbara at $38 to $65 an hour, with an average of $45. At 44 hours a week that averages $8,574 a month. The top of the range is usually weekends, overnight shifts, dementia experience or travel to the Santa Ynez Valley and Lompoc. A caregiver hired directly is cheaper per hour, but the family becomes the employer and carries payroll, taxes, insurance and backup coverage.
Is there a minimum number of hours for home care in Santa Barbara?
Yes. 5 of the 11 agencies surveyed require a four hour minimum visit, and the longest minimum is six hours. Only BrightStar Care and Senior Helpers will send a caregiver for a single hour. At the local average of $45 an hour, a four hour minimum turns a two hour need into a $180 visit, which is why two quotes for the same care can look far apart.
Which Santa Barbara home care agencies take Medicare or hospice cases?
Assisted Home Health & Hospice is the one agency in the survey that carries both Medicare certified home health and hospice alongside private duty care. Medicare does not pay for custodial care, meaning help with bathing, dressing, meals and supervision, so the private pay list applies for that. When a doctor orders skilled nursing or therapy, or when hospice is involved, the payer and the agency change.
Is it cheaper to hire a caregiver directly than through an agency?
The hourly rate is lower, and that is the only part that is cheaper. Hiring directly makes the family the employer: payroll taxes, workers compensation, liability, sick cover, holidays and finding a replacement when the caregiver quits. An agency carries those, bonds and insures its caregivers and provides cover, which is what the higher hourly rate buys. For a few hours a week the gap is small; for round the clock care it is a real decision, and it is worth pricing both before choosing.
Does Next Best Home provide caregivers or home care?
No. Next Best Home does not employ or dispatch caregivers and is not a home care agency. It surveys the Santa Barbara market each month, publishes every agency's rate, minimum visit and phone number, and works out what the hours actually cost for one family, at no charge to the family. Call or text 805-883-8800, answered 24 hours a day, every day.
One call, before you start dialing
Jessica Solomon covers Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Montecito, Solvang, Buellton and Lompoc. Bring the care needs on a typical day, the monthly income and assets, and whether the family home is being kept, rented or sold.
Rates are agency hourly rates for Santa Barbara, from our November 2026 survey of 11 agencies. They are not private hire caregiver rates. Monthly figures use the local average across all days and run higher for weekends, holidays and overnight shifts.