Demand for senior living is at an all-time high and occupancy is on the rise.

According to the latest tally from NIC MAP, average senior living occupancy rates increased to 87.4% in the first quarter of 2025, up from 87.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Senior living demand has pushed the number of occupied units to an all-time high of about 621,000.

For the first time since 2019, four of the top 31 largest metro markets NIC tracks had average occupancy rates exceeding 90%. All of those markets are “well above” 80% occupancy, according to NIC MAP.

Boston carried the highest average occupancy rate at 90.7%, followed by Baltimore at 90.6% and Cincinnati at 90.2%. Miami dropped to one of the lowest occupancy markets at 84.7% in the first quarter of 2025, joining Houston and Atlanta at 84.7% and 83.9% respectively.

Independent living occupancy registered at 89% in the first quarter of this year, up from 88.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Assisted living occupancy also increased to 85.8% in 1Q25, up from 85.5% in the previous quarter.

“Older adults are moving into senior housing at a rapid pace, and that trend will continue given the wave of baby boomers and many more ‘solo agers’ who don’t have a caregiver to rely on as a safety net,” Lisa McCracken, NIC’s head of research and analytics, said in the release. “The industry needs to ramp up development for supply to catch up with demand, but we don’t foresee any meaningful movement here in 2025 given current market conditions.”

A common theme amongst the highest performing markets is the “relatively high barriers to entry” for new development, Arick Morton, CEO of NIC MAP, said in the release.

“We’re encouraged to see occupancy growth across the country, but we’re closely monitoring the number of available senior housing units to make sure older adults continue to have access and choice,” Morton said.

New construction starts were slower in the first quarter of 2024 than previous years with 1,076 units, the lowest seen since the second quarter of 2009. Units under construction have also continued to slow to 19,500, the lowest seen since 2013. As such, NIC expects occupancy to continue to climb in the coming quarters.

Rent growth in the first quarter of 2025 dropped to 3.9%, representing the first average below 4% since 1Q22.