By Naomi Foster · Health Writer, Senior Care CostsUpdated 2026-07-09
Get a monthly and annual assisted living estimate based on your region, room type, and level of care. Takes about thirty seconds.
By Naomi Foster · Health Writer, Senior Care CostsPlanning number, not a lease quote. Ask communities what is bundled before you compare.
The tool applies one regional multiplier to a $4,500 national base for a studio with light care, plus your room and care add-ons. Region factors run from 0.78 in the lowest-cost states to 1.6 in the highest.
Room size adds $700 for a one-bedroom or $1,300 for a two-bedroom before the multiplier; care level adds $800 for moderate or $1,600 for high care the same way. A one-bedroom with moderate care in a high-cost state (index 1.4) works out to ($4,500 + $700 + $800) x 1.4, or $8,400 a month. Swap in a low-cost index of 0.78 for the same unit and the estimate drops to about $4,680. The annual figure is simply the monthly number times twelve.
The base rate and regional index behind this calculator come from SeniorLivingCostGuide's own 2026 Senior Living Cost Reference, built from published state and metro pricing rather than invented numbers. An outside benchmark, the CareScout Cost of Care Survey from Genworth Financial (dated March 2026), put a similar studio assisted living unit closer to $6,200 a month nationally, above this site's model. Neither number is wrong; survey timing, sample size, and what counts as "assisted living" in a given dataset all shift the figure. Use this calculator for a starting range, then confirm what is actually bundled into the quote a specific community gives you.
| Configuration | Low-cost region | National (site model) | High-cost region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio, light care | $3,510/mo | $4,500/mo | $7,200/mo |
| One-bedroom, moderate care | $4,680/mo | $6,000/mo | $9,600/mo |
See how a studio compares with home aides or a nursing home before you commit to a search radius.
Curious how this stacks up against paying an aide by the hour instead? Run the in-home care cost calculator. If a secured memory unit is more likely to be the right fit, the memory care estimator uses the same regional index. For the full multi-state breakdown behind these numbers, see assisted living cost by state.
Most families should budget $4,500 to $5,500 a month nationally, and meaningfully more once you get into a high-cost metro. The exact number swings on room size and how much personal care is involved, which is why this calculator asks for both.
No. Original Medicare treats assisted living as housing with support services, not medical care, so it is excluded. Some state Medicaid programs run home and community-based waivers that help with the care portion, though rarely the rent itself.
Region does the heaviest lifting, since the same floor plan can cost twice as much in a high-cost state as a low-cost one. After that, a larger apartment and a higher tier of personal care each add a fixed amount on top of the base rate.
It starts from a $4,500 national base for a studio with light care, multiplies by a regional index between 0.78 and 1.6, and adds room and care surcharges before that same multiplier applies. See the "How Is Assisted Living Cost Calculated" section above for the full math.
No. Treat it as a starting range for your search, then ask two or three communities in your target area for their current pricing and what is bundled into it.