The Caregiver Wage Paradox: Why $22 an Hour is Emptying Your Parent's Suburbs

State wage mandates sound like a victory for workers, but the math is forcing local agencies to close their doors—leaving families stranded.

In California, a fast-food worker now earns a mandated $20 an hour. Meanwhile, a home caregiver down the street, who is tasked with transferring a stroke survivor from a bed to a wheelchair, averages just $17.50. This is not just an issue of fairness; it is a structural collapse of the home care market. As states force wages up without fixing the underlying business model, local agencies are quietly folding, leaving thousands of families with no one to call.

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