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.