Senior Care and Housing Costs

In-Home Care

In-home care costs vary by category. Your state of residence, the number of hours your aide works, and the agency you choose will also impact upon cost.

According to Genworth Financial’s Cost of Care Survey, monthly median costs are around $5,892 for a home health aide and $6,481 for homemaker services in 2024.2

In-home care enables many older adults to safely age in place. If you or your loved one needs support with activities of daily living (ADLs), hiring a home health aide or an aide who supplies homemaker services may give you enough support to stay in your home.

In-home care duties vary but typically include help with ADLs such as bathing, cooking, home maintenance, and medication management.

» Related Reading: Help paying for home care

The tasks you need support with will determine the type of worker you need. To find help, you may find a private home health agency on your own. If you or your loved one needs care after a hospital stay, you may also be assigned to a case management agency that will help you find the right type of care.

Home Health Aides

The requirements to be a home health aide vary by state. Usually, home health workers are unlicensed, but many undergo training and are required to complete a competency evaluation training.3

Home health aides provide help with personal ADLs like bathing, dressing, and appointment planning. They may also shop for groceries and cook meals. In addition to these tasks, home health aides also provide basic health services as needed. These often include medication management, checking vital signs, and wound care. They may also help with mobility assists like wheelchairs and artificial limbs.

Medicare covers part-time or intermittent home health services that are considered medically necessary. Usually, this requires a medical diagnosis that indicates you’re homebound or need mobility and transportation support.4 Medicare won’t cover around-the-clock medical care in your home. They also don’t cover home care needed solely for personal ADLs, like grooming.

» Learn About: Medicare coverage for home care

Private insurance often provides some level of coverage for home health support. Check with your plan to determine what they will cover and potential out-of-pocket costs.

Medicaid coverage varies from state to state but often covers home health and personal care services.5

Homemaker Services

If you or your loved one don’t need health-related support, a better option is an aide who provides less expensive homemaker services. Homemaker assistance for older adults includes tasks like laundry, vacuuming, and running errands. Personal care, like bathing, shaving, and brushing hair, isn’t folded into homemaker services typically. Since it’s not classified as medical needs, homemaker services are not covered by Medicare. Medicaid may cover housekeeping services in some instances.7

Assisted Living

Assisted living costs vary between facilities, and prices are based on a wide range of factors. These include location, the types of amenities provided, and whether or not you share a space or have your own apartment. In 2024, the estimated median cost of assisted living in the U.S. is $5,511 per month.2

If you or your loved one needs a higher level of care than you can get at home, an assisted living community may make sense. Here, you’ll find support 24/7 with personalized ADLs like bathing and grooming. Assisted living also provides access to health-related care like medication management. Assisted living facilities offer a home-like atmosphere plus social activities like scheduled events and communal dining.

» Further Reading: A guide to assisted living communities

If you have a long-term care insurance policy, it may cover all or part of your assisted living expenses. Remember to check your policy to see what they’ll pay for and what you may need to pay out of pocket. 9

Medicare doesn’t cover assisted living costs like rent or ADL support. It does, however, cover medical expenses you incur while residing at the facility. These include doctor’s appointments, skilled nursing care, and emergency medical care.

Medicaid coverage for assisted living varies by state. You may get more financial support for assisted living from Medicaid than from Medicare. However, your choice of facility may be limited.

Nursing Home

Nursing home costs can be considerable. Your state of residence, the chosen facility, and your choice of private or semiprivate room will all impact costs. Genworth estimates median monthly nursing home costs to be around $8,929 for a semiprivate room and $10,025 for a private room.

Nursing homes are designed to provide more medical support and care than assisted living facilities can. Life here feels less independent in most cases. However, skilled nurses and nursing aides are available 24/7, so medical support is close.

» Dive Deeper: A 2024 guide to nursing homes

Long-term care insurance policies often cover all or most nursing home expenses.10 Medicare only covers the first 100 days of a nursing home stay. It doesn’t cover long-term stays but will cover the medical bills you’ll incur while you’re in residence.

Medicaid covers the cost of nursing homes, provided you qualify. In some instances, you’ll need to “pay down” your assets before Medicaid will provide coverage. Not every nursing home accepts Medicaid, so this will be an important question if you want to apply for this coverage.

Memory Care

According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), memory care in an assisted living community costs an average of $6,160 monthly. This fee is likely to be layered on top of other costs. For example, personal care support and help with ADLs may not be included in your monthly memory care community fee. Ensure you ask the facility what is and isn’t included when you plan your budget.

