In a nursing home
In a nursing home, usually in a private or shared room.
At home
In their own home, with their own things around them and their own front door.
Home Care vs Nursing Home: What Fits Your Parent
Needing more help doesn’t always mean a move. Here’s how care at home and a nursing home compare.
Endurance Home Care in Stamford lays out the Connecticut numbers: a semi-private nursing home room runs a median $15,208 per month in Long Term Care Navigator's 2026 tables, while 40 weekly hours of daily-living care at home runs about $6,864.
How do families decide between home care and a nursing home?
Home care vs nursing home: how families decide
Start with what your parent needs day to day. If it's mostly help with meals, bathing, dressing, getting around and company, that help can be arranged at home, from a few hours a week to around the clock. A nursing home provides nursing care around the clock in a residential setting. In Connecticut a semi-private nursing room runs a median $15,208 a month in Long Term Care Navigator's 2026 tables, while 40 weekly home care hours run about $6,864.
Nursing home$15,208median month, semi-private
Home care$6,864per month, 40 hours a week
Both figures come from Long Term Care Navigator's 2026 Connecticut tables, and both are medians, not quotes. The hours a household needs are what move its own number, and the gap between the two narrows once coverage has to run around the clock. On cost, the two are set differently. A nursing home charges a daily or monthly rate for the room, the meals and the nursing care. Home care follows the schedule, so a few hours a day and help around the clock are very different. Most long-term care is everyday help, and Medicare and most health insurance don’t pay for it, at home or in a facility. Endurance is private pay. If your parent has a long-term care insurance policy, you can use it, and we’ll help with the policy paperwork. How families pay for care.
First conversationFreeNothing starts until you say so
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What kind of help does your parent need?
It helps to start with the day itself: what’s getting harder, what time of day is hardest, and who is helping now. You may recognize your situation in one of these.
Mostly everyday help
Meals, bathing, dressing, getting around the house, reminders and company. Care at home can bring that help to them, from a few hours a week to around the clock. If you're also wondering about a smaller home with neighbors close by, read home care vs assisted living.
Nursing care as well
Needing nursing doesn't have to mean a move. In Connecticut, our separate company, Endurance Home Health, provides skilled nursing, home health aides and physical therapy at home, and can work alongside your Endurance caregiver. If the focus is comfort near the end of life, read home care vs hospice.
A break for the family caregiver
Sometimes the person who needs help first is the one doing most of the caring. Regular hours of help that give you time back are called respite care at home.
The two side by side
Four everyday questions, answered for each setting.
In a nursing home
Nursing staff on hand day and night, along with help with daily activities.
At home
A caregiver chosen for your parent, for company and everyday help or hands-on personal care.
In a nursing home
Staffed through the day and the night.
At home
Possible at home, with caregivers working awake shifts or a live-in caregiver who has time to rest.
In a nursing home
A median $15,208 for a semi-private room in Connecticut, Long Term Care Navigator 2026, billed at a daily or monthly rate set by the facility.
At home
About $6,864 for 40 hours a week in Connecticut, same survey, same year. The cost follows the schedule, the kind of help and where care takes place.
Can my parent stay home as their needs grow?
Often, yes. Care at home can start with a few hours a week and grow to help through the day and night, and the care plan is reviewed as needs change. Connecticut’s own home care program for elders is built on the same idea: it helps eligible residents who are at risk of nursing home placement stay in their homes, and it describes that risk as needing help with everyday needs such as bathing, dressing, eating, taking medications and toileting. If your parent needs nursing care on hand around the clock, a nursing home provides that, and we’re glad to talk through what you’re weighing.
A plan that changes with them
A registered nurse writes the care plan with your family, and it's reviewed as needs change.
A caregiver chosen for them
We choose the caregiver with your parent in mind and introduce them before the first visit.
You stay in the loop
Your Care Manager keeps you posted, wherever you live.
Staying home can mean keeping the same rooms, the same neighbors and the same routine.
Help at home can run on the schedule your family needs: by the hour, overnight with an awake caregiver, with a live-in caregiver who has time to rest, or around the clock with caregivers working awake shifts. We provide personal care in Connecticut and New Jersey. In New York we provide companion care, by the hour, overnight, live-in or around the clock.
You don’t need to have it all worked out. Start with what the days look like now.
Call our care team on (203) 936-6847 and a person answers, or request a call and we’ll ring you. We’ll listen, explain what care at home could look like for your parent, and answer your questions about the other options you’re weighing.
Questions families ask
Who needs a nursing home instead of home care?
A nursing home is set up for people who need nursing care on hand around the clock. Growing needs don't always mean a move, though: help at home can range from a few hours a week to care through the day and night. If nursing is part of the picture, tell us what's needed and we'll explain the options.
Is home care cheaper than a nursing home?
At most schedules, substantially: about $6,864 a month for 40 weekly hours versus a $15,208 median for a semi-private nursing room in Connecticut (Long Term Care Navigator 2026). Round-the-clock home coverage narrows the gap. Once we know what your parent needs, we'll explain what a home care plan would cost so you can compare.
Can home care handle someone who needs help all day?
Yes. Help at home can run all day and through the night, either with caregivers working awake shifts or with a live-in caregiver who lives in the home and has time to rest. The plan covers meals, personal care, company and help getting around, and we'll help you work out which arrangement suits your parent's days and nights.
Let’s talk about what your parent needs
Tell us what has been getting harder at home. We’ll explain what care at home could look like and what it would involve. The first conversation is free, and nothing starts until you say so.