IHSS pay in California by county runs from the statewide minimum of $16.90 per hour to roughly $23.00 per hour in the highest-paying counties, with most counties negotiating a rate somewhere in between. Your actual paycheck comes down to three numbers: the hourly rate set in your county, the monthly hours authorized for your recipient, and any overtime or supplemental pay you earn on top of that.
Hourly Rates in Each County
Every county negotiates its own IHSS provider wage through its local public authority and the provider union. The California Department of Social Services publishes a county-by-county wage chart and updates it whenever a new bargaining agreement takes effect or the state minimum wage changes.1California Department of Social Services. County IHSS Wage Rates The statewide minimum wage of $16.90 is the floor no county can go below.2California Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions
Nearly every county pays above that floor. A sample of hourly rates as of early 2026:
- San Francisco: $23.00
- Alameda: $21.60
- Napa: $20.90
- Monterey: $20.64
- San Diego: $20.40
- Los Angeles: $19.64
- Sacramento: $19.15
- Orange: $18.90
- Fresno: $18.75
- Kern: $17.70
- Madera: $17.40
The gap between a high-cost coastal county and a rural interior county can run five dollars an hour or more, which compounds fast over a full month of authorized work. Rates can change as soon as a new bargaining agreement is signed, so check the CDSS wage chart or call your county’s public authority for the current figure before relying on any single number.
Why Rates Vary So Much
When a county and its provider union agree on a wage increase, the nonfederal share is split: the state pays 65 percent and the county pays the remaining 35 percent.3California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 12306.1 Federal Medicaid dollars cover a portion of overall program costs, since IHSS operates under Medicaid’s personal care services framework. Counties with larger budgets and higher costs of living tend to negotiate higher wages; smaller rural counties often stay near the state minimum.
How Authorized Hours Shape Your Paycheck
The hourly rate is only half the picture. Your gross pay each month equals the rate multiplied by the hours the county has authorized for your recipient. A county social worker visits the recipient’s home, assesses their needs, and assigns time across domestic services (housework, laundry, meals, shopping), personal care (bathing, grooming, dressing, feeding, bowel and bladder care), paramedical tasks prescribed by a health professional, and protective supervision for recipients with a mental impairment who cannot safely be left alone. The state sets uniform guidelines so that similar needs produce similar authorizations regardless of county.4California Legislative Information. California Code Welfare and Institutions Code WIC 12301-2
The total appears on a formal notice of action sent to the recipient and sets the ceiling for what you can claim on your timesheet. If the recipient’s condition changes, you or the recipient can request a reassessment.
Monthly Hour Caps
State law caps how many hours any one recipient can receive, no matter what the assessment shows.5California Legislative Information. California Code Welfare and Institutions Code WIC 12303-4
- Non-severely impaired recipients: up to 195 hours per month
- Severely impaired recipients: up to 283 hours per month
A recipient is considered severely impaired when they need at least 20 hours per week of personal care assistance with tasks like bathing, dressing, feeding, bowel or bladder care, or movement in and out of bed.6California Legislative Information. California Code Welfare and Institutions Code WIC 12304 Protective supervision is another route to the 283-hour cap, since around-the-clock observation adds up quickly.
Estimating Your Monthly Gross Pay
Multiply your county’s rate by the authorized hours. A Sacramento provider at $19.15 with a recipient authorized for 195 hours grosses about $3,734 a month. A San Francisco provider at $23.00 with a severely impaired recipient at 283 hours grosses roughly $6,509 before any overtime. Take-home pay will be lower after taxes and deductions.
Overtime, Travel Time, and Wait Time
Hours worked beyond 40 in a single workweek are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act.7LA County DPSS. IHSS Program Rules – Overtime, Travel Time and Wait Time At a $19.00 base rate, each overtime hour pays $28.50. Providers who serve two or more recipients cannot exceed 66 total hours in a workweek, overtime included.8California Department of Social Services. IHSS Overtime Exemption 2
There is one narrow exception. If you serve two or more recipients and at least one would face out-of-home placement without your care, you can apply through the county for an exemption raising the limit to 90 hours per workweek and 360 hours per month.8California Department of Social Services. IHSS Overtime Exemption 2
Providers who care for more than one recipient on the same day can also claim travel time pay for driving directly from one recipient’s home to the other. Travel time is capped at seven hours per workweek and does not come out of either recipient’s authorized service hours.7LA County DPSS. IHSS Program Rules – Overtime, Travel Time and Wait Time Wait time pay is available when you accompany a recipient to a medical appointment and stay on duty while they are seen; those hours count against the recipient’s monthly authorization and the 283-hour ceiling.
What You Actually Keep
How much of your gross pay you take home depends heavily on whether you live with your recipient.
Federal Income Tax and the Live-In Exclusion
Under IRS Notice 2014-7, IHSS payments are treated as difficulty-of-care payments and can be excluded from federal gross income when the provider lives in the same home as the recipient.9Internal Revenue Service. Certain Medicaid Waiver Payments May Be Excludable From Income “Same home” means you and the recipient share a residence where you regularly carry out the routines of your private life. If you keep a separate home where you also live part-time, the exclusion does not apply, even if you sleep at the recipient’s home several nights a week.
A few finer points on the exclusion:
- The entire IHSS payment can be excluded, including any cost-sharing copayment the recipient contributes through the program.
- If two or more providers live in the same home with the recipient, each can exclude their own payments.
- Vacation pay from the state is not excludable.
- Direct payments from the recipient’s personal funds, made outside the IHSS program, cannot be excluded.
Providers who do not live with their recipient owe federal income tax on their full IHSS earnings, just like any other wages.9Internal Revenue Service. Certain Medicaid Waiver Payments May Be Excludable From Income
Social Security and Medicare
Some IHSS providers are exempt from Social Security and Medicare (FICA) withholding based on their family relationship to the recipient. You are generally exempt if you provide care to your spouse, your child (if you are under 21), or your parent.10Internal Revenue Service. Employment Taxes for Household Employees Providers without one of these relationships have FICA withheld at the standard combined 7.65 percent.
State Disability Insurance
California withholds State Disability Insurance from most employee wages. The 2026 SDI rate is 1.3 percent of gross wages with no taxable wage ceiling.11EDD – CA.gov. 2026 California Employers Guide SDI funds both disability benefits and Paid Family Leave. A narrow set of providers may qualify for an exemption, but most will see this deduction on every paycheck.
Sick Leave and Health Benefits
IHSS providers earn 40 hours of paid sick leave per state fiscal year, which runs July 1 through June 30.12California Department of Social Services. Paid Sick Leave Program Information You have to work at least 100 authorized hours after your hire date before the leave accrues, and once it accrues you still have to work another 200 hours or wait 60 calendar days, whichever comes first, before you can use it. Any unused sick leave expires on June 30 and does not carry over.
Some counties offer health insurance to providers who consistently work a minimum number of hours each month. Thresholds and plan details vary; in some areas, providers who work 80 or more hours per month qualify for a group health plan covering medical, dental, and vision. Call your county’s public authority to find out what your county offers and how many hours you need to work to qualify.
Pay Periods and Getting Paid
IHSS uses two pay periods each month: the 1st through the 15th, and the 16th through the last day.13California Department of Social Services. IHSS Provider Resources Providers submit timesheets electronically through the state’s Electronic Services Portal after the recipient signs off on the hours, and the state, not the county, issues the payment.14California Department of Social Services. In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program Direct deposit typically gets you paid faster than a mailed paper check.