In Colorado, non-medical in-home care had a median cost of $42 an hour in 2025, according to the 2025 CareScout Cost of Care Survey. For families in Broomfield, that number is a useful starting point, not a price tag. What you actually pay depends on how many hours of help your parent needs, when those hours fall, and how much hands-on support is involved. Talem Home Care and Placement Services gives families in Broomfield and nearby communities a personalized estimate after a free in-home assessment, so you can plan around real needs instead of guesses.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably somewhere in the middle of a hard stretch. Maybe Dad has started skipping meals because cooking feels like too much. Maybe your mom’s last fall left her shaky in the shower, and you’re driving over from Westminster three nights a week to help her get ready for bed.
You want to know what help would cost before you bring it up with anyone.
That’s a smart place to start. Let’s walk through it.
What That $42 an Hour Actually Represents
The $42 figure is the Colorado median for what the survey now calls “non-medical caregiver” services. That category combines what used to be listed separately as homemaker services and home health aide services, because the prices for the two had grown so close together.
A median means half of the agencies surveyed charged more and half charged less. It is a benchmark. It is not Talem’s rate, and it is not a promise of what any agency in Broomfield will quote you.
For comparison, the same survey put the national median at $35 an hour, up from $34 the year before. Colorado runs above the national figure, which won’t surprise anyone who has priced groceries or rent along the Front Range lately.
You’ll also see a monthly number for Colorado: about $7,913. That figure assumes 44 hours of care per week, every week. Most families don’t start anywhere near 44 hours. So if that monthly figure made your stomach drop, hold on to the next section.
Why Most Families Don’t Pay the “Full-Time” Number
Here’s something that often gets lost: many people who use home care start with a few hours, a few days a week.
That does not automatically mean they need round-the-clock care.
Think about what your parent actually struggles with. For a lot of families, the hard parts cluster around a few moments in the day:
- The morning shower, when the bathroom floor is wet and balance is at its worst
- Lunch, when a sandwich takes 40 minutes to make and half of it ends up uneaten
- Grocery runs and pharmacy pickups that used to be easy errands
- The long, quiet afternoons that leave someone who lives alone feeling forgotten
If help during those windows would make the biggest difference, you may be looking at 12 or 20 hours a week, not 44.
The Factors That Move the Price Up or Down
Every family’s estimate is built from the same handful of ingredients. Knowing them helps you ask better questions and avoid surprises.
1. The Number of Hours Each Week
This is the biggest driver by far. Three four-hour visits a week costs much less than daily care. Hours are also flexible. Many families start small and add time as needs change, or reduce it after a recovery.
2. When the Hours Happen
Daytime weekday hours are typically the most straightforward to schedule. Overnight care, weekends and holidays can be priced differently depending on the agency. If your dad gets confused after dark or your mom wanders at night, overnight help may be where support matters most, so ask how each agency handles it.
3. The Level of Hands-On Help
Companionship, light housekeeping and meal preparation look different from help with bathing, toileting and transfers from bed to wheelchair. Personal care needs often call for more experience and closer attention, and that can affect both scheduling and cost.
4. Memory Changes and Dementia
When a parent is living with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, care often involves redirection, patience with repeated questions, and steady supervision. Maybe Mom has asked where her car keys are five times in an hour, even though she sold the car two years ago. That kind of care is meaningful work, and it may shape how many hours you need.
5. Visit Length and Agency Policies
Agencies set their own policies on minimum visit lengths and scheduling. Never assume every agency works the same way. When you call, ask directly: “What is the shortest visit you schedule, and how do weekend or holiday hours work?”
How to Build Your Own Monthly Estimate
You don’t need a spreadsheet to get a realistic picture. You need one simple planning formula:
Estimated hours per week x estimated hourly rate x 4.33 weeks = estimated monthly cost
The 4.33 accounts for the fact that most months are a little longer than four weeks.
