A home health aide or personal care aide in New York must be paid at least $19.65 an hour in New York City, Long Island and Westchester, and $18.65 an hour in the rest of the state. Those are the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) floors in force since 1 January 2026, and they rise to $20.00 and $19.00 on 1 January 2027. Federal survey data from May 2025 put the median pay for these aides at $19.05 an hour in New York, against $17.21 nationally.
What is the minimum wage for a home health aide in New York?
New York sets a separate, higher minimum for home care aides than for most workers. The DOL’s home care aide fact sheet (P105) lists the schedule:
| Effective date | New York City, Long Island, Westchester | Rest of New York State |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2024 | $18.55 | $17.55 |
| 1 January 2025 | $19.10 | $18.10 |
| 1 January 2026 (current) | $19.65 | $18.65 |
| 1 January 2027 (scheduled) | $20.00 | $19.00 |
The 2027 figures come from the DOL’s home care aide minimum wage page. The DOL’s minimum wage page explains that home care rates follow inflation but are capped at $3.00 above the standard minimum wage. The standard rate is set to stay at $17.00 and $16.00 in 2027, which is why the home care rate stops at $20.00 and $19.00. The page notes the Governor has proposed changing that rule, so recheck before 1 January.
Who counts as a home care aide?
The state’s definition covers home health aides, personal care aides, home attendants and CDPAP personal assistants, plus any other licensed or unlicensed person whose main job is in-home help with daily living or health-related tasks. Casual workers are excluded. So are relatives of a client in most government-funded programs, with one exception: CDPAP personal assistants are covered even when they are family. We come back to that below.
How much does a caregiver make per year in New York?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes pay estimates for “home health and personal care aides” (occupation code 31-1120). The latest release covers May 2025:
| Area (May 2025) | Median hourly | Median annual | Lowest 10% earn up to | Highest 10% earn from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $17.21 | $35,800 | $13.00 | $21.65 |
| New York State | $19.05 | $39,620 | $17.77 | $22.45 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area | $19.08 | $39,680 | $17.77 | $22.39 |
Three cautions. These are survey estimates, not rules. They predate the January 2026 increase, which is why the New York medians sit slightly below today’s $19.65 floor. And the annual numbers are the hourly median multiplied out to a full-time year, so an aide with fewer authorized hours will take home less. Our HHA jobs guide covers the job itself, and the HHA certificate guide covers the training that comes first.
What is wage parity, and does it raise an aide’s pay?
Wage parity is a second pay rule on top of the minimum wage. Under Public Health Law 3614-c, aides doing Medicaid-reimbursed work in New York City and in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties must receive a base wage plus a supplemental benefit. The base wage is the state minimum for the region, and the supplement can be paid in cash or as benefits such as health coverage. The state’s wage parity page says the requirement can be met entirely through wages or through wages and benefits together.
We are not printing a dollar figure for the supplement. The Department of Labor and the Department of Health list different amounts on their pages (the Health Department’s wage parity page was revised June 2026), and we could not reconcile them. Employers must give each aide a written pay notice (Form LS 62) showing the supplement rate and benefit type, so that notice is the number to trust for your own job.
How are 24-hour live-in shifts paid? The 13-hour rule
A 24-hour shift is not paid as 24 hours of work when the aide gets real sleep and meal time. The DOL says home health aides are paid for 13 hours of each 24-hour shift, so long as they are provided eight hours of sleep, five of them uninterrupted, and three uninterrupted meal breaks.
The test is whether the aide can actually rest. In two enforcement announcements, June 2024 and August 2023, the DOL recovered back pay for aides who did 24-hour shifts without adequate sleep or meal time. At the bare state minimum, before any wage parity supplement or overtime, 13 paid hours works out like this:
| Period | 13 hours at the NYC, Long Island, Westchester minimum | 13 hours at the rest-of-state minimum |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 13 x $19.65 = $255.45 | 13 x $18.65 = $242.45 |
| From 1 January 2027 | 13 x $20.00 = $260.00 | 13 x $19.00 = $247.00 |
For families pricing live-in care, this means the aide’s wage cost per shift rests on 13 paid hours, not 24; an agency’s rate also covers its other costs. Our guides to live-in care and what home care costs in New York cover the family side.
Do home health aides get overtime in New York?
Yes. The DOL fact sheet says aides must be paid one and a half times their regular rate for weekly hours over 40, or over 44 for residential employees. It lists three other add-ons an aide may be owed:
- Call-in pay: extra hours at the minimum wage if the aide reports as scheduled and is sent home early.
- Spread of hours: one extra hour at the minimum wage rate when the workday lasts longer than ten hours.
- Uniform maintenance: weekly pay if the aide launders their own uniform.
