Nursing Home Cost Calculator
Last updated July 2, 2026
Nursing homes provide around-the-clock skilled nursing care for individuals with significant medical needs — a higher level of care than assisted living or memory care facilities offer. Genworth's Cost of Care Survey puts the 2025–2026 national median at approximately $8,669 per month for a semi-private room and $9,733 for a private room, making nursing home care the most expensive long-term care setting by a substantial margin. In high-cost states like Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Alaska, private room rates frequently exceed $12,000 to $15,000 per month. Annually, that means skilled nursing care at the national median runs $104,000 to $117,000 per year — a figure that depletes most families' savings within a few years unless insurance or public benefits cover it.
Medicare covers skilled nursing care in limited, specific circumstances: following a qualifying hospital stay of at least three days, for up to 100 days, and only if the care qualifies as medically necessary "skilled" care. Medicare does not cover custodial nursing home care — the kind most people need for dementia, mobility limitations, or chronic disease management. Medicaid covers long-term custodial nursing home care, but eligibility requires spending down to very low asset levels, which means most middle-class families must deplete nearly all savings before qualifying. Medicaid planning — structuring assets and income to qualify while preserving some resources for a community-dwelling spouse — is a specialized area of elder law where professional guidance is typically essential and financially worthwhile.
Nursing home care costs exceed $100,000 per year at the national median and can run far higher in expensive markets. Plan for this cost explicitly in any long-term care financial plan, understand that Medicare covers it only briefly and under specific conditions, and consult an elder law attorney before assuming Medicaid will step in — the spend-down requirements and planning opportunities are more complex than most families expect.