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By The Retirement Atlas · Last verified May 31, 2026

How much does long-term care cost in California?

Long-term care costs in California depend on care setting, duration, local providers, family help, local price level, housing, and whether care happens at home or in a facility.

Retiring in California

$5,525/mo

How much do I need to retire in California?

Before the care-cost table, anchor the ordinary retirement number. A $5,000 national monthly example becomes about $5,525 a month in California, then long-term care sits on top as a separate pressure point.

Open the California retirement numberTest care in my map

Why this is here

This care guide keeps the ordinary California retirement number visible first, then separates assisted living, nursing-home care, home caregiver help, weather, and home costs.

Assisted living

$7,000/mo

CareScout and Genworth list the annual state median at $84,000. That is 13% higher than the national median.

Nursing home

$12,167/mo

Semi-private nursing-home care is 27% higher than the national median.

Home caregiver

$7,627/mo

Non-medical caregiver services are 14% higher than the national median.

Cost index

110.7

BEA state price level, where 100 is the U.S. average.

Short answer

In California, the care setting changes the number fast.

CareScout and Genworth's 2025 median table lists California assisted living at about $84,000 a year, a semi-private nursing home room at about $146,000 a year, and non-medical caregiver services at about $91,520 a year. Compared with the national medians in the same table, assisted living is 13% higher than the national median, semi-private nursing-home care is 27% higher than the national median, and non-medical caregiver services are 14% higher than the national median. ACL explains why the setting matters: long-term care can happen at home, in the community, or in facilities.

Start here

What you actually came to find out

Plain answers first. Sources stay below for checking details.

What is the quick assisted-living number?

The California median assisted-living community cost is about $7,000 a month, or $84,000 a year. That is 13% higher than the national median.

What is the nursing-home number?

The California median semi-private nursing-home room is about $12,167 a month, or $146,000 a year. That is 27% higher than the national median.

What does home help cost?

The California median non-medical caregiver line is about $7,627 a month when converted from the annual survey figure. That is 14% higher than the national median.

What else changes by state?

BEA regional price parities put California about 10.7% above the U.S. average cost level. Property tax is local, but the California state-level planning rate used here is 0.8% of home value. Those local costs can matter when care happens at home or when you keep the home during a care need.

What does Medicare solve?

Medicare.gov explains ordinary Medicare costs. ACL treats long-term care as help with daily activities, which can be a separate planning layer.

Assisted living

$7,000/mo

CareScout and Genworth list $84,000 as the California annual median assisted-living community cost. That is 13% higher than the national median.

Source trail: CareScout and Genworth

Nursing home

$12,167/mo

The California semi-private nursing-home annual median is $146,000. That is 27% higher than the national median.

Source trail: CareScout and Genworth

Home caregiver

$7,627/mo

The non-medical caregiver annual median is $91,520 for California. That is 14% higher than the national median.

Source trail: CareScout and Genworth

Adult day health

$2,037/mo

The adult day health care annual median is $24,440 for California.

Source trail: CareScout and Genworth

Local cost level

110.7 index

BEA regional price parities put California about 10.7% above the U.S. average cost level.

Source trail: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

The useful California long-term care question is not only the monthly price. It is the care type, how long it lasts, who helps first, and which retirement goals it touches.

Neutral landscape

The shape of the question

The first question is setting. ACL explains long-term care as help with daily activities, and that help can happen at home, in the community, or in a facility.

Source trail: Administration for Community Living

The second question is local cost. CareScout and Genworth list California median costs by care setting, including assisted living, non-medical caregiver services, and nursing home rooms.

Source trail: CareScout and Genworth

The third question is state comparison. The California assisted-living median is 13% higher than the national median, while the semi-private nursing-home median is 27% higher than the national median.

Source trail: CareScout and Genworth

The fourth question is local life around care. BEA regional price parities put California about 10.7% above the U.S. average cost level. Property tax is local, but the California state-level planning rate used here is 0.8% of home value. Those facts matter when care happens at home, when a spouse keeps the home, or when family lives nearby.

