How much care costs rose this year
Four of the five care types went up between the last two surveys and one went down. Here is the change for each, in dollars rather than in adjectives — including the one that fell.
What each type of elder care costs, and which one your budget can actually carry
Four care settings, five published rates, and one thing they all have in common: the price per month is not the price you pay. Hourly care scales with the hours you buy, adult day care charges by the day of attendance, and nursing homes bill 365 days a year. Each page below works that arithmetic out in full.
Data: CareScout Cost of Care Survey — 2025 national medians
Data: CareScout Cost of Care Survey — 2025 national medians — fieldwork July–November 2025. Local prices can differ by up to 40%.
Every figure on this page is printed from that survey’s published tables. How we compile these numbers sets out the sourcing rules, how automation is used, and how to report an error.
| Care type | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Medical Caregiver (In-Home) | $6,673 | $80,080 |
| Adult Day Health Care | $2,058 | $24,700 |
| Assisted Living Community | $6,200 | $74,400 |
| Nursing Home — Semi-Private Room | $9,581 | $114,975 |
| Nursing Home — Private Room | $10,798 | $129,575 |
In-home caregiver cost
Every care type here is priced per month except this one, which is billed by the hour. That one difference is what makes in-home care cheap at 15 hours a week and the most expensive option at 50.
Adult day health care cost
The cheapest care type in the survey, and the one families most often skip past without pricing. Here is what a day of attendance buys compared with the same hours of in-home care.
Assisted living cost
The most common step up from care at home. What the monthly fee covers, what gets billed on top of it, and the two line items to ask for in writing before signing.
Nursing home costs
Two published rates, and a $14,600-a-year gap between them. Room type and billing period (31-day months cost more than 28-day months) are the two things that move this number.
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How to use these pages
- Start with the hours, not the setting. Decide how many hours a week your parent actually needs help with, then see which setting covers those hours for the least money. The calculator does this in one screen.
- Compare two settings, never five. The realistic choice is almost always between the setting you have now and the next one up. Compare those two honestly before shopping further.
- Ask for the full fee schedule. Every page here names the line items that get billed on top of the headline rate. Asking for them in writing before you commit is the highest-value hour you will spend.
All the 2025 numbers in one place
Elder care cost statistics, 2025 collects the national medians, the year-over-year changes and the most and least expensive states into one set of citable tables — each figure with its publisher attached, and a citation line ready to copy.
If the question is not what care costs but what it costs a household, care costs as a share of household income divides each state’s annual median by that state’s median household income — the figure most families feel, rather than the one the invoice shows.
Guides
Does Medicare pay for assisted living? What the federal programme does and does not cover, and who ends up paying the difference.
What families actually buy — and how to choose it
These are the categories that come up again and again when people try to keep someone at home longer. Prices change constantly, so instead of quoting a number that will be wrong next month, here is what to check before you buy.
Bed rails & fall protection
Falls are the most common reason a family moves from home care to a facility — and the most expensive to recover from.
- Check the weight limit and whether it fits the mattress thickness you have
- Adjustable height beats fixed if the bed is not a hospital bed
- Look for a model that folds down, so it does not block getting out
Walkers & rollators
A rollator with a seat and brakes lets someone stay mobile — and keep the hours of paid care lower.
- Measure the handle height with the person standing; wrong height causes back pain
- Test the brakes: loop brakes are easier for arthritic hands than squeeze brakes
- Width matters if hallways or bathroom doors are narrow
Bathroom safety
Most falls happen in the bathroom. Grab bars and a shower chair are the cheapest intervention on this page.
- Grab bars must be screwed into studs — suction cups are not a fall-prevention device
- A shower chair with a back and arms is easier to stand up from
- Non-slip mat inside and outside the tub
Medical alert systems
If the person is alone for part of the day, this is the difference between a fall and a fall found hours later.
- Decide between a landline base and cellular — no landline means cellular only
- Check the monthly cost, not just the device price; it is the recurring part that adds up
- Fall detection is a separate feature and usually costs more
Incontinence supplies
A recurring cost families rarely budget for — and one of the first things that pushes hours of care up.
- Match absorbency to overnight vs daytime use; one product for both wastes money
- Check the size chart by waist measurement, not clothing size
- Subscribe-and-save pricing is usually cheaper than one-off orders for this category
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This does not change what we recommend — the selection criteria above are the same ones we would give a friend.
