Memory care costs $7,788 a month in the middle state, across 50 states with published 2025 figures. Half of states fall between $6,861 and $8,854. Mississippi is the least expensive at $5,461 and Hawaii the most expensive at $15,120. Memory care is modeled rather than surveyed: it is local assisted living plus a documented 20 to 30 percent premium band.
Based on 2025 survey data.
Median monthly price, the United States
$7,788/mo
Range across state medians $6,861 – $8,854 how this range is derived
● the United States $7,788
This is a median of 50 state medians, not a survey of households. Each state contributes one figure regardless of how many people live there, so a small state moves the number exactly as much as a large one. Read it as the typical state, not the typical family. 1 of the 51 state-level jurisdictions we track has no published 2025 figure for memory care, so it is absent from the calculation rather than filled in with a guess. Your own cost depends on the metro you are in, the level of care, and the room type, which is why the state and city pages carry a narrower figure than this one.
Why our figure differs from other sites. Most published national numbers are means, and a mean is pulled upward by a handful of very expensive states. We report the middle state instead, so one outlier cannot move it. Other sites may also use a different survey year, or an average of facility prices rather than of state medians. Every figure here states its source and period so you can compare like with like.
In-home care runs about $35 an hour nationally.
At the national midpoint, about 51 hours a week of in-home care cost what memory care costs. Below that, staying home is usually cheaper. Above it, the residential option usually is, and the comparison stops being about money once overnight or memory-specific supervision is the reason for the move.
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Every family starts with a number. Here is roughly what each monthly budget buys at national midpoints. Bands shift with your state, so check the state page before planning against them.
Almost nobody pays for long-term care out of one pocket. Most families start with savings and income, then add a second source once the first thins out. The five payers below are ordered by how often they carry the bill, not by how much they pay. Eligibility for the government programs is set state by state, so the state page is where the rules get specific.
The default payer for most families at the start, especially for assisted living and in-home care. Often combined with a second source once savings run low.
Pays toward care costs if a policy was purchased in advance, usually years before care is needed. Policy terms (daily/monthly benefit caps, elimination periods) vary widely. Check the policy documents directly.
Covers nursing home care in every state, and many states offer Home & Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers that extend Medicaid to assisted living or in-home care. Eligibility rules and waiver availability are state-specific.
An added benefit on top of a VA pension for eligible wartime veterans (or surviving spouses) who need help with daily activities. Requires meeting service, income, and care-need criteria.
Does not cover long-term custodial care (help with daily living). It can cover short-term skilled nursing or home health following a qualifying hospital stay, under specific conditions.
Guides that go deeper
Open a state for its own range, city detail, and funding rules.
The gap between the cheapest and most expensive state is the single largest thing on this page. Hawaii at $15,120 is 2.8 times Mississippi at $5,461 for the same category of memory care. Local wages, real estate, and staffing rules drive most of that, which is why a national figure is a starting point and a state figure is the one to plan against.
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Blank rows are honest. A state with no figure means we have no published source for it, not that care is unavailable there. We would rather show a gap than a guess.
How to cite this page
Cite this: According to ElderCareCosts' 2026 index, memory care in the United States costs $7,788/month (median, 2025 data).
APA: ElderCareCosts Research. (2026). Memory Care Cost by State, United States (2025). ElderCareCosts. Retrieved September 16, 2026, from https://www.eldercarecosts.com/cost-of-care/memory-care/
Chicago: ElderCareCosts Research. "Memory Care Cost by State, United States (2025)." ElderCareCosts. Last modified August 10, 2026. Accessed September 16, 2026. https://www.eldercarecosts.com/cost-of-care/memory-care/.
These figures may be quoted and reproduced with attribution and a link back to this page. No permission needed. Methodology · Data sources · Who produces this · Corrections
$7,788 a month in the middle state, across 50 states with published 2025 figures. Half of states fall between $6,861 and $8,854. Your state's own figure is in the table above and is the better number to plan against.
Direct-care wages are the largest single input, and they track the local labor market. Real estate, staffing ratios set by state regulation, and general cost of living account for most of the rest.
No. It is the median of 50 state medians, so every state counts once regardless of population. A mean would sit higher because a few expensive states pull it up.
Yes. The CSV on this page has one row per state plus a national summary row, with the period, methodology version, and source tags on every row. Reuse it with attribution.
Tell us needs and budget once. We send licensed matches with real prices. Data stays free either way.
Your number goes only to communities you choose. No call blitz. Ever.
The state figures on this page come from BLS wage data, May 2025, 2025 cost of care survey, Memory care premium model, carried under methodology cost-model-v1.4.0. The national row is computed from those state figures on this page and is not itself a survey result.
We correct figures in public when a source revises or we get one wrong. If a number here does not match what a provider quoted you, tell us and we will check it.