Source trail: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Tax Foundation

The fifth question is what Medicare does and does not cover. Medicare.gov explains ordinary Medicare cost categories, while ACL long-term care material keeps daily-living support as a separate planning topic.

Source trail: Medicare.gov, Administration for Community Living

Curator core

What the authorities say

These sources are here for the reader who wants to check the work. The plain-English answer stays above them.

Source 01

Administration for Community Living

Long-Term Care

ACL explains long-term care needs, services, settings, and planning concepts.

Source framing

ACL describes long-term care as help with daily activities that may occur at home, in the community, or in facilities.

Strongest for: official long-term care vocabulary

Read at Administration for Community Living

Source 02

CareScout and Genworth

Cost of Care Survey 2025: Median Cost Data Tables

The 2025 median cost data tables publish annual and monthly long-term care cost benchmarks by state and care setting.

Source framing

CareScout and Genworth publish state-level median costs for home care, adult day health care, assisted living, and nursing home care.

Strongest for: state-level long-term care cost figures

Read at CareScout and Genworth

Source 03

Genworth

Cost of Care Survey

The Genworth cost survey is a widely cited industry benchmark for long-term care costs by care setting and geography.

Source framing

Genworth publishes care-cost benchmarks that vary by state, city, and care type.

Strongest for: geographic long-term care cost benchmarks

Read at Genworth

Source 04

Medicare.gov

Medicare Costs

Medicare.gov explains premiums, deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, and cost vocabulary.

Source framing

Medicare.gov is the consumer source for Medicare cost categories and premium terms.

Strongest for: Medicare cost vocabulary

Read at Medicare.gov

Source 05

Medicare.gov

Extra Help with Drug Costs

Medicare.gov explains help programs that may lower prescription drug costs for people who qualify.

Source framing

Medicare.gov shows that health costs can change when help programs or plan choices change.

Strongest for: drug cost help and Medicare affordability context

Read at Medicare.gov

Source 06

CFPB

Planning for Retirement

CFPB retirement resources help consumers compare retirement timing, Social Security, and income choices.

Source framing

CFPB frames retirement decisions as consumer choices that can be compared before action.

Strongest for: neutral consumer planning context

Read at CFPB

Source 07

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area

BEA regional price parities compare price levels across states and metro areas against the national average.

Source framing

BEA gives the public cost-level framework used for the quick move math on these pages.

Strongest for: state and metro cost-level comparison

Read at U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Source 08

Tax Foundation

Property Taxes by State and County, 2026

Tax Foundation publishes state and county property-tax data for comparing property-tax pressure across places.

Source framing

Tax Foundation frames property tax as a local and state cost that can matter when housing changes.

Strongest for: property-tax pressure by place

Read at Tax Foundation

Plain-English forks

The forks people face

Most retirement questions hide a few smaller decisions. These are the practical pieces that change the plan.

Fork 01

Is this home care, assisted living, or nursing-home care?

Why it matters: The care setting is the largest cost fork.

In real life: California assisted living is about $84,000 a year, while semi-private nursing-home care is about $146,000 a year.

What to look at: What to look at: ACL for the setting language and CareScout and Genworth for state medians.

Fork 02

How long would the need last?

Why it matters: A six-month need and a three-year need are different retirement events.

In real life: Three years at the California assisted-living median is about $252,000 before inflation or care-level changes.

What to look at: What to look at: the annual median cost multiplied by the care duration.

Fork 03

How does California compare with the national table?

Why it matters: A state can look normal on assisted living and expensive on nursing-home care, or the other way around.

In real life: For California, assisted living is 13% higher than the national median, semi-private nursing-home care is 27% higher than the national median, and non-medical caregiver services are 14% higher than the national median.

What to look at: What to look at: state medians beside national medians by care setting.

Fork 04

Who helps first?

