What senior care costs in America - and how to choose without regret
Verified 2025-2026 medians for assisted living, nursing and home care, every state's Medicaid answer, and the inspection-record checks that protect your parent - for 19,000+ U.S. towns.
The median U.S. assisted living community charges $6,200 a month - $74,400 a year - per the 2025 Cost of Care Survey.
A semi-private nursing home room runs $9,581 a month at the U.S. median; in-home care averages $35 an hour.
Across the United States, 36 states' Medicaid programs cover some assisted living services, 9 are limited, and 6 have no pathway - each state page has the answer.
This guide tracks what senior care actually costs in 19,000+ U.S. towns, whether each state's Medicaid helps, and how to check any facility's inspection record before trusting it with a parent. Pick your state below.
What care costs in 2026
| Care type | 2025 national median | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| In-home care | $35/hour | Non-medical help at home - meals, bathing, companionship |
| Adult day care | $95/day | Daytime supervision and activities, evenings at home |
| Assisted living | $6,200/month | Housing plus daily-living help; care-level fees extra |
| Memory care | typically 20-40% above assisted living | Secured dementia care with higher staffing |
| Nursing home (semi-private) | $9,581/month | 24/7 skilled medical care |
| Nursing home (private room) | $355/day | Same care, private room |
Compare senior care options
These platforms show communities and home-care agencies near you with pricing guidance. Advisors are free to families - providers pay them, as they do this site.
Disclosure: this is an independent guide. If you connect with a provider through a link here, the platform may pay this site a referral fee. That fee never changes your price - and it never changes what the inspection records say.
Why only these platforms
Ask anyone who moved a parent twice: the expensive mistake was not the rent, it was choosing on price and lobby furniture. Staffing ratios, inspection history and what-happens-when-money-runs-out answers are the real price tags - and they are free to check.
Senior care referral is an industry with real abuse - phone-blast lead sellers and pay-to-play rankings. This guide only links platforms that show you multiple named communities and let you decline: never single-facility funnels. And no platform placement replaces the one check that matters - your state's own inspection records, linked on every page of this guide.
| Platform | What you get | Background |
|---|---|---|
| A Place for Mom | Free advisor + shortlist of communities near you | Largest U.S. senior living referral network |
| Caring.com | Directory with reviews and pricing guidance | Established senior care directory |
Common questions
Should my parent stay home with help or move to assisted living?
Run the hours math first: in-home care at about $35 an hour serves people who need help, not round-the-clock supervision. Below about 30-40 hours a week, home usually costs less; past that - or when safety needs someone always present - assisted living's $6,200 median often buys more coverage. The right answer follows the care needs, not the buildings.
What is the difference between assisted living and a nursing home?
Assisted living provides housing plus help with daily activities - meals, medication, bathing - at a median $6,200 a month. Nursing homes provide 24/7 skilled medical care at a median $9,581 a month for a semi-private room. The dividing line is medical need: wound care, feeding tubes and ventilators are nursing-home territory.
Can a facility evict my parent?
Yes - discharge policies allow it for reasons like funds running out, care needs exceeding what the license covers, or behavior issues. Read the discharge clause before signing and get the funds-run-out answer in writing; involuntary moves are the outcome families regret most.
What is memory care and why does it cost more?
Memory care is assisted living specialized for dementia - secured areas, higher staffing, trained caregivers - and typically prices 20-40% above standard assisted living in the same market. If dementia is in the picture, ask specifically about memory-care rates and staff training, not the general rate.
What questions expose a bad facility fastest?
Three: What is the caregiver-to-resident ratio on nights and weekends? How long has the current administrator been here? What happens when private funds run out? Communities that answer all three plainly and in writing are the shortlist.
How do I check a facility's inspection record?
Every state has a licensing or certification agency that publishes inspection results and complaint histories - this guide links your state's agency on every page. Search every finalist before any deposit: violations, complaint patterns and how the operator responded tell you more than the tour.
Compare senior care options
These platforms show communities and home-care agencies near you with pricing guidance. Advisors are free to families - providers pay them, as they do this site.
Disclosure: this is an independent guide. If you connect with a provider through a link here, the platform may pay this site a referral fee. That fee never changes your price - and it never changes what the inspection records say.
Prices by state
Alaska (149) · Alabama (463) · Arkansas (500) · Arizona (91) · California (482) · Colorado (270) · Connecticut (30) · District of Columbia (1) · Delaware (57) · Florida (411) · Georgia (537) · Hawaii (1) · Iowa (940) · Idaho (198) · Illinois (1292) · Indiana (566) · Kansas (625) · Kentucky (417) · Louisiana (304) · Massachusetts (58) · Maryland (157) · Maine (23) · Michigan (533) · Minnesota (854) · Missouri (936) · Mississippi (299) · Montana (127) · North Carolina (549) · North Dakota (355) · Nebraska (528) · New Hampshire (13) · New Jersey (323) · New Mexico (105) · Nevada (19) · New York (595) · Ohio (920) · Oklahoma (590) · Oregon (240) · Pennsylvania (1005) · Rhode Island (8) · South Carolina (271) · South Dakota (310) · Tennessee (345) · Texas (1221) · Utah (255) · Virginia (227) · Vermont (39) · Washington (281) · Wisconsin (604) · West Virginia (230) · Wyoming (99)