In a nursing home, memory care costs are typically all-inclusive. NCOA estimates memory care costs in a nursing home to be around $7,908 monthly for a semiprivate room and $9,034 monthly for a private room.12 Remember, prices will vary by your location and chosen facility.

Memory care is a specialized type of care for people with dementia and illnesses that cause memory impairment. If your loved one has Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, or other conditions that cause cognitive impairment, they may be better in a memory care facility.

Memory care facilities are designed for comfort, safety, and ease of use for people with memory issues. Some assisted living facilities have memory care community wings. Many nursing homes have floors or wards dedicated to memory care patients. There are also private facilities that solely offer this level of care.

Memory care facilities have highly trained personnel and facilities geared toward preventing wandering. These added expenses typically make memory care costs higher than those associated with nursing homes or assisted living.

Medicare covers some of the costs associated with dementia, such as cognitive assessments. Medicaid covers memory care in nursing homes if you qualify.12 Long-term care insurance is another option for paying for memory care.

Adult Day Care

Similar to other forms of care, adult day care costs are impacted by your geographic location and the number of hours you or your loved one will spend there daily. Transportation may also cost extra. According to Genworth, the median cost for adult day care is around $98 per day. Medicare doesn’t cover the cost of adult day care, but Medicaid typically does.

Seniors who live at home may benefit significantly from going to adult day care centers. These centers offer different levels of services. Some are geared primarily toward socialization, exercise, and fun activities. Others offer health, therapeutic, or memory care. The type you choose will determine your costs.

Respite Care

Respite care can be provided within the home or outside of the home in adult day care or at a facility. Respite care costs vary significantly based on the type of respite care and location chosen.

At home, you’ll pay the average hourly or daily rate for home health aides. Overnight stays may be more expensive. According to Genworth, the median cost for a home health aide is $33.99 per hour in the U.S. These rates are bound to vary between states and possibly even neighborhoods.

» Take Care of Yourself: Signs you’re experiencing caregiver burnout

Being a caregiver can be exhausting and frustrating. Everyone suffers when the primary caregiver is at the end of their rope. Short-term respite care is designed to provide relief to caregivers who simply need a short-term break. Respite care enables you to “pass the reins” to someone else for several hours a day or even weeks.

Hospice Care

Hospice care costs are often covered in part by private insurance plans. You may have copays and a deductible that you’ll be responsible for. Medicaid and Medicare cover 100 percent of the cost of hospice care. If you have Medicare, you may incur copays for prescription medications.15

» Learn About: Medicare and Medicaid coverage for hospice care

Hospice care is end-of-life care for people who are expected to live no more than six months. It may be provided within the home or at a facility. Making your loved one feel safe and comfortable is the main goal of hospice care. Pain management and other types of support, such as bereavement counseling for the family, are part of hospice care.

Continuing Care Retirement Communities

CCRCs charge monthly fees and entry fees, which can be staggering. These vary by state and by facility. In New York, entry fees range from $200,000 to $1 million. Monthly fees range from $2,000 to $5,000 per person.14

These costs are not covered by any insurance or public assistance program. However, medical fees you incur while in residence are usually covered by insurance plans, including Medicare.

Life plan communities are also called continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). They’re geared toward highly independent seniors who want a rich menu of living options and services. Often, couples move to CCRCs together, even if they have differing medical needs.

CCRCs are designed to provide care at varying levels, so you can change the type of services you need if your medical needs change. Memory care and skilled nursing care are typically available.

How to Pay for Senior Care

As we mentioned in the sections above, Medicare, Medicaid, and long-term care insurance are common ways you may be able to pay for some types of senior care.

In addition to these options, you could use veteran's benefits to pay for medical and memory care at home and in nursing homes. Housebound veterans may also be eligible for an additional stipend to their monthly pensions they put toward uncovered services, like the rent at an assisted living facility.15

Many people also use their assets to pay for senior care. You could use your life insurance policy, savings, or a reverse mortgage to pay for care. No matter how you decide to cover these expenses, planning for housing in retirement in your later years is an essential step to confidently reaching these goals.

Comparing Your Senior Care Options and Costs

This bubble graph is designed to easily display all of your options for senior housing and their costs. We’ve gone from least expensive to most expensive, so you can zero in on the care option that best serves your budget.