Home Care in New Jersey: Top-Rated In-Home Care Agencies by City

Aging at home in New Jersey

With 18.0 percent of residents aged 65 or older, New Jersey's older adults live along a dense belt of cities and suburbs running from Newark, Jersey City and Paterson in the north through Trenton and Princeton to Camden in the south. Each county runs its own Area Agency on Aging, 21 in all, so help for a parent in Passaic County can look different from help in Cape May County. Families often find that the same agency name does not mean the same service area. The most useful first step is to ask whether a caregiver already works in the parent's town.

18% of New Jersey residents are 65 or older. Source: America's Health Rankings, citing U.S. Census Bureau Single-Race Population Estimates via CDC WONDER, 2024.

Cities, towns and neighborhoods we cover

Newark's Ironbound, Forest Hill, Vailsburg and Weequahic neighborhoods, Jersey City's Heights, Journal Square and Greenville, and Paterson's Great Falls district and South Paterson each have long-established communities of older residents. Outside the cities, Morristown and Princeton are historic towns with their own suburban pace, while Trenton and Camden anchor the south. Along the Jersey Shore, Atlantic City and Cape May draw seasonal crowds. Open space such as Liberty State Park and Branch Brook Park offers outings close to home. Care needs differ with housing: apartment towers and walk-ups in the north call for different planning than single-family homes in shore towns.

• Newark: Ironbound, Forest Hill, Vailsburg, Weequahic, North Ward
• Jersey City: The Heights, Journal Square, Greenville, Bergen-Lafayette, Downtown Jersey City
• Paterson: Great Falls Historic District, Totowa Section, South Paterson, Hillcrest, Sandy Hill

Regions

• North Jersey: industrial heartland around Newark, Jersey City and Paterson
• Central Jersey: corridor around Trenton, Princeton and the New Brunswick area
• South Jersey: linked to the Philadelphia area, with Camden as a major city
• Jersey Shore: coastline reached by the Garden State Parkway from Bergen County to Cape May
• Pine Barrens: forested interior of southern New Jersey

Familiar places

Liberty State Park, Jersey City; Branch Brook Park, Newark; New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark; Great Falls of the Passaic, Paterson; Nassau Hall, Princeton; Morristown, site of Washington's Continental Army winter quarters; High Point, the state's highest point at 1,803 feet; Cape May.

Planning care around New Jersey's seasons and geography

Coastal storms deserve a plan. Hurricane Sandy left more than 2 million New Jersey customers without power in 2012, and barrier-island residents from Sandy Hook to Cape May were ordered to evacuate. Families near the shore should decide in advance where a parent would go, who drives, and how medications and mobility needs travel with them. Inland, New Jersey is warming faster than other states by long-term air temperature, so heat in summer apartments and older homes is a real concern. Winter nor'easters and icy roads can interrupt visits, so ask any provider how they handle a missed shift.

• New Jersey has been the fastest-warming state by average air temperature over roughly the past century, according to NOAA research cited by Wikipedia, so summer heat is a growing concern.
• Hurricane Sandy (2012) made landfall near Brigantine and left more than 2 million New Jersey customers without power, the most of any state on October 31.
• Governor Christie ordered barrier-island residents from Sandy Hook to Cape May to evacuate before Sandy.
• The Jersey Shore coast has seen sea level rise of nearly 12 inches over the past century, which added to storm surge.

New Jersey resources for families

• Licensing. The Department of Health licenses home health agencies under N.J.A.C. 8:42, but agencies that employ or place companion, personal care or health care workers in private homes register as health care service firms with the Division of Consumer Affairs under P.L. 2019, c. 48, and certified homemaker-home health aides are regulated by the Board of Nursing. Confirm current requirements with the state before you hire. New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (health care service firm registration)
• Aging services. New Jersey has 21 county-based Area Agencies on Aging that also serve as the local Aging and Disability Resource Connection office; call the statewide ADRC line at 877-222-3737 to be connected to the county office. New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Aging Services
• Help paying. New Jersey's Medicaid home and community-based program for older adults is Managed Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS). Eligibility is based on income and care needs.