Assisted Living Statistics in 2024
As of 2024, there are over 30,500 assisted living communities operating in the United States, with an occupancy rate of 83.2%, meaning there are over 800,000 people living in these communities. As the American population ages, these communities will play an increasingly important role in housing older adults and providing them with necessary care.
Keep reading to view some pertinent statistics on assisted living, its residents, costs, and staffing trends.
What Is an Assisted Living Community?
An assisted living community provides personal care to seniors who can no longer safely live independently. In addition to helping residents with ADLs, these communities will also provide housekeeping, laundry services, meal services, and a variety of clubs and activities for residents.
Compared to nursing homes, assisted living communities generally do not provide medical care; rather, the care provided is solely custodial.
Assisted Living Statistics
Across the board, assisted living communities are growing in popularity and cost. Yet, at the same time, these facilities are having difficulty retaining staff.
Assisted Living Industry Statistics
- The United States has over 30,000 assisted living communities.
- Nearly 1.2 million beds house over 800,000 assisted living occupants.
- Assisted living communities in the U.S. are most plentiful in the West (40.8%) and least plentiful in the Northeast (8.6%).
- The highest market shares of senior housing are owned by Welltower, with a market cap of $18.8 billion.
- The assisted living market has been valued at $91.8 billion, with a compound annual growth rate prediction of 5.53% until 2030.
Assisted Living Costs
- In 2023, the median cost of assisted living nationwide is $4,774 per month.
- The state with the most expensive assisted living costs is Alaska, with an average of $7,246 per month.
- The state with the least expensive assisted living costs is Missouri, with an average of $3,183 per month.
- Since 2021, assisted living costs have risen an average of 3% per year, which keeps them steady with inflation.
- Nine of the 10 most expensive states for assisted living are in the Northeast (excluding Alaska).
Assisted Living Residents
- Nearly 42% of assisted living residents have been diagnosed with dementia Alzheimer’s.
- 34% of residents have diagnosed cases of heart disease, while 31% suffer from depression.
- 76% of the residents of assisted living facilities are female.
- According to the CDC, approximately 49.9% of the residents of assisted living facilities are older than 85, 30.9% are aged 75 to 84, 13.4% are 65 to 74, and 5.8% are younger than 65.
- The average stay in an assisted living facility is 22 months.
- Nearly half of residents (47.9%) have been diagnosed with high blood pressure.
Assisted Living Services
- 64.3% of residents have trouble with at least one activity of daily living, with bathing being the most prominent.
- The other activities of daily living most often requiring assistance include walking (49.9%), dressing (49.2%), and toileting (43.1%).
- Around 18.2% of facilities have sections or floors designated as memory care units.
- Around 11% of assisted living facilities exclusively house residents with dementia.
- According to the NCPA, around 47% of pharmacies provide long-term care services to senior living facilities.
Assisted Living Staff
- According to the Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service, the turnover rate for assisted living staff in 2022 was 41.1%.
- In 2022, the assisted living positions experiencing the highest turnover were personal care assistants (49%), dining services staff (46.3%), and certified nursing assistants (42.8%).
- Nearly 81% of long-term care workers are female.
- The average pay for long-term care workers in 2022 was $15.22 per hour, and only 6.9% were unionized.
- About 20% of the nation’s nursing staff is employed full-time at assisted living facilities.
- 63% of assisted living facilities are experiencing a staff shortage, while 87% report difficulties in hiring more staff.
If you’re considering assisted living for yourself or a loved one, be sure to read our helpful guides to learn how these communities work and how you can pay for them.