Frequently asked questions
Why is every number on this site a national median?
Because a median is the one figure a public survey can publish honestly for the whole country. Individual quotes vary widely — the survey itself warns that a specific provider can differ significantly from the median for its own market. State-level medians exist in the survey but this site does not republish them yet, so treat the national figure as a planning baseline and confirm with local quotes.
Which care types does this site cover, and which does it not?
Five: in-home non-medical caregiving, adult day health care, assisted living, and nursing home care in a semi-private or private room. The survey also publishes a rate for skilled nursing in the home ($90/hour in 2025) and for private duty nursing. Those are clinical services with a different pricing structure, so they are not in the calculator or on these pages.
Do the numbers include medication, therapy, or one-off costs?
No. Each figure is the median price of the care setting itself. Medication management, higher care tiers, transportation, therapies, and one-off move-in or community fees are usually billed on top of it — ask any provider for a full fee schedule rather than the headline rate.
How current is this data?
Every figure comes from CareScout's Cost of Care Survey with a fieldwork window of July–November 2025. The survey also publishes the prior year for comparison, which is how the year-over-year percentages on these pages are calculated. Costs generally rise, so a figure from an older survey will understate what you are likely to be quoted today.
Guides: who pays for care, and what it costs
49 plain-English guides on the questions families ask first — what Medicare and Medicaid actually cover, what the VA pays, and how the monthly numbers add up. Every guide cites its sources, and where a figure is not published we say so instead of estimating.
Medicare
- Does Medicare pay for nursing home care?
The 3-day rule, the 100-day benefit period, and what happens on day 101.
- Does Medicare pay for home care?
Skilled home health versus custodial help, and where the coverage line sits.
- Does Medicare pay for assisted living?
It does not — here is what pays instead, and how that changes the plan.
- Does Medicare cover adult day care?
When adult day health care is covered, and what replaces it when it is not.
- Medicare vs Medicaid for nursing home care
Skilled, short-term care versus long-term care: which programme pays for what.
- What happens when Medicare stops paying for rehab?
The 100-day limit, the daily co-pay, and the options from day 101.
- Does Medicare Advantage pay for assisted living?
Why room and board is custodial care, what an Advantage plan does cover, and what pays instead.
- How much does Medicare pay toward assisted living?
$0 toward the monthly rate — the 2026 amounts Medicare can still pay for skilled care, and who covers the rest.
Medicaid
- Does Medicaid pay for nursing home care?
The income test, the asset test and the level-of-care determination.
- Does Medicaid pay for assisted living?
Almost never by name — what a home and community based waiver actually covers.
- Does Medicaid pay for memory care?
No separate memory care benefit: the setting decides who pays, and how to price it honestly.
- Medicaid waivers for home care
What a waiver funds, why the waitlist decides everything, and how to apply.
- Countable assets for Medicaid
What counts, what is exempt, and how the numbers are tested.
- The Medicaid look-back period
The five-year transfer review and how a penalty period is calculated.
- Spousal impoverishment rules
What the spouse at home is allowed to keep when Medicaid starts paying.
- How to apply for Medicaid long-term care, step by step
Who to apply to, the level-of-care test that decides most files, and the documents to gather.
- Level of Care Determination: Why a Medicaid Application Stalls
A state assessor decides whether the person needs nursing-home-level care, and that decision, not the bank balance, is what stops most applications.
VA & insurance
- Does the VA pay for nursing home care?
VA nursing homes, contract care and the aid and attendance benefit.
- VA aid and attendance for assisted living
Who qualifies, what it pays towards assisted living, and the paperwork.
- What long-term care insurance actually covers
The service list, the benefit triggers, the exclusions and the dementia carve-out.
- HSA and FSA for long-term care
Which care costs are eligible, and the rules that decide a reimbursement.
- Can you use life insurance to pay for assisted living?
A policy pays on death, not monthly — the three routes that turn it into cash.
- Paying for Care With a Reverse Mortgage: Rules and Traps
Learn how a HECM reverse mortgage works, who qualifies, costs involved, and potential risks to consider before using home equity to pay for care.
- Does Long-Term Care Insurance Cover Assisted Living?
