Home Care in Iowa: Top-Rated In-Home Care Agencies by City

Aging at home in Iowa

Iowa is slightly older than the country as a whole, with 18.9 percent of residents 65 or older in 2024 against 18.0 percent nationally. About four in ten Iowans lived in rural areas as of 2000, and many older residents live in small towns spread between Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Sioux City and Dubuque. Families often look for ways for a parent to stay on a familiar farm or street rather than move to a new town. Practical help with housekeeping, meal preparation, transportation and company can make that possible, and caregivers need to be near enough to reach a rural address.

18.9% of Iowa residents are 65 or older. Source: U.S. Census Bureau population estimates (via CDC WONDER), 2024, as published by America's Health Rankings; national figure 18.0%.

Cities, towns and neighborhoods we cover

Iowa's cities sit along its rivers and borders. Des Moines is centered on the gold-domed State Capitol and East Village, with Sherman Hill and Beaverdale close by. Cedar Rapids has NewBo, Czech Village and Brucemore beside the Cedar River, and Davenport's Village of East Davenport and Hamburg Historic District look out on the Mississippi in the Quad Cities. Dubuque climbs a bluff with its Fenelon Place Elevator, while Sioux City, near the Sergeant Floyd Monument and the Loess Hills, is the center of Siouxland. In the northwest, the Iowa Great Lakes and Okoboji are quite far from any of these hubs.

• Des Moines: East Village, Sherman Hill, Beaverdale, Drake neighborhood, Western Gateway
• Cedar Rapids: NewBo (New Bohemia), Czech Village, Kingston Village, Wellington Heights, Oakhill Jackson
• Davenport: Hamburg Historic District, Village of East Davenport, Vander Veer Park Historic District, Downtown

Regions

• Loess Hills: Western border of the state, with wind-deposited soil several hundred feet thick in places
• Driftless Area: Northeast Iowa along the Upper Mississippi, with steep hills and valleys
• Iowa Great Lakes: Northwest Iowa, including Spirit Lake and West and East Okoboji Lakes
• Quad Cities: Davenport-Moline-Rock Island metro area of about 382,000 people in 2020
• Siouxland: Northwest Iowa, northeast Nebraska and southeast South Dakota around Sioux City

Familiar places

Iowa State Capitol, Des Moines; Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Des Moines; Brucemore, Cedar Rapids; Figge Art Museum, Davenport; Fenelon Place Elevator, Dubuque; Sergeant Floyd Monument, Sioux City; Stone State Park, Sioux City.

Planning care around Iowa's seasons and geography

Plan for both cold and flood. Des Moines averages about 26 snowfall days a year, and the state's record low is minus 47 degrees Fahrenheit, so winter visits need dependable drivers and a plan for road closures. Summers are hot and humid, sometimes above 100 degrees. Spring and early summer bring thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes, with June typically the wettest month, and the 2008 Cedar River flood in Cedar Rapids is a reminder of how fast water can rise. Ask any agency how it handles weather days and how a family member is notified if a visit changes.

• Winters are cold: Des Moines averages about 26 snowfall days a year and the state record low is minus 47 degrees Fahrenheit, set in Washta in 1912.
• Summers are hot and humid, with daytime highs near 90 degrees Fahrenheit and sometimes above 100.
• Iowa averaged 47 tornadoes a year over a 30-year period and about 50 thunderstorm days a year, with June typically the wettest month.
• The Cedar River reached a record 31.12 feet in Cedar Rapids in June 2008, flooding about 1,126 city blocks, so river towns have lived experience with evacuation.

Iowa resources for families

• Licensing. The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing lists home health agencies and hospices as licensed facility types, and the compliance resources reviewed indicate Iowa has no state license for private-pay, non-medical home care agencies; confirm with DIAL at 515-725-5341.
• Aging services. Six Area Agencies on Aging cover all 99 counties; choose your county on the state's AAA page, or call the Aging and Disability Resource Center at 1-800-779-2001. Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Aging and Disability Services
• Help paying. Iowa's Medicaid home and community-based program for older adults is HCBS Elderly Waiver (Iowa Medicaid). Eligibility is based on income and care needs.