The seniors housing market, most notably assisted living, is firmly on the rebound today after a slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest research from Seniorly, a search site for assisted living facilities.
According to statistics cited by Seniorly, the demand for assisted living facilities jumped to 76.9 percent in the third quarter of this year. That’s up from a pandemic low of 75.4 percent in the first quarter.
And this demand should continue to rise. Seniorly reports that a record 54 million U.S. residents are 65 and older. What is uncertain is whether demand for assisted living will ever again approach the pre-pandemic high of 85 percent.
What isn’t changing is that assisted living remains costly. According to Seniorly, the average monthly rent at assisted living communities across the country stood at $4,057 a month during the third quarter of this year. New Jersey was the most expensive state for these communities, with Seniorly reporting that it cost an average of $5,893 a month to live in an assisted living facility in that state.
In the Midwest, Ohio ranked as the most expensive state for assisted living, an average of $4,432 a month. Wisconsin ranked second at $4,428 and Indiana third at $4,328. In Kansas, the average monthly cost of assisted living is $4,209, in Nebraska $4,066, Illinois $4,054, Iowa $4,013 and Minnesota $3,960.
The cheapest state in the country for assisted living? That’d be Georgia, where it costs an average of $3,045 a month to live in an assisted living facility.