Here’s what that looks like using the 2025 Colorado median of $42 an hour as an example. These are estimates for planning only, not Talem’s rates:
- 12 hours a week (four hours, three days a week): about $2,182 a month
- 20 hours a week (four hours, five days a week): about $3,637 a month
- 30 hours a week: about $5,456 a month
- 44 hours a week: about $7,913 a month, the survey’s own monthly figure
Now look at those numbers next to what’s happening in your family. If your parent mostly needs help getting started in the morning and a safe shower three times a week, the first line may be the most realistic. If your sister in Thornton is covering every evening and running on empty, the second or third line may be closer to what you need.
The only way to replace “about” with a real number is to have an agency look at your parent’s actual needs and schedule. At Talem, that conversation starts with a free in-home assessment.
“We Can’t Afford That” (and Other Thoughts That Stop Families From Asking)
It’s completely normal for the first reaction to be, “There’s no way we can afford that.”
Before you close the door on the idea, try reframing the question. Instead of asking, “Can we afford home care?” ask, “Which hours of help would change things the most, and what would those specific hours cost?”
That shift turns an overwhelming number into a manageable one.
It also helps to remember that many families don’t rely on a single source of money. Some use a mix of private savings, a long-term care insurance policy, veterans benefits or state programs. Talem works with private pay, Medicaid, insurance and VA benefits. Whether a program or policy will help with your family’s care depends on eligibility and the specific policy, and that’s something we can help you sort through.
If your parent is the one resisting the cost, you might try this:
“Mom, I’m not asking you to sign up for anything forever. I’d just like to know what a few hours a week would cost, so we can stop guessing. Can we have someone come by and give us a real number?”
Framing it as information, not a decision, often lowers the temperature of the conversation.
Questions Worth Asking Any Agency About Cost
When you start calling around, keep a notepad nearby. These questions get you to clearer answers faster:
- What is your hourly rate, and does it change for nights, weekends or holidays?
- Is there a minimum number of hours per visit or per week?
- Is there a fee for the in-home assessment? (At Talem, the assessment is free.)
- Can we change the schedule as needs change, and how much notice do you need?
- Which payment options do you work with, and can you help us understand what our insurance or benefits might cover?
- Are your caregivers bonded and insured?
- Can we meet the caregiver before care begins?
Write down each agency’s answers side by side. The differences usually become obvious quickly.
Where Home Care Fits Among Other Options
Home care isn’t the only path, and it’s fair to compare. In the same 2025 survey, the Colorado median for assisted living was about $6,584 a month, and a private nursing home room was about $12,182 a month.
Those numbers aren’t apples to apples, though. A nursing home includes 24-hour skilled supervision. Assisted living includes housing and meals. Home care is priced by the hour, which means a parent who needs 15 hours of help a week may spend far less at home than in a facility, while a parent who needs constant supervision may find the math works differently.
If you’re weighing those choices, Talem also offers senior housing placement help, so you can look at both options without bouncing between strangers.
Going Deeper Into the Numbers
If you want to plan this out properly, our free guide, How Much Does Home Care Cost in Broomfield, and How Do Families Pay for It?, walks through every piece in more detail. Inside, you’ll find:
- What Home Care Costs in Colorado Right Now
- What Changes the Price for Your Family
- Planning by the Hour, the Week and the Month
- How Families in Colorado Pay for Care at Home
- Questions to Ask Before You Choose an Agency
- Your Family’s Care and Budget Worksheet
Download the Free Guide and work through it at your own pace, with your siblings or with your parent.
You can also learn more about the in-home care services we provide in Broomfield, including personal care at home and companion care for parents who live alone. If you’re in Westminster, here’s how home care in Westminster works with our local team.
You Don’t Have to Have the Whole Plan Today
Figuring out the cost of care can feel like trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing. You don’t need every answer before you take the next step.
A single conversation can tell you what your parent actually needs, what a realistic schedule looks like, and what that would cost. From there, you decide.
Schedule Your Free In-Home Assessment
Call Talem Home Care at (720) 789-8529 or visit https://www.talemhomecare.com/broomfield/get-started/
Talem Home Care and Placement Services provides non-medical home care in Broomfield and nearby communities, including Westminster, Thornton, Boulder, Lafayette, Louisville and Erie.
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