Costs and paying for care
How much does assisted living cost?
It depends heavily on the state, the community, the size of the apartment and how much help the resident needs. The CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025 put the national median for an assisted living community at $6,200 a month, up 5% from $5,900 in 2024. Each of our city pages shows the statewide medians for that state. Treat those figures as a budgeting starting point and always ask each community for its current rate sheet in writing.
Does Medicare pay for assisted living or memory care?
No. Medicare.gov states plainly that Medicare doesn't pay for long-term care, which it also calls custodial care: help with everyday tasks such as bathing, dressing and eating. Medicare Supplement plans (Medigap) don't cover it either. Medicare can still pay for covered medical services a resident receives, such as doctor visits and hospital care, wherever they live.
What can help pay, then?
Most families combine several sources: the older adult's income and savings, the sale of a home, long-term care insurance if a policy was bought years earlier, and veterans benefits where they apply. Depending on the state's rules, Medicaid may cover some long-term care services for people with limited income and assets. Rules differ by state, so ask your local Area Agency on Aging, listed on each city page, for help understanding the programs where you live.
What is VA Aid and Attendance?
It's a monthly payment the Department of Veterans Affairs adds to a VA pension for qualified veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily activities like bathing, feeding and dressing, who are mostly confined to bed because of illness, who live in a nursing home because of a disability, or whose eyesight is severely limited. A person must qualify for the VA pension first. The VA's application uses VA Form 21-2680, with Form 21-0779 for nursing home residents. Aid and Attendance and the Housebound allowance can't be paid at the same time.
Choosing and touring
How do we know which kind of care is right?
Start with what daily life looks like now. If your relative manages bathing, dressing, medications and meals safely but is lonely or worn out by home upkeep, independent living may fit. If they need regular hands-on help with those tasks, assisted living is the usual next step. If memory loss is causing wandering, unsafe decisions or confusion that puts them at risk, memory care is designed for that. A physician's input matters, and communities will do their own assessment before move-in.
What is a care assessment?
Before move-in, an assisted living or memory care community assesses how much help a new resident needs, usually through an interview and a review of medical information. The result sets the care level and the care charge added to the base rent. Ask how often residents are reassessed, what triggers a reassessment, and how much notice you'll get before charges rise.
What should we look for on a tour?
Visit at least twice, once at a mealtime and once in the evening or on a weekend. Watch how staff speak to residents, how quickly call lights are answered, and whether residents are engaged or simply parked in front of a television. Ask for the full residency agreement and the rate sheet to take home. Each of our city pages adds questions about that city's climate, such as heat in the Central Valley and ice and snow in Reno, Boise and Spokane.
How do we check a community's record?
Each state publishes records on the assisted living and memory care settings it oversees, including inspection findings and complaints. The links to each state's record search are in the directory disclaimer at the bottom of every page. Every state also has a long-term care ombudsman program that advocates for residents and can explain how to raise concerns.
How Our Folks New Place works
Is your service free for families?
Yes. Families never pay us. We're paid by a single featured senior living community in each city, which pays a flat monthly fee for its placement and for call answering. That fee is advertising, not an endorsement, and it doesn't change the information in our guides.
Will my phone start ringing with sales calls?
No. Your family's contact information is never sold, auctioned, or distributed to sales bullpens. When you ask for a callback, one local advisor calls you back. If it would help, we may introduce you to one community in the city you chose. You can say no, and you can ask us to delete your request at any time.
Why don't you show ratings or reviews?
Because we can't stand behind them. Online ratings for senior living are easy to game, and a star average tells you little about whether a place suits your parent. We don't publish ratings, awards or testimonials. Instead, we point you to the state's own records and to questions that reveal how a community actually runs.
Why doesn't my city page name any communities?
We only name a community on a city page once it has signed on as that city's featured community and we've confirmed its business name, street address, phone line and original photographs. Until then, the page focuses on what every family in that city should know, and the advisor can talk through options with you by phone.
Who can help if we have a concern after move-in?
Start with the community's administrator, and put serious concerns in writing. If that doesn't resolve it, contact your state's long-term care ombudsman program, which advocates for residents free of charge. If you suspect abuse, neglect or exploitation, contact Adult Protective Services in your county or, in an emergency, call 911. The Eldercare Locator, a public service of the Administration for Community Living, can also connect you with local help at 1-800-677-1116.