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ElderCareCosts

Memory Care in California

We're still building out our memory care directory for California. The median estimated cost statewide is $8,750/mo. Pick a city below for local pricing and provider listings, or request a personalized shortlist.

Cost of memory care in California

Median monthly price, California

$8,750/mo

Modeled range $8,400 – $9,100 how this range is derived

● California $8,750 ○ National median $7,788

Modeled from assisted living · 2025

Modeled memory-care ranges for California and a multi-state national aggregate. Method: local assisted-living estimate plus a documented 20–30% premium band (not a Genworth memory-care survey median).

Memory Care cost comparison (2025)
Memory CareCaliforniaNational
25th percentile$8,400/mo$6,861/mo
Median$8,750/mo$7,788/mo
75th percentile$9,100/mo$8,854/mo

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Source: Modeled from assisted living · 2025 (opens in a new tab)
Methodology
Why is this number different on other websites? Many directories quote a community's "starting at" rent, before care fees. This figure is the state survey median. It is an estimate to plan against, not a quote; ask each provider for its own number in writing. Our methodology →

Ways families typically pay

  • Private pay (savings, income, home equity)
  • Long-term care insurance
  • VA Aid & Attendance for eligible veterans and surviving spouses
  • Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS) waivers, where eligible. Rules vary by state

Medicare generally does not cover long-term custodial care. State-specific Medicaid waiver guides are coming soon.

California licensing & regulation

California Department of Social Services — Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) licenses and inspects assisted living communities, including communities that offer memory care, in California. Before you sign anything, look up the community's license status and past complaints on the state's own site, not a marketing page.

Source: State licensing agency.GOV

Medicaid & local resources in California

Long-Term Care Ombudsman

Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman helps residents of nursing homes, assisted living, and similar settings in California resolve concerns about care and rights. Call 1-800-231-4024.

Official Ombudsman locator / program page

Source: State LTC Ombudsman.GOV

Medicaid HCBS / LTSS programs

Named programs below are from official state Medicaid agency pages. We list eligibility dollar amounts and wait lists only when a primary source is cited.

  • Assisted Living Waiver. Medi-Cal HCBS waiver administered by DHCS. Requires living in a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE), an Adult Residential Care Facility (ARF), or subsidized public housing -- not a benefit for care in one's own home. Confirmed on the DHCS ALW page (2026-07-26).
  • Medi-Cal long-term services and supports (LTSS). State Medicaid / LTSS entry point (DHCS Medi-Cal). Use for HCBS pathway discovery alongside named waivers.
Source: State Medicaid program.GOV

Free national starting points. Official sites only; we do not scrape these directories.

Cities in California

Showing the 500 largest of 1,618 tracked cities.

Show the other 470 cities in California

Licensed assisted living communities in California

California's public data download doesn't say which communities offer dementia care. These licensed assisted living communities are worth calling to ask.

Sample of licensed assisted living communities listed for California. City pages show fuller local inventories.

Sponsored placements, when they appear, are always labeled. How we make money →

Compare communities you choose
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How we rank these

Frequently asked questions

Which cities in California have memory care listings?

We track 1618 California cities for memory care. See the city list on this page for options near you.

How to cite this page

Cite this: According to ElderCareCosts' 2026 index, memory care in California costs $8,750/month (median).

APA: ElderCareCosts Research. (2026). Memory Care in California. ElderCareCosts. Retrieved September 18, 2026, from https://www.eldercarecosts.com/memory-care/california/

Chicago: ElderCareCosts Research. "Memory Care in California." ElderCareCosts. Last modified August 10, 2026. Accessed September 18, 2026. https://www.eldercarecosts.com/memory-care/california/.

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

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