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Cost of careMemory care

Memory care

Cost of memory care in California

Updated September 16, 2026. Reviewed September 16, 2026 against public CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, VA, and CareScout 2025 California tables. County wages, hours, and wait times still change. Official .gov pages decide.

Memory care is usually a secured assisted-living unit with dementia programming and closer supervision. CareScout’s 2025 California tables do not publish a separate memory-care median. This page applies a 20% / 30% / 40% planning premium to the $7,000 assisted living median so families can see an order of magnitude, then ask the community for its real fee.

Planning estimate only. Figures use CareScout 2025 California statewide medians plus labeled planning bands. They are not a quote, not a facility admission, not a Medi-Cal or IHSS eligibility result, and not an hours authorization. Agency and community prices vary by county and by acuity. IHSS hours and provider pay are county and Medi-Cal decisions. This site does not calculate an IHSS paycheck. Licensed home care organizations and residential communities set their own private-pay terms. County IHSS staff authorize tasks. County Medi-Cal staff decide coverage and any share of cost. Ask those offices and providers for the number that counts.

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Short answer

The planning band is $8,400 to $9,800 per month, with a midpoint of $9,100. That is not a published survey row. Protective supervision under IHSS is a narrower in-home category and is not a memory-care admission.

How this number is sourced

CareScout does not publish a separate California memory-care median. These figures apply a 20% / 30% / 40% planning premium to the CareScout 2025 California assisted living median of $7,000 per month. Memory care is usually a secured unit with heavier staffing. It is not a published survey row.

IHSS and Medi-Cal at home

A licensed memory-care unit is not the IHSS own-home setting. Families sometimes keep a parent at home with a mix of IHSS authorized tasks, family watch, and private hours. That mix is a county and household decision, not a calculator result.

Related tools and resources

Official sources

Official California sources

Official program pages: CDSS: In-Home Supportive Services, CDSS: IHSS for children, County IHSS offices, CDSS: IHSS providers, CDSS: county IHSS wage rates, CDSS: provider orientation, CDSS: Electronic Visit Verification, CDSS: Electronic Services Portal, DHCS: Medi-Cal, Apply for Medi-Cal, BenefitsCal, CDSS: hearing requests, CDSS: forms catalog, CDSS: IHSS overtime and workweek, DDS: regional centers.

Planning estimate only. Not a quote, not a facility admission, not a Medi-Cal or IHSS eligibility result, and not an hours authorization. Rates vary by county, agency, and facility. IHSS hours and provider pay are county and Medi-Cal decisions. We do not calculate IHSS paycheck amounts. Licensed agencies and facilities set their own private-pay terms. County IHSS staff authorize tasks. County Medi-Cal staff decide coverage and any share of cost. Ask those offices and providers for the number that counts.

Illustrative cost planner

Live dollar totals for private-pay settings, using CareScout 2025 California medians. IHSS is shown as a program path, not as a household paycheck.

Hours of help per week

Private home care is billed by the hour. CareScout publishes its California home-care median on a 44 hour/week basis. Facility rows stay monthly fees even if you change hours.

About 2.9 hours/day across 7 days

Days per week (optional)

Used to show hours/day and to model live-in framing as 12 billed hours times the days you choose. Facility fees do not change with this number.

Which setting are you pricing?

Estimated private-pay cost

Memory care

$8,400 to $9,800monthly

Low
$8,400
Midpoint
$9,100
High
$9,800

Annual: $100,800 to $117,600Midpoint $109,200 per year

This setting is billed as a monthly fee. The hours slider still prices licensed private home care for the same weekly help so you can compare staying home. Private-pay home care at 20 hours/week: $3,033 to $3,900 per month.

How this number was calculated

Assisted living median $7,000 × 1.20 / 1.30 / 1.40 = $8,400 / $9,100 / $9,800 per month. Hours/week do not change this facility fee.

Compare settings at these hours

Private home care (licensed HCO)

$3,467/month mid

$3,033 to $3,900 monthly · $41,600 per year at midpoint · 20 hours/week

Live-in home care (hourly framing)

$14,560/month mid

$12,740 to $16,380 monthly · $174,720 per year at midpoint · 84 hours/week

Assisted living (RCFE)

$7,000/month mid

$5,600 to $8,400 monthly · $84,000 per year at midpoint

Memory care

$9,100/month mid

$8,400 to $9,800 monthly · $109,200 per year at midpoint

Nursing home

$13,673/month mid

$12,167 to $15,178 monthly · $164,076 per year at midpoint

IHSS / Medi-Cal path

Wage set by county

Private-pay alternative: $3,033 to $3,900 per month for the same hours.

Assumptions and sources

CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, July through November 2025. California statewide median. Published 2025 by CareScout.

  • Private home care midpoint uses the CareScout 2025 California non-medical caregiver median of $40 per hour.
  • Assisted living midpoint uses the CareScout 2025 California median of $7,000 per month for a private one-bedroom residential care facility.
  • Memory care is a 20% / 30% / 40% planning premium on that assisted living median. CareScout does not publish a separate memory-care row.
  • Nursing home low and high are the published semi-private and private-room medians.
  • Live-in framing bills 12 hours/day, not 24 times the hourly rate.
  • If a county authorizes in-home help, the program may cover those authorized services. A family member may be paid as the provider after enrollment. Hours and the hourly wage are county and Medi-Cal decisions. This planner does not calculate an IHSS paycheck and does not say anyone will receive a set amount.

Paying for care and official pages

Questions people ask

How much does memory care cost in California?
This site’s planning band is $8,400 to $9,800 per month, built as a 20% / 30% / 40% premium on the CareScout 2025 assisted living median of $7,000. Ask the community for its written fee. It is not a CareScout memory-care row.
Why isn’t there a CareScout memory-care number?
The 2025 California tables this site cites publish non-medical caregiver, assisted living, and nursing-home medians. They do not publish a separate memory-care median. We label the premium so it is not mistaken for a survey result.
Does IHSS pay for memory care?
IHSS does not pay a community’s room and board. Protective supervision, when authorized, is an in-home category with its own rules. A move into a licensed memory-care unit is a different setting.
Can we stay home instead?
Some households do, with family watch, authorized IHSS tasks, and sometimes private hours. Safety, wandering, and night coverage are the hard parts. The care-need planner and compare-care tool walk those notes without promising hours.
Is this an admission decision?
No. Communities decide admissions. Counties decide IHSS. This page is a planning estimate so an adult child can compare a monthly community fee with staying home.

See if IHSS may apply

A coordinator can walk through Medi-Cal, county forms, and the home visit with you. The county still decides eligibility and hours.

For example: starting an IHSS application, provider enrollment, or county forms. Keep medical records and diagnoses for the county packet.