Santa Clara County's roughly 36,000 In-Home Supportive Services workers are getting a raise. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved a new two-year contract for IHSS workers that lifts hourly pay from $20.44 to $21.54 immediately, with wages climbing to $22.44 by July 2027. For a workforce that a union survey found is disproportionately struggling with food insecurity, medical costs, and housing, the increase is welcome — but advocates say it still leaves caregivers far short of what it actually costs to live in Silicon Valley.
The deal, negotiated between the county and SEIU Local 2015, breaks down the wage increase as a state minimum wage of $16.90 combined with a rising county supplement, moving from $3.54 to $4.64 upon approval and eventually to $5.44 per hour by mid-2027, according to SEIU Local 2015. It marks the county's first increase to its IHSS wage supplement since 2023, according to San José Spotlight, even as the state has continued providing modest annual increases tied to the consumer price index. SEIU Local 2015 represents more than 21,200 long-term care workers in Santa Clara County and is part of the largest long-term care union in the country, representing more than 500,000 in-home care and nursing home workers statewide.
A Raise That Still Trails the Cost of Living
Even with the new contract, the numbers don't come close to closing the gap between what caregivers earn and what it costs to live in the county. SEIU Local 2015, citing the MIT Living Wage Calculator, estimated the living wage for a single adult with no children in Santa Clara County at $35.44 an hour in 2024–2025 — nearly $15 more than the pre-contract IHSS rate of roughly $20. That gap sits alongside the county's median household income, which reached $168,154 in 2026, a figure Hoodline has previously reported reflects Silicon Valley's tech wealth even as safety-net workers lag behind.
A union poll cited by San José Spotlight found nearly 62% of county home aid workers struggle to keep up with housing costs, while 78% said they hold multiple jobs just to make ends meet. Nearly 53% said they rely on food stamps or regularly visit food pantries. A separate survey released by SEIU Local 2015 in March 2025 found 52% of Santa Clara County IHSS workers experienced food insecurity monthly, 44% couldn't afford needed medication, and 46% were prevented from seeing a doctor because of cost.
“IHSS workers need higher pay amid rising costs,” said Natascha Walker, an IHSS worker and SEIU 2015 union member, per San José Spotlight's report. Walker and Michele Mashburn both said the program needs greater systemwide changes beyond this single contract.
Health Coverage Caps Leave Most Workers Uninsured Through the County
Beyond wages, the contract keeps existing health benefits in place but caps Valley Health Plan enrollment at 15,800 workers — a ceiling that Public Authority Services, the legal employer of record for county IHSS workers, reported was nearly reached, with roughly 15,540 workers enrolled as of July. That means county health insurance enrollment covers less than half of Santa Clara County's more than 36,000 home aid workers. Health insurance premiums under the plan also rose, from $25 a month to either $41 or $57 depending on the plan selected.
Mashburn said the enrollment cap sets a dangerous precedent, and separately said affordability pressures make it difficult to avoid ending up with a stressed IHSS worker. Board of Supervisors member Susan Ellenberg said the agreement between the union and the county stays within budgetary constraints while strengthening support for IHSS workers, according to the same report.
Budget Pressures Loom Over the Deal
The contract arrives as the county navigates serious fiscal strain. Federal legislation known as H.R.1 created a $1 billion annual deficit in Santa Clara County and slashed funding for social safety-net services, prompting the county to respond by slashing services and tightening its budget elsewhere. Rising marketplace insurance costs, which increased after enhanced government subsidies ended in 2025, have compounded the pressure on both the county and its workers.
Still, IHSS was spared from cuts Governor Gavin Newsom had earlier proposed, and California's final state budget in June rejected changes that would have shifted more IHSS costs onto counties. Program costs are split between federal, state, and local governments, and improvements like better worker training and higher pay are meant to make the program more sustainable and attract quality workers to a job that supports the health and well-being of older adults and residents with disabilities.
The new contract also includes provisions beyond pay and health coverage. Union stewards will get up to 120 hours per month of paid representation time, and the agreement guarantees 30 minutes of union presentation time during new provider orientations, according to SEIU Local 2015. The changes echo a broader shift in how California handles IHSS bargaining: in June 2025, the state legislature approved funding to begin statewide collective bargaining for IHSS providers, a move away from the county-by-county negotiations that have shaped pay rates like Santa Clara's for decades. Immigrants make up roughly one in three home care workers statewide, and the county's IHSS workforce remains predominantly women, people of color, and immigrant workers — the same demographic groups who, per the union's polling, are most exposed to the region's affordability crisis even as their pay inches upward.
