As of January 1, 2026, CDPAP personal assistants in New York earn between $18.65 and $20.65 per hour, with the exact rate set by the county where the consumer lives. If you are wondering how much CDPAP pays in NY, the short answer is that Public Partnerships LLC (PPL), the state’s sole fiscal intermediary, publishes one base wage per region, so every personal assistant caring for a consumer in that region earns the same starting rate.1PPL. New York CDPAP Frequently Asked Questions
CDPAP Hourly Rates by Region in 2026
PPL’s minimum base wages for personal assistants break into three geographic tiers:1PPL. New York CDPAP Frequently Asked Questions
- New York City (all five boroughs): $20.65 per hour
- Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties: $20.05 per hour
- All other counties: $18.65 per hour
Your rate follows the consumer, not you. If you live in Rockland but care for someone in the Bronx, you are paid at the NYC rate. If you live in Queens but drive to a consumer in Orange County, you earn the rest-of-state rate.
What Builds the Rate
Three layers of state law feed into the number on your paycheck. The foundation is New York’s regional minimum wage, which as of January 1, 2026 sits at $17.00 per hour in NYC, Long Island, and Westchester, and $16.00 per hour in the rest of the state. Both figures rise each January based on the Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region.2The State of New York. New York State’s Minimum Wage
On top of that, home care aides are covered by additional compensation rules under Public Health Law. The Home Care Worker Wage Parity Law (PHL § 3614-c) applies to personal assistants performing Medicaid-reimbursed work in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties.3New York State Senate. New York Public Health Law 3614-C – Home Care Worker Wage Parity4Department of Labor. Home Health Care Aides and Wage Parity Workers elsewhere in the state are not covered by wage parity, but separate home care aide minimum wage provisions still push their pay above the standard minimum.
Wage parity sets a minimum total compensation, which is wages plus supplemental benefits. The benefit portion required on top of the base minimum wage is $4.09 per hour in NYC and $3.22 per hour in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester.4Department of Labor. Home Health Care Aides and Wage Parity An employer can meet the requirement entirely in cash wages, entirely through benefits like health coverage or pension contributions, or through a mix. That is why the hourly figure on your check might not reflect the full value of your compensation — PPL is required to give you a written notice showing how your pay is split between cash and benefits.
Overtime
Personal assistants who work more than 40 hours in a workweek must be paid time-and-a-half for every hour above 40. Live-in personal assistants, meaning those who reside in the consumer’s home, hit the overtime premium after 44 hours instead of 40.5Department of Labor. Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 79B – Live-in Domestic Service Workers Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Overtime is figured on your actual wage, not on the state minimum. At the 2026 rates:
- NYC: $20.65 × 1.5 = $30.98 per overtime hour
- Nassau, Suffolk, or Westchester: $20.05 × 1.5 = $30.08 per overtime hour
- Rest of state: $18.65 × 1.5 = $27.98 per overtime hour
Consumers who need more than 40 hours of care a week generally have to get prior authorization from their managed care plan so Medicaid will cover the added hours. If you work for more than one consumer on the same day, travel time between their homes is compensable under the FLSA, though if you are released long enough to handle personal business between visits, only the trip itself needs to be paid.7New York State Department of Health. FAQs Regarding FLSA Overtime Rules
Taxes and What Actually Lands in Your Account
You are an employee, not a contractor. PPL issues a W-2 at year end, and federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare are withheld from every paycheck.8Internal Revenue Service. Family Caregivers and Self-Employment Tax
Two family situations change the withholding. A child under 21 providing domestic services for a parent is exempt from Social Security and Medicare on those earnings. A parent caring for an adult child may also be exempt from FICA in some cases, such as when the child has a minor living in the home and the child’s spouse is incapacitated.9Internal Revenue Service. Family Employees
If you live with the consumer you care for, IRS Notice 2014-7 may let you exclude your CDPAP wages from federal income tax entirely, treating them as difficulty-of-care payments rather than taxable income.10Internal Revenue Service. Certain Medicaid Waiver Payments May Be Excludable From Income The exclusion covers personal care services provided to a Medicaid recipient you share a home with. It does not cover respite care, training time, or travel time. Talk to PPL or a tax professional so your W-2 reflects the exclusion correctly.
Benefits Attached to the Job
If you work more than 130 hours a month, PPL offers health coverage through its Anthem SecureHealth plan, in line with federal rules requiring large employers to offer affordable coverage above that threshold.11New York State Department of Health. CDPAP Caregiver Healthcare Benefit Options Offered by PPL If you average fewer than 130 hours a month, you can look for coverage through NY State of Health.
New York’s paid sick leave law also applies. You accrue one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, and because PPL is a large employer, you can use up to 56 hours of paid sick leave in a calendar year for your own illness or to care for a sick family member.12The State of New York. New York Paid Sick Leave
Paid Family Leave is generally available too. Full-time workers (20 or more hours a week) qualify after 26 consecutive weeks of employment; part-time workers (fewer than 20 hours a week) qualify after 175 days worked.13Paid Family Leave. Eligibility You can use it to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill family member, or handle needs tied to a family member’s military deployment.
How and When You Get Paid
You track your hours through an electronic visit verification (EVV) system that records the date, time, location, and type of service for each visit. Federal law requires EVV for Medicaid-funded personal care, and New York enforces it through its data aggregator.14New York State Department of Health. NY Medicaid Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) – FAQs Paper timesheets are allowed only in unusual, auditable situations.
Once the consumer or designated representative approves your hours, PPL runs payroll, withholds taxes, and applies any benefit deductions. New York labor law generally treats home care aides as manual workers, who must be paid weekly and no later than seven calendar days after the end of the week the wages were earned.15Department of Labor. Frequency of Pay Payment usually comes by direct deposit, with payroll cards available as an alternative.
Because PPL is now the only fiscal intermediary in the state, there is no shopping around between agencies for a better hourly rate — the tier for the consumer’s county is the rate.16New York State Department of Health. Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) If you or your consumer have not yet completed the transition to PPL, the state advises doing so as soon as possible.