What care costs in Devon

Price ranges for care in Devon

The gap between two agencies is often bigger than the gap between regions. Ask for complete price lists, with weekend and bank holiday charges. According to the Homecare Association, councils in England need to pay at least £34.42 an hour in 2026/27 for home care to be sustainable. An average conceals big differences. What a home charges turns on the room, the care level and whether nursing is part of it. Self-funders tend to be charged more than councils for the same room.

What the data shows for Devon

CQC registers 309 care homes in Devon. 289 are rated, and 90% of these are Good or Outstanding; the England figure is 83%. Of these, 63 provide nursing, which is 20% of homes in the area. The largest provider company in Devon by number of services is Devon County Council, with 5 care homes and 5 home care agencies. Next is Stonehaven (Healthcare) Ltd with 6.

Our modelled typical self-funder price for agency care at home in Devon is £33.50 an hour. The South West figure is £33.50 and England's is £33.50. £1,530 a week: that is our estimate of a typical private fee for a room in a care home locally, against a regional £1,530 (South West) and £1,520 for England. It is not a quote. Nursing places run at about £1,690, residential at about £1,530.

Together the 309 care homes that report their size have 8,640 beds; the typical home has 25. At the other end of the scale from the 21 Outstanding care homes, 29 of the area's rated care homes (10%) are Requires improvement or Inadequate; the England share is 17%.

Based on the register as of Oct 2026, with Q4 2026 fee estimates from our index.

Quality of care services in Devon

153 home care agencies and 309 care homes are registered with CQC in Devon. Of those rated, 92% of agencies are Good or Outstanding (higher than the England figure of 88%) and 90% of care homes (higher than England's 83%). 33 agencies and 20 care homes have not been rated yet.

Getting an accurate price

• Per-hour rates on weekdays, in the evening, at weekends and on bank holidays.
• The minimum length of a call, and whether travel is charged.
• For a home: everything the weekly price covers, and how often it goes up.

Collect these in writing, run the totals through the weekly cost calculator, then check your contribution with What will I pay?

How much Devon County Council pays for care

2026/27 (new placements in care homes for older people): residential £962.42–£1,243.77 per week (levels 1–3); nursing £1,212.96–£1,321.70 per week plus £267.68 FNC (levels 4–5) (source).

Councils usually pay less than people funding their own care. If the council funds a care home place and you choose a dearer home, someone (usually a relative) can pay the difference as a third-party top-up.