Depending on where you live in the United States, you could wind up paying significantly more or drastically less for senior care. Now, there’s data that indicates just how much more someone in Washington, D.C., and other expensive markets can expect to pay on an annual basis, compared with someone in Missouri or another more affordable state.
In the Northeast, assisted living will cost you a pretty penny, according to state-specific information insurer Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) recently pulled from its 2016 Cost of Care report.
The median annual cost of a private, one-bedroom unit in an assisted living community is highest in the following places:
1. Washington, D.C. – $80,400
2. Alaska – $69,000
3. Massachusetts – $65,550
4. Delaware- $64,416
5. Maine – $59,892
Genworth’s 2016 Cost of Care Survey, which was published in early May, included information on how much costs of care increased in each state over the past five years. Genworth’s new data, released June 28, includes the annual, monthly and daily median costs of assisted living care, home health care, adult day health care and nursing home care by state.
Assisted living is generally the least expensive in the Southeastern parts of the country, the data show.
The median annual cost of a private, one-bedroom unit in an assisted living community is lowest in the following places:
50. Missouri – $30,483
49. Oklahoma – $33,630
48. Georgia – $34,200
47. Alabama – $34,800
46. Utah – $35,400
Meanwhile, the median annual cost of a private room a skilled nursing facility is lowest in in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Missouri, and highest in Alaska, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The median annual cost of a home health aide is highest in North Dakota, at $63,972 per year, and lowest in Louisiana, at $36,608 per year.
Genworth’s data contradicts that of Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC), the Radnor, Pennsylvania-based arm of Lincoln National Corporation. The most expensive states for a one-bedroom unit in an assisted living community are New Jersey and Massachusetts, and the least expensive are North Dakota and Mississippi, according to Lincoln Financial’s analysis.
Written by Mary Kate Nelson
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