Opening a home care agency
Where should we open, and will council and private work pay?
Compare places on older population growth, agencies already operating, search demand, and the council's hourly rate against the cost of delivering care.
When people use it: Before choosing a location, registering with CQC or signing a franchise.
How it works, step by step
Where demand is growing
Rank councils by growth of the population aged 85 and over; filter to your region.
Agencies already there
Use Near postcode with your planned office: how many agencies within 10 miles, their ratings and size.
Families searching
Home care searches by district and month, and the cost of a click for paid search.
Council rates
Compare hourly rates across the councils you could serve from one office.
Recruitment
How many employers compete for the same care workers.
The views you will use
Ask the data in plain English
A real question and answer from Ask Orrery, the assistant inside the platform, for a care home owner in Kent (October 2026). It answers only from Orrery's data and the subscriber's own documents, and shows its sources.
Sevenoaks looks the most promising on the figures I hold, but it is a screening view, not a verdict.
- Few competitors: Sevenoaks has 21 registered home care services, among the fewest in Kent. Dartford has 68 and Maidstone 54 (CQC care directory, 1 October 2026).
- Good demand for its size: about 20 home care searches a month name Sevenoaks. That is the same as Canterbury and Gravesham, which have 42 and 28 services. Maidstone is highest at 40 searches but has more agencies (Google Ads Keyword Planner, rounded).
- Growing need: the 85+ population in Kent is projected to rise 51% by 2035 (Orrery cost model, on stated assumptions).
I don't have district-level council rates or house prices here. Check those, plus recruitment competition, before choosing. Take professional advice before deciding.
Open in Orrery: /app/guides/open-home-care-agency?council=kent
Ask, chart and report, in plain English
Ask Orrery answers from Orrery's data, draws charts on request and builds reports you can save as PDF. These are real examples for Kent.
- Most new agencies need private clients to make council work pay; high house values and search demand are good signs.
- A crowded area with low council rates is the hardest place to start.
Answer this for your own councils
Subscribers get every guide, chart and projection for all 153 councils, Ask Orrery with private uploads of their own files, and every council report.
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