Why it matters: Family help, paid home help, assisted living, and nursing-home care can carry different emotional and financial costs.

In real life: The California non-medical caregiver annual median is about $91,520.

What to look at: What to look at: ACL care setting definitions and local provider costs.

Fork 05

Does keeping the home change the care plan?

Why it matters: A care need can sit beside property tax, maintenance, insurance, and a surviving spouse staying in the home.

In real life: Property tax is local, but the California state-level planning rate used here is 0.8% of home value.

What to look at: What to look at: home value, property tax, local care providers, and who lives in the house.

Fork 06

Which part of the plan gets touched?

Why it matters: Long-term care can affect spending, home choices, surviving-spouse income, dreams, and legacy.

In real life: The private nursing-home room figure for California is $182,135 in the CareScout and Genworth table, with adult day health care listed as $24,440.

What to look at: What to look at: the full retirement map rather than one care-price table.

Common questions

Quick answers

Short, plain answers for the questions people usually have next. The source trail stays available below.

What is the assisted living cost in California?+

CareScout and Genworth list the California annual median assisted-living community cost at about $84,000, or about $7,000 a month. That is 13% higher than the national median.

What is the nursing home cost in California?+

The California annual median semi-private nursing-home room cost is about $146,000, or about $12,167 a month. That is 27% higher than the national median.

What is the home caregiver cost in California?+

The California annual median non-medical caregiver cost is about $91,520, or about $7,627 a month when converted from the annual figure. That is 14% higher than the national median.

Is California above or below the national care-cost median?+

In the CareScout and Genworth 2025 table, California assisted living is 13% higher than the national median, semi-private nursing-home care is 27% higher than the national median, and non-medical caregiver services are 14% higher than the national median. Private nursing-home room care is 41% higher than the national median.

What is adult day health care listed at in California?+

The California adult day health care annual median is about $24,440, or about $2,037 a month when divided by 12.

Does California's cost of living matter for care?+

BEA regional price parities put California about 10.7% above the U.S. average cost level. That does not replace provider quotes, but it helps explain why a state care number can sit above or below a national median.

Does Medicare cover long-term care?+

Medicare.gov explains Medicare cost categories, while ACL frames long-term care as help with daily activities. Those are related but separate planning topics.

Why does duration matter?+

One year at the California assisted-living median is about $84,000. Three years is about $252,000 before inflation or care-level changes.

Where does this belong in the plan?+

It belongs as a separate care scenario because it can touch spending, home, surviving-spouse income, dreams, and legacy.

How this page is curated

This page uses CareScout and Genworth 2025 state median cost data for California, compares those figures with national medians from the same table, then translates annual figures into monthly figures where useful. It uses ACL and Medicare.gov to separate long-term care from ordinary Medicare cost categories, and BEA regional price parities plus property-tax context to explain the local planning layer.

Read the planner methodology

Trust anchor

Sources used on this page

Every source named above is listed here in one place.

  1. Administration for Community Living. Long-Term Care

    https://acl.gov/ltc

  2. CareScout and Genworth. Cost of Care Survey 2025: Median Cost Data Tables

    https://pro.genworth.com/riiproweb/productinfo/pdf/282102.pdf

  3. CFPB. Planning for Retirement

    https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/retirement/

  4. Genworth. Cost of Care Survey

    https://www.genworth.com/aging-and-you/finances/cost-of-care.html

  5. Medicare.gov. Medicare Costs

    https://www.medicare.gov/basics/costs/medicare-costs

  6. Medicare.gov. Extra Help with Drug Costs

    https://www.medicare.gov/basics/costs/help/drug-costs

  7. Tax Foundation. Property Taxes by State and County, 2026

    https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/property-taxes-by-state-county/

  8. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area

    https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

Before you act on this

This plan is educational. It is not personalized financial, tax, or insurance advice. Projections illustrate the math, they do not predict the future. Talk to your own licensed financial professional before acting on any of it.