A recent national salary and benefits report highlighted an increase in turnover rates for home care aides in 2024 and a trend among home health agencies to offer sign-on bonuses to attract new employees.

Turnover rates for home care aides (HCAs) rose to 35% in 2024, up from 31% in 2023, according to the 2024 – 2025 Home Care Salary & Benefits report released by the Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service in Oakland, New Jersey.  In contrast, turnover rates for registered nurses decreased from 28% in 2023 to 27% in 2024, nearing the typical pre-pandemic rate of 20% to 25%.

The average annual salary for directors of clinical services (DCS) in home health agencies increased by 4.4%, reaching $109,573 in 2024. Massachusetts reported the highest salary for this position at $137,931, while Wisconsin had the lowest at $88,775.

“In 2024, managers and salaried employees received larger pay increases compared to the last few years,” Roseanne Zabka, director of reports at Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service told Home Health Care News. “Throughout 2021 to 2023, frontline health care workers and hourly staff received the most significant pay raises as agencies competed to attract and retain talent. While hourly staff saw another year of healthy rate increases, they were far from the near double-digit increases seen in 2022 and 2023.”

When comparing salaries by agency type, DCS in visiting nurse agencies earned the highest average salary of $137,931. Hospital-based agencies followed closely, with an average of $136,262. Notably, nonprofit agencies paid more than for-profit agencies, with average salaries of $118,296 and $100,587, respectively.

Regarding hiring practices, 53% of survey respondents reported offering sign-on bonuses to attract applicants. Home care aides received an average sign-on bonus of $2,129.

“Positions and departments which saw the highest increases this year were marketing, human resources and intake coordinators, which suggests agencies are prioritizing and investing in core management and staff to increase client admissions, enhance recruitment and coordination strategies to improve new hire quality and employee retention, and optimize operational efficiency,” Zabka said.

The report, published in October, collected data from 1,079 home health agencies nationwide and was conducted in collaboration with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). It covers salaries, bonus data, hourly and per-visit rates for 59 jobs and includes information on increases, shift differentials, turnover and vacancy rates, caseload, and productivity.