MetLife Mature Market Institute® this week released their annual MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home and Assisted Living Costs. For those of you who’ve read our Assisted Living Family Attitudes and Preparedness Survey, you’ll recall that affordability and financing were two of the main concerns to our respondents.
MetLife always does a great job of illuminating arguably the scariest part of elder care — affording it.
Below are some facts from the 2008 report that I think you’ll find interesting:
- More than 900,000 Americans live in approximately 39,500 assisted living communities in the United States.
- The average age of assisted living residents is 85 years old.
- The average rate for assisted living rose to $3,031 per month or $36,372 annually.
- Southern Maine had the highest average monthly base rate at $4,708, while North Dakota was the lowest at $1,980.
- Families usually pay more than the advertised base rates once you add additional assistance, medication management, etc. “Inclusive” communities which typically include these ammenities can be more than 16% higher.
Congratulations to the folks at MetLife for a great job! It’s worth your time to read the report.
