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v2026.1 · Updated 2026-07-11 · License: CC BY 4.0

Open dataset · CC BY 4.0 · Quarterly refresh

California senior-care cost planning ranges, 2026.

Editorial private-pay planning ranges for memory care, assisted living, and non-medical in-home care across seven California metros, benchmarked to CareScout’s 2025 California medians. Open data, transparent limits, and a quarterly review.

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Headline numbers, 2026 California medians

Memory care, monthly

$6,500–$11,500

Across seven metros. Bay Area top; Central Valley floor.

Assisted living, monthly

$4,200–$8,500

Base rent and Level 1-2 care. Acuity add-ons separate.

In-home care, hourly

$30–$42

Private-pay, agency-arranged. Excludes IHSS and LTC-paid hours.

What senior care costs in California, and how families pay for it

Senior care in California runs higher than almost anywhere else in the country. The statewide median for assisted living sits near $7,000 a month, and memory care typically adds another $1,500 to $3,000 on top of that. In-home care is billed by the hour, usually $30 to $42, so the monthly total depends entirely on how many hours of help you need.

Most families start as private pay and look for ways to bring the cost down. The three that matter most in California are Medi-Cal through the Assisted Living Waiver, In-Home Supportive Services for care at home, and Medi-Cal coverage of assisted living once savings run low. The numbers below show what to budget by region and care type before any of that help kicks in.

Median cost ranges by metro and care type

MetroMemory care
USD / month		Assisted living
USD / month		In-home care
USD / hour
San Francisco Bay Area$9,500–$11,500 $6,500–$8,500 $38–$42
West Los Angeles$9,000–$11,000 $5,800–$7,500 $36–$40
Orange County (coastal)$8,500–$10,500 $5,800–$7,500 $36–$40
San Diego$8,500–$10,500 $5,500–$7,000 $34–$38
Sacramento$7,500–$9,500 $4,800–$6,200 $33–$36
Inland Empire$7,000–$9,000 $4,500–$5,800 $33–$36
Central Valley$6,500–$8,500 $4,200–$5,500 $30–$34

Ranges are rounded planning bands, not quotes, medians, or statistical percentiles. Memory-care figures include an editorial acuity premium over assisted living; actual care-level and move-in fees vary by provider. In-home figures are daytime private-pay planning rates, not IHSS wages.

How families pay for senior care in California

The cost ranges above are private-pay figures, what a family pays out of pocket before any program help. Very few families pay the full amount for long. As savings draw down, most move onto one of a handful of California pathways. Each has its own rules on who qualifies, what it covers, and where it is available, so it pays to know them before you spend down.

  • Medi-Cal Assisted Living Waiver (ALW) covers care services in assisted living for eligible low-income seniors. It is available in select California counties, not statewide. How the ALW works.
  • In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) pays for an aide so a senior can stay home instead of moving into a facility. Hours are set by a county assessment. IHSS personal care.
  • Medi-Cal (general) can cover the care portion of assisted living through the waiver once assets fall under the limit, though not room and board. Does Medi-Cal pay for assisted living.
  • VA Aid & Attendance is a monthly pension top-up for wartime veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily living. It can be applied to any care setting.
  • Long-term care insurance pays a daily or monthly benefit if a policy was bought in advance. Check the elimination period and the daily cap.
  • Private pay means personal savings, a pension, or proceeds from selling a home. Most families use this first and layer the programs above on top.

Why this dataset exists

CareScout, a Genworth company, continues to publish the annual Cost of Care Survey. Its 2025 survey reports statewide and national medians, but families still need a practical way to think about regional variation and memory-care premiums inside California. This page provides transparent planning bands for that narrower purpose; it does not replace or reproduce the CareScout survey.

California Care Compass publishes this dataset to fill that gap, with a deliberately narrow first-edition scope (three care types, seven metros, median private-pay ranges) and a commitment to quarterly refresh.

Methodology

Geography. Seven California metros that together cover roughly 80 percent of the state’s senior population: San Francisco Bay Area, West Los Angeles, Orange County (coastal), San Diego, Sacramento, Inland Empire, and Central Valley. The metro definitions follow California Department of Aging service-area boundaries and overlap with established RCFE-licensing geographies.

Care types. Three high-volume categories: memory care (RCFE with secured-perimeter approval), assisted living (standard RCFE, Level 1-2 base care), and non-medical in-home care (agency-arranged private-pay hours).

Inputs and context. Four public references are used:

Estimation method. The CareScout 2025 California medians anchor the statewide center: $7,000 per month for assisted living and $40 per hour for a non-medical caregiver. California Care Compass applies rounded regional planning adjustments around those anchors and adds a memory-care planning premium to reflect the extra staffing and secured setting. The resulting bands are editorial estimates. They are not calculated percentiles, facility quotes, or a claim that every provider in a region was surveyed.

Limitations. This is not a primary-research survey, and the regional adjustments are not independently reproducible from a raw provider-level file. Facilities and agencies can price outside these ranges, and memory-care fees vary substantially with room type and care needs. For a defensible statewide median, use CareScout directly; use this table only for early regional budgeting.

Refresh cadence. Quarterly. The next scheduled refresh is 2026 Q3.

What the dataset is not

This is not a guarantee of price. Individual facilities and agencies set rates within and outside these ranges based on supply, demand, capacity, and the specific care needs of the resident. Add-on fees for two-person transfers, behavior management, escort to dining, medication management, and late-stage dementia care typically add 10 to 30 percent on top of base rent.

