The price of long term care for aging adults continues to rise, with assisted living and nursing home costs increasing more rapidly than the cost of hiring an in-home caregiver, according to Genworth's 2015 Cost of Care study.
Here are the current median price tags for the three most common types of long term care, based on an analysis of 15,000 long term care providers nationwide:
- Home care: Homemaker, $19.50 per hour; Home health aide, $20 per hour
- Assisted living: $3,600 per month
- Nursing home: $250 per day (private room); $220 per day (semi-private room)
It's important to note that these costs can vary widely, depending on geographic location as well as what type of services an older adult requires. Nationwide, in-home care costs range between $8 and $40 an hour; a single-occupancy assisted living room runs anywhere from $600 to $11,250 a month; and nursing home prices can be between $90 and $1,255 a day for a semi-private room and $101 and $1,255 a day for a private room.
Louisiana, West Virginia, Missouri and Oklahoma are the four states with the cheapest median long term care rates in the country:
- Home care: Homemaker, Louisiana—$15 per hour; Home health aide Louisiana/West Virginia—$16 per hour
- Assisted living: Missouri—$2,525 per month
- Nursing home: Oklahoma—$165 per day (private room)
North Dakota, the District of Columbia and Alaska have some of the priciest median long term care rates in the country:
- Home care: Homemaker, North Dakota—$26 per hour; Home health aide, North Dakota—$27 per hour
- Assisted living: District of Columbia—$7,838 per month
- Nursing home: Alaska—$771 per day (private room)
When planning for an older adult's future care needs, cost is one of the most significant areas of concern. There are a variety of resources that families can tap into, based on their financial situation such as Medicare, Medicaid and long term care insurance.
To learn more about the options available for covering long term care costs, see Paying for Care.
Specific information on each category of long term care can be found in the Senior Living section.