Assisted living costs
The $6,200 median is only the starting point. Care levels, fees, and annual increases decide the real bill. See the full breakdown.
Assisted living costs, explainedElder Care Costs, Explained Honestly
Assisted living, nursing homes, memory care, and home care cost more than most families expect, and the real bill is rarely the advertised rent. We track 2026 prices from the source surveys and show every real way to pay, including what to do when the money runs out.
$6,200/moAssisted living, national median
$9,581/moNursing home, semi-private room
$35/hrHome care aide, national median
$0What Medicare pays toward assisted living rent
Medians from the CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025 (released March 2026). Medicare coverage per Medicare.gov. Every figure on this site is cited to its source and date.
Start with the cost that is worrying you
Nursing home costs
A semi-private room runs $9,581 a month and private rooms pass $10,700. Here is what drives the price and who can help pay it.
Nursing home costs, explained
Memory care costs
Dementia care costs more than regular assisted living in the same building. How much more, and what the secured unit really includes.
Memory care costs, explained
Home care costs
At $35 an hour, part-time help can cost less than a facility. Full-time help costs more. We do the math both ways, hour by hour.
Home care costs, explained
Paying for care
Medicaid waivers, VA Aid and Attendance, long-term care insurance, home equity. Every real option, in the order families usually use them.
Every way to pay, mappedWhy families land here in a panic
Most people meet elder care pricing the week a parent falls, gets a diagnosis, or is discharged from a hospital with a deadline. The industry knows this. Brochures quote a base rent that leaves out the care levels, medication management, and annual increases that decide what you actually pay, and the biggest payer of all, Medicaid, is almost never mentioned by the buildings that accept it.
This site exists to fix that order of information. Prices first, from the same surveys the industry uses. Payment programs second, explained in plain English. Sales pressure nowhere.
Our promise: every cost figure names its source and year, every program rule links to the government page behind it, and we say so plainly when a number is an estimate or when sources disagree. How we research
Questions every family asks first
Does Medicare pay for assisted living?
No. Medicare covers medical care, not custodial care, so it pays nothing toward assisted living rent or help with daily activities. It can still cover a short rehab stay in a skilled nursing facility after a qualifying hospital stay, up to 100 days with cost sharing. The programs that do help with assisted living are Medicaid waivers, VA Aid and Attendance, and long-term care insurance.
What is the average cost of assisted living in 2026?
The national median is $6,200 a month in the CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025 (released March 2026). Your state matters more than the national number: medians run from under $5,000 a month in parts of the South and Midwest to well over $8,000 in the most expensive states and metro areas. Our state pages price all 50 states from the same survey.
What happens when a parent runs out of money in assisted living?
Running out of money does not have to mean moving out. Many residents transition to their state's Medicaid waiver, which can pay the care portion of the bill while the resident's income covers rent. The catch is planning: Medicaid has a five-year look-back on asset transfers, so the time to learn the rules is before the money is gone, not after.
Is home care cheaper than assisted living?
At the $35-an-hour median, home care is cheaper when your parent needs fewer than about 40 hours a week of help. Past that point a facility usually wins on price, and assisted living also bundles housing, meals, and 24-hour supervision that home care families have to arrange and pay for separately.
Start with the number, then the plan
Read the cost guide for the care you are facing, then the paying guide for your parent's situation. Both are free, sourced, and written for a family making this decision for the first time.
Read the paying-for-care playbook