What Does Long-Term Care Cost In California?What Long-Term Care Costs In California, And How Families Pay.
Home care, assisted living and nursing homes all cost more in California than the national median. The 2025 Cost of Care Survey puts a price on each, statewide and in the Riverside area.
The Short Answer
California’s 2025 median costs from the CareScout Cost of Care Survey: $7,627 a month for a home health aide 44 hours a week, $7,000 for assisted living and $12,167 for a semi-private nursing home room. Medicare doesn’t pay for long-term custodial care, so families rely on savings, long-term care insurance or, for those who qualify, Medi-Cal.
Source: CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025; Medicare.gov
Three Numbers Worth Planning Around
- 70%
- Close to this share of people turning 65 today will need some long-term care, per the U.S. Administration for Community Living.
- $182,135
- California’s 2025 median yearly cost for a private nursing home room.
- 3 Days
- The inpatient hospital stay Medicare requires before it covers short-term skilled nursing facility care.
Source: ACL.gov, CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, Medicare.gov
2025 Median Costs
What Care Costs In California And The Riverside Area
Monthly medians from the CareScout (formerly Genworth) Cost of Care Survey, conducted July through November 2025.
| Question | CaliforniaStatewide 2025 Median | Riverside AreaRiverside-San Bernardino-Ontario |
|---|---|---|
| Home Health Aide, 44 Hours A Week | $7,627 a month ($40 an hour) | $7,055 a month ($37 an hour) |
| Adult Day Health Care | $2,037 a month | $2,037 a month |
| Assisted Living | $7,000 a month | $6,250 a month |
| Nursing Home, Semi-Private Room | $12,167 a month | $12,167 a month |
| Nursing Home, Private Room | $15,178 a month | $13,992 a month |
| Private Room, Per Year | $182,135 | $167,900 |
Source: CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025. In California, assisted living communities are called residential care facilities.
How Much Does Long-Term Care Cost In California?
The CareScout Cost of Care Survey, conducted July through November 2025, puts California’s median yearly costs at $91,520 for a home health aide 44 hours a week, $84,000 for assisted living, $146,000 for a semi-private nursing home room and $182,135 for a private room. Adult day health care runs $24,440 a year.
The first four all sit above the national median. Nationally, a private nursing home room costs a median $129,575 a year, so California’s figure is more than $52,000 higher. Home care follows the same pattern: $91,520 in California against $80,080 nationally.
What Does Long-Term Care Cost In The Riverside Area?
CareScout reports costs for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area. Its 2025 medians run below the state in most settings: $84,656 a year for a home health aide 44 hours a week, $75,000 for assisted living and $167,900 for a private nursing home room. A semi-private room matches the state median at $146,000 a year.
These are medians. CareScout notes that a particular provider’s price can differ significantly from the median for similar providers in your area, and that cost depends on where care is delivered, the services needed and the level of support required. Get written rates from each place you are considering.
Does Medicare Pay For Long-Term Care?
No. Medicare.gov states it plainly: Medicare doesn’t pay for long-term care, also called custodial care, the help with bathing, dressing, using the bathroom and other everyday tasks. Medigap policies don’t pay for it either.
Medicare does cover short-term skilled nursing facility care after a qualifying inpatient hospital stay of at least three days in a row. In 2026 you pay $0 for days 1 through 20, $217 a day for days 21 through 100, and all costs after day 100. Time spent under observation or in the emergency room before you are admitted doesn’t count toward the three days.
How Long Do People Need Long-Term Care?
The U.S. Administration for Community Living says someone turning 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care services and supports. On average, women need care longer than men, 3.7 years against 2.2. One-third of today’s 65-year-olds may never need it, while 20% will need it for longer than five years.
Those averages turn into real numbers quickly. At California’s 2025 median of $84,000 a year for assisted living, three years of care comes to $252,000 at today’s prices. A home health aide 44 hours a week at the state median of $91,520 a year, for the 3.7 years women need on average, comes to more than $338,000.
How Do California Families Pay For Long-Term Care?
