It depends on hours needed. At Indiana's 2025 median of $35 an hour, a 40-hour week of home care already costs more than Indiana's assisted living median of $5,639 a month. Below roughly 30-35 hours a week, home care is often cheaper; above it, a community usually wins.
The distinction that matters
The crossover point is not a fixed rule -- it shifts with the specific hourly rate a family is quoted and with how many hours of unpaid family caregiving are realistically sustainable in the meantime. A household that can comfortably provide evenings and weekends themselves might reasonably stay below the crossover point far longer than one where a family member is stretched thin covering gaps. Redo this math whenever care needs change meaningfully, rather than assuming an estimate from six months ago still holds -- care needs for older adults rarely stay flat for long.