Usually yes — but the covered-service list, the facility licence and the benefit trigger each have to line up.
Costs
- Home care vs nursing home cost
Where the two monthly numbers cross as the hours of help go up.
- What is not included in the assisted living rate
The add-ons that turn a quoted monthly rate into the real invoice.
- In-home care cost per hour, by state
State medians from $24 to $46 an hour, and what the weekly hours do to the monthly bill.
- Assisted living vs nursing home: cost and care level
About $6,200 against $9,581 a month, and what the difference actually buys.
- Adult day care cost: what a day costs and how many days a week you need
The 2025 national median is $95 a day — here is the cost at two, three and five days a week.
- How to pay for care when savings run out
The spend-down order, the other payment paths, and what to do before the money is gone.
- Nursing Home Costs Beyond the Room Rate
The base rate is not the bill: seven charges outside it, and how to get the real number before signing.
- Why Assisted Living Costs Go Up Every Year
The 2025 median is $6,200 a month and the same survey reports a 5% rise — what drives it and how it reaches your bill.
- Nursing home cost by state: 2026 medians for all 50 states
A semi-private room runs $5,627 a month in Texas and $27,831 in Alaska, against a $9,581 national median.
- Assisted living cost by state: 2026 medians for all 50 states
An assisted living room runs $4,369 a month in Mississippi and $12,096 a month in Hawaii, against a $6,200 national median.
- How Much Does Memory Care Cost Per Month in 2026?
The national median for assisted living is $6,200/month and for a semi-private nursing home room is $9,581/month.
- Respite Care Cost: What Short-Term Stays Charge in 2026
In-home help is about $35 an hour, adult day care $95 a day, and a semi-private nursing home room $315 a day. What Medicare covers (hospice only) and what to ask before booking.
- Illinois Nursing Home Costs in 2026: Average Monthly Price
An Illinois semi-private room runs $8,304 a month and a private room $9,216, about 13% to 15% below the national median, per the CareScout 2025 survey.
- Ohio Nursing Home Costs in 2026: Average Monthly Price
An Ohio semi-private room runs $9,186 a month and a private room $10,389, about 4% below the national median, per the CareScout 2025 survey.
- Pennsylvania Nursing Home Costs in 2026: Average Monthly Price
A Pennsylvania semi-private room runs $11,954 a month and a private room $13,688, about 25% to 27% above the national median, per the CareScout 2025 survey.
- Georgia Nursing Home Costs in 2026: Average Monthly Price
A Georgia semi-private room runs $8,821 a month and a private room $9,429, about 8% and 13% below the national median, per the CareScout 2025 survey.
- North Carolina Nursing Home Costs in 2026: Average Monthly Price
A North Carolina semi-private room runs $9,733 a month and a private room $10,798, about 2% above the national median for a shared room, per the CareScout 2025 survey.
- Michigan Nursing Home Costs in 2026: Average Monthly Price
A Michigan semi-private room runs $11,254 a month and a private room $11,969, about 17% above the national median for a shared room, per the CareScout 2025 survey.
- California Nursing Home Costs in 2026: Average Monthly Price
A California semi-private room runs $12,167 a month and a private room $15,178, per the CareScout 2025 survey.
- Texas Nursing Home Costs in 2026: Average Monthly Price
A Texas semi-private room runs $5,627 a month and a private room $7,604, the lowest of the 50 states, per the CareScout 2025 survey.
- Florida Nursing Home Costs in 2026: Average Monthly Price
A Florida semi-private room runs $10,342 a month and a private room $12,167, about 8% and 13% above the national median, per the CareScout 2025 survey.
- New York Nursing Home Costs in 2026: Average Monthly Price
A New York semi-private room runs $15,528 a month and a private room $16,729, 62% and 55% above the national median, per the CareScout 2025 survey.
Choosing care
- How to choose a nursing home
A 12-point checklist to run before signing anything.
- Is a CCRC Entrance Fee Refundable? What the Contract Decides
Part of it, and the contract sets how much: New York's floor is a 4% processing fee then 2% a month off the refund, zero at 48 months.
- How to Compare Two Assisted Living Quotes
Same care tier, twelve-month totals, one-time fees, then the notice clause: the method that shows which quote is actually cheaper.