In a recent post I reviewed the likelihood of needing assisted living and cited several statistics. My conclusion: roughly 50–70% of people aged 65 and older will need significant long-term care at some point. That typically means assistance with multiple activities of daily living—such as eating, dressing, or bathing—or possibly even higher-level care.
Knowing the odds is useful, but another important question is: for how long will care be required? Long-term care can be expensive. Genworth’s 2023 Cost of Care Survey shows the average monthly cost for 44 hours of in-home care is about $6,000 (up from roughly $4,500 in 2016). Assisted living averages around $5,000 per month, though actual costs vary widely depending on services, provider quality, and location. A private room in a nursing facility can exceed $10,000 per month in many regions. You can see how these expenses accumulate, especially if care is needed for many months or years.
>> Related Post: The Cost of Assisted Living—What You Need to Know
Your Experience Will Likely Differ from the Averages
It’s important to remember that averages are only a guide. Your personal experience may fall well above or below the reported averages. Use average figures to inform planning, but prepare for a range of possible scenarios.
The Average Stay in Assisted Living
A 2009 report prepared by advocacy and research groups within the assisted living field found the average length of stay in assisted living to be about 28 months, with a median of 21 months. The National Investment Center’s 2010 guide cited an average of 29 months. These figures are somewhat dated but still offer useful context. Updated public data on this topic is surprisingly limited.
Many residents receive care at home for some time before moving into an assisted living community, so the total time receiving assisted living-style support—at home and then in a facility—can easily exceed three years for many people.
Care Often Doesn’t End with Assisted Living
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) report that around 59% of assisted living residents will eventually move to a skilled nursing facility. A 2019 report from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that 43% of nursing home residents require less than 100 days of care, while 57% need 100 days or more. Average nursing home stays vary considerably based on factors such as sex, marital status, net worth, and geographic location.
Excluding short-term rehab stays and discharges, estimates place average nursing home stays between roughly 13 months and just over two years, depending on the data source. Again, variation across populations and regions makes precise averages difficult to pin down, and up-to-date public data remains limited.
Putting it All Together
It’s common for someone to receive care at home for several months or longer, move to an assisted living community for about two and a half years, and then—nearly 60% of the time—require a nursing home stay lasting roughly one to two years (though some need only a temporary nursing stay). Taken together, this pattern can result in approximately three to five years of long-term care across settings. Depending on local costs, total expenses in that scenario could easily exceed $350,000.
That figure is especially striking when combined with other retirement healthcare costs. For example, Fidelity estimates the average retired couple will spend around $315,000 on healthcare during retirement—not including assisted living or nursing care expenses.
Care Services You May Need, All in One Place
For those considering a continuing care retirement community (CCRC), also called a life plan community, these communities can offer peace of mind by providing a continuum of care—ranging from independent living to assisted living and skilled nursing—within a single community. If this option interests you, learn more about how CCRCs work and whether one might fit your long-term needs.
Updated May 1, 2024