Caregiver Shortage Problem

November 20, 2025

CT Caregiver Shortage

Connecticut’s Growing Crisis: Too Many Seniors, Too Few Caregivers

As Connecticut’s population ages rapidly, the state is running out of people willing and able to provide hands-on care. Nursing homes, home-health agencies, and private households all compete for the same limited pool of workers, resulting in dangerous staffing gaps, exhausted family members, and rising concerns about elder safety and dignity in 2025.

Inside the State’s Nursing Homes

More than 40 percent of Connecticut’s 195 nursing facilities currently hold only one- or two-star ratings from Medicare, largely because of chronic understaffing. Residents sometimes go hours without help to the bathroom or receive the wrong medications. Workers who remain on the job often handle 12–15 residents per shift while earning $18–$22 an hour. In spring 2025, thousands of unionized employees nearly walked off the job, demanding starting pay of $25 and eventual increases to $30. Lawmakers are debating a requirement for 3.6 hours of daily direct care per resident, but the price tag and ongoing labor shortage make passage uncertain.

Home Care Agencies Sound the Alarm

Outside institutional settings, home-care providers report vacancy rates that leave clients on waiting lists for weeks or months. Even after state-approved raises that pushed many personal-care aides above $20 an hour, turnover remains above 70 percent. Long commutes, physically demanding work, and emotional strain drive workers to retail, warehousing, or other fields that pay similar wages for less stress.

The Hidden Workforce: Unpaid Family Members

Roughly one in four Connecticut adults now cares for an aging or disabled relative without pay. These 773,000 family caregivers juggle jobs, children, and round-the-clock responsibilities that frequently lead to depleted savings, mounting debt, and serious health problems of their own. Most have never used respite services, either because they are unaware of them or because wait times are long.

Why the Worker Pool Keeps Shrinking

Fewer young people, smaller families, and out-migration of working-age residents mean fewer potential caregivers entering the labor force each year. Immigrants currently fill more than a quarter of direct-care positions, yet restrictive policies and high living costs limit further growth. At the same time, the cost of private home care has climbed past $68,000 a year for many families, pushing more seniors onto Medicaid programs that already have lengthy waitlists.

Searching for Solutions

State officials, unions, and advocacy groups agree that higher wages, better training pathways, and expanded benefits are essential. Recent budget agreements have delivered incremental pay increases, and the 2024–2027 State Plan on Aging calls for new recruitment and retention programs. Long-term fixes may also include broader use of technology, streamlined credentialing for foreign-trained workers, and stronger support systems for family caregivers. Without bolder action, Connecticut risks a future where thousands of older residents receive inadequate or no care at all.

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