Medicare.gov points to three sources: your own savings and income, private long-term care insurance, and Medicaid for people who meet its eligibility rules. In California, Medicaid is called Medi-Cal. Its income and asset rules are detailed, so talk with an elder law attorney or the Department of Health Care Services before counting on it.
Insurance comes in two broad forms: stand-alone long-term care insurance and life insurance policies that can also pay toward care. Each has its own premiums, benefit limits and health questions, so compare them while you are healthy enough to qualify.
What Should I Ask Before Buying Long-Term Care Insurance In California?
California law builds in several protections. Before you buy, the agent must give you an outline of coverage with all benefits and limitations, a personal worksheet, a notice about HICAP’s free counseling and a shopper’s guide from the California Department of Aging. After the policy arrives, you have 30 days to return it for a full refund.
Two more steps help. Review the California Department of Insurance’s annual Long-Term Care Insurance Rate and History Guide, and name a second person to receive notices if the policy may lapse for unpaid premium. Maartin can compare the options with you, alongside your attorney and CPA, by phone, by Zoom or at his Riverside office.
Next Step
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Common Questions
What counts as long-term care?
The California Department of Insurance describes long-term care as the assistance or supervision you may need when you can’t do some of the basic activities of daily living. Medicare.gov’s examples include help with dressing, bathing and using the bathroom, home-delivered meals, adult day health care and transportation.
Does a Medigap policy cover long-term care?
No. Medicare.gov lists long-term care, like care in a nursing home, among the things Medigap plans generally don’t cover, and says Medicare and most health insurance don’t pay for long-term care at home or in a nursing home.
What is the difference between skilled nursing care and long-term care?
Skilled care is nursing and therapy that only professionals can safely provide, and Part A covers it for a limited time after a qualifying hospital stay. Long-term care is mostly non-medical help with daily living, which Medicare doesn’t cover.
Is assisted living called something else in California?
Yes. CareScout notes that assisted living communities are referred to as residential care facilities in California, so you may see either name when you compare places.
Where can I get free help with long-term care questions in California?
HICAP, the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, offers free counseling on health insurance issues, including long-term care, at 1-800-434-0222. The California Department of Insurance consumer hotline is 1-800-927-4357.
How was the Cost of Care Survey done?
From July through November 2025, CareScout contacted 211,985 long-term care providers by phone and email and completed about 16,000 surveys across nursing homes, assisted living communities, adult day health facilities and home care providers.
Sources
- California 2025 annual medians: non-medical caregiver $91,520, adult day $24,440, assisted living $84,000, semi-private $146,000, private $182,135; national $80,080, $74,400, $114,975, $129,575 (column order: non-medical caregiver, private duty nurse, adult day health care, assisted living, semi-private room, private room)
- California non-medical caregiver $40 an hour (ranked table)
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 2025 medians from the Cost of Care tool (data served to carescout.com/cost-of-care by its own API, POST /cost-of-care/api/cost-of-care with path /state/ca/msas/): home care $84,656/yr, $7,055/mo, $37/hr; assisted living $75,000/yr, $6,250/mo; adult day $2,037/mo; semi-private $146,000/yr, $12,167/mo; private $167,900/yr, $13,992/mo
- Riverside, San Bernardino, Ontario is a surveyed California region
- Medicare doesn’t pay for long-term (custodial) care; Medigap doesn’t either; Medicaid or private LTC insurance; you pay all costs otherwise
- Skilled nursing facility: 3-day qualifying inpatient stay; observation and ER time don’t count; skilled care definition
- 2026 SNF cost sharing: days 1-20 $0, days 21-100 $217 a day, after 100 all costs
- Medigap generally doesn’t cover long-term care
- Almost 70% chance of needing LTC at 65; women 3.7 years, men 2.2 years; one-third never; 20% longer than 5 years
- Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program
- Contact DHCS about Medi-Cal eligibility rules
- CDI publishes an annual Long-Term Care Insurance Rate and History Guide; consumer hotline 1-800-927-4357
Please Note
Education, not advice. MJR Financial & Insurance Services does not give tax, legal or Social Security advice; please consult your own professionals.
Planning For Care?
Price The Care
Before It Arrives.
Maartin compares long-term care insurance and life insurance that can pay toward care, alongside your attorney and CPA.
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