Three Caregivers and Twelve-Hour Shifts
Three caregivers worked 12-hour shifts, so someone was awake in the house every hour of every day.
When my father needed full-time care, we did not move him anywhere. Care came to him.
Three caregivers worked 12-hour shifts, so someone was awake in the house every hour of every day. They fed him and bathed him. They did all of the personal care. They did this in our home, so he never had to leave it.
Here is what it cost us in Mexico at the time. I am giving the real numbers from our family.
| What | Price | What it came to |
|---|---|---|
| Caregiver, one 12-hour shift | 2,000 pesos, about US$100 then | |
| Round-the-clock care, two shifts a day | 4,000 pesos a day | About US$200 a day, or about US$6,000 a month |
| Housekeeper, six hours a day | About 100 pesos an hour then, maybe 125 now | About US$7 an hour at today's rate |
| Doctor who comes to the house | About 1,000 pesos | About US$50 to US$60 |
| An assisted living quote we received in New Jersey | US$12,000 to US$15,000 a month |
Most days he needed little more than what our housekeeper gave us. She was in the house six hours a day. The caregivers carried the rest.
I looked up what the same hours cost in the United States. A national survey for 2025 (CareScout) put a non-medical caregiver at about US$35 an hour. Twenty-four hours a day for 30 days at that rate is US$25,200 a month. In other words, our round-the-clock team cost about a quarter of that. A monthly spend of US$12,000 to US$15,000 would pay for about 80 to 100 hours of that kind of help a week. That is a lot of help, and it is less than around the clock.
These are agency-style prices in our corner of Mexico. People who hire a caregiver directly, or have a live-in helper, report paying less. The prices differ from one city to the next, so a family might ask three or four agencies for a written quote.
I do not say this to be a salesman for Mexico. I say it because I was surprised, and I think many families do not know the option exists.
You could…
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Ask two or three agencies for the price of a 12-hour shift and of a live-in helper.
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Ask whether you could meet each person before the first day.
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Write a one-page note on routines, medicines and what your parent enjoys, in the caregivers' language.
What has care at home cost where you live? Share your numbers. Someone reading may be comparing a quote from a care home.
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Sources: CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025 (non-medical caregiver rate). Our own prices are what we paid.
Tell us in the comments