An employer may go below the minimum wage only to claim a limited allowance for meals and lodging, and only if it does not charge for them. If you think you have been underpaid, the DOL takes calls at 888-525-2267.
How does pay differ for CDPAP family caregivers?
Under CDPAP, the Medicaid member hires their own personal assistant, often a relative, and the statewide fiscal intermediary, Public Partnerships LLC (PPL), runs payroll. The state minimum wage applies to these assistants too: the home care aide definition names “personal assistant performing consumer directed personal assistance services”, and the fact sheet exempts them from the rule that excludes relatives of the client.
What differs is the ceiling on hours and the paperwork, not the legal floor:
- Hours follow the authorization. A July 2026 Health Department clarification says paid family members and household residents cannot work more hours per week than the authorization and plan of care allow, and that plans should not authorize time for common spaces, chores or meals.
- Very long weeks get flagged. MLTC Policy 26.02 (effective 22 July 2026) defines excessive hours as more than 16 a day every day, or 112 or more in a week. Weeks of 112 hours or more get a response deadline of seven days and are reported to the Medicaid Inspector General.
- Spouses cannot be paid. See our CDPAP eligibility guide for who can and cannot be hired.
- The hourly rate is not published. The Health Department’s CDPAP page describes PPL as handling wages, withholding and records but gives no pay table. Confirm the rate with PPL before relying on any figure you see online.
Agency aide or CDPAP assistant: how the pay compares
| Agency aide (HHA or PCA) | CDPAP personal assistant | |
|---|---|---|
| Who hires and schedules | The licensed agency | The Medicaid member or their representative |
| Who processes payroll | The agency | PPL, the statewide fiscal intermediary |
| State minimum wage floor | Yes: $19.65 or $18.65 in 2026 | Yes: same home care aide floor |
| Overtime over 40 hours | 1.5x the regular rate, per DOL | Covered by the same home care aide rules, per DOL |
| Hours limit | Set by the agency’s schedule and the client’s authorization | Capped at the authorized hours, including for family |
| Training required | Approved HHA or PCA training | No certificate; the member trains the assistant |
Medicaid’s payment to a plan or agency is not the same thing as an aide’s wage. The wage floor comes from the labor rules above, so a client’s authorization tells you how many hours there are, not what each hour pays. See what Medicaid covers for home care for how hours are approved.
What should families and aides check before agreeing on pay?
- Ask for the hourly rate in writing and compare it with the floor for the region and year.
- Ask about the wage parity notice (Form LS 62) if the work is Medicaid-funded in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk or Westchester.
- For live-in shifts, ask how sleep and meal time are protected and how interrupted nights are paid.
- For CDPAP, check the authorized weekly hours with PPL and the plan before anyone commits to a schedule.
Families choosing an agency can start with our guide to choosing a home care agency.
We are a licensed home care agency in Brooklyn and Queens, licence #2572L001, New York State Department of Health. If you are working out what care for a family member involves, or how hours and costs fit together, call (718) 232-2777 or use our contact page.
Wage rules change every January. Everything above was checked against dol.ny.gov, health.ny.gov and the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data on 12 October 2026. BLS figures are May 2025 estimates. Confirm your own pay with your employer, PPL or the New York State Department of Labor.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a home health aide make per hour in New York City?
By law at least $19.65 an hour in 2026, rising to $20.00 on 1 January 2027. The BLS median for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area was $19.08 an hour in May 2025, before the 2026 increase.
What is the minimum wage for home care aides outside New York City?
$18.65 an hour in the rest of the state in 2026, and $19.00 from 1 January 2027. Long Island and Westchester use the higher $19.65 rate, rising to $20.00.
How much is a 24-hour live-in shift paid?
Aides are paid for 13 hours of a 24-hour shift if they get eight hours of sleep, five uninterrupted, and three uninterrupted meal breaks. At the 2026 minimum, 13 hours is $255.45 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $242.45 elsewhere, before parity or overtime.
Do home health aides get overtime in New York?
Yes. The DOL says aides must be paid one and a half times their regular rate for weekly hours over 40, or over 44 for residential employees.
Do CDPAP family caregivers get the same minimum wage?
Yes. The state definition of a home care aide includes CDPAP personal assistants, and relatives working in CDPAP are not excluded. The PPL hourly rate is not published, so confirm it with PPL, and paid family members cannot work more than the authorized weekly hours.
Is the Medicaid rate the same as what an aide earns?
No. Medicaid pays the plan or agency, while an aide’s wage is governed by state labor rules, including the minimum wage and wage parity. A low quoted Medicaid rate does not lower the legal minimum for the aide.
Where can I report that a home care aide was underpaid?
Call the New York State Department of Labor at 888-525-2267. Workers can also file a complaint using Form LS 223, and the DOL page on wage parity lists the form.