This dataset does not cover skilled nursing facility rates (which are largely Medi-Cal-set for the majority of long-term residents and Medicare-rate-set for short-term rehabilitation), independent living rates (which are real-estate driven), CCRC entry fees, or hospice care (where covered services cost the patient nothing under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, aside from up to $5 per prescription for symptom drugs and 5 percent coinsurance for short inpatient respite care).

License and citation

This dataset is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. You may freely cite, reproduce, and build on the data, with attribution.

Recommended citation:

California Care Compass. California Senior Care Cost Planning Ranges 2026. Version 2026.1, corrected July 2026. https://californiacarecompass.com/data/california-cost-of-care-2026

How families and analysts use this data

The most common downstream use: estimating a private-pay runway before Medi-Cal kicks in. A California family with a parent moving into memory care in the Bay Area should plan for $9,500 to $11,500 per month in base rent, plus 10 to 30 percent on top for acuity add-ons. Set against typical Social Security plus pension income of $2,000 to $5,000 per month and an LTC insurance benefit of $4,000 to $7,000 per month (where a policy exists), the gap is the private-pay drawdown rate. Once Medi-Cal eligibility is reached, the Assisted Living Waiver can cover the care portion of an RCFE stay, leaving the family to pay only room and board.

Analysts and journalists may reuse the table as California Care Compass planning estimates, but should cite CareScout directly for its survey medians and should not describe these regional bands as surveyed percentiles. The table is open under CC BY 4.0; please attribute and link.

Updates to this edition

Version 2026.1, initial publication May 2026. Corrected July 11, 2026 to use the current CareScout 2025 survey, correct the survey-continuity history, remove an unsupported state-agency cost-data attribution, and clearly label the regional figures as editorial planning bands rather than statistical percentiles. Next scheduled review: 2026 Q3.

Common cost questions

10 entries

How much does memory care cost in California in 2026?

Median private-pay memory care runs about $6,500 to $11,500 per month in 2026, depending on metro. The San Francisco Bay Area and West Los Angeles are the highest; the Central Valley and Inland Empire are the lowest. Acuity add-ons for late-stage dementia, behavior management, or two-person transfers typically add 10 to 30 percent.

How much does assisted living cost in California in 2026?

Median private-pay assisted living runs about $4,200 to $8,500 per month in 2026. The Bay Area tops the range; the Central Valley and Inland Empire are lowest. This is base monthly rent for a standard unit and excludes one-time community fees and higher-acuity care levels.

How much does in-home care cost per hour in California in 2026?

Non-medical, agency-arranged in-home care runs about $30 to $42 per hour in 2026 for daytime aide hours. Overnight, weekend, and live-in arrangements are priced differently. Many families combine private hours with IHSS for the highest-need shifts.

Is the Genworth Cost of Care Survey still published?

Yes. CareScout, a Genworth company, published its 2025 Cost of Care Survey results in March 2026. California Care Compass uses the current CareScout California medians as a statewide benchmark and publishes separate editorial planning ranges for seven California regions.

How much does board and care (RCFE) cost in California in 2026?

Small board and care homes, licensed as Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE), typically run $3,000 to $6,000 per month in 2026. Family-owned RCFE homes often cost 20 to 30 percent less than large corporate communities, with the lowest rates in the Central Valley and parts of inland Los Angeles County.

How much does assisted living cost in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego?

In 2026, assisted living medians run highest in the Bay Area, around $8,500 a month, with San Jose near $10,500. Los Angeles sits near $6,600 and San Diego near $6,800 for a standard unit with basic care. Memory care in each of these metros adds roughly $2,000 to $3,000 per month.

How does California assisted living cost compare with the national median?

CareScout's 2025 survey reports a California assisted living median of about $7,000 per month and a national median of $6,200. That puts the California median about 13 percent higher. Memory-care pricing is not reported as a separate national category in that survey, so this page does not claim a national memory-care comparison.

What is the cheapest type of senior care in California?

For full-time housing with care, small family-owned board and care homes (RCFE) are usually the lowest cost, often under $4,000 a month in inland regions. For seniors who can stay home, In-Home Supportive Services or part-time in-home care costs less than any facility. Adult day care, around $85 a day, is the cheapest standalone option.

Does the monthly assisted living price include everything?

No. The monthly figures here cover base rent and standard care for a typical unit. Higher care needs add 10 to 30 percent through acuity or level-of-care fees. Memory care, a private room, medication management, and one-time move-in fees are usually billed on top. Always ask for the full fee schedule before signing.

How much does residential care for the elderly cost per month in California?

Residential care for the elderly, the formal name for RCFE or assisted living settings in California, ranges from about $3,000 a month for a small board and care home to over $11,000 for memory care in the Bay Area in 2026. The figure depends on region, facility size, and the level of daily care required.

Sources

  1. 01CareScout · 2025 Cost of Care Survey: California and national medians · accessed 2026-07-11
  2. 02California Department of Health Care Services · Assisted Living Waiver rate schedules · accessed 2026-07-11
  3. 03California Department of Social Services · Residential Care Facility for the Elderly registry · accessed 2026-07-11
  4. 04Genworth Financial · CareScout Releases 2025 Cost of Care Survey Results · accessed 2026-07-11
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