Worcester Senior AdvisorWhat does senior care cost in Massachusetts in 2025?
CareScout's 2025 Massachusetts medians are $115,200 a year for assisted living (about $9,600 a month), $475 a day for a semi-private nursing home room and $520 for a private room, $40 an hour for home care and $112 a day for adult day health care.
| Care type (Massachusetts, 2025) | Annual median | About per month | Unit price | Rank among states | U.S. median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assisted living (private one-bedroom) | $115,200 | $9,600 | $9,600 a month | 3rd highest | $74,400 |
| Nursing home, semi-private room | $173,375 | $14,448 | $475 a day | 7th highest | $114,975 |
| Nursing home, private room | $189,800 | $15,817 | $520 a day | 6th highest | $129,575 |
| Home care, non-medical caregiver (44 hours/week) | $91,520 | $7,627 | $40 an hour | 10th highest | $80,080 |
| Adult day health care (5 days/week) | $29,120 | $2,427 | $112 a day | 19th highest | $24,700 |
CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, Median Cost Data Tables (survey July-November 2025, published March 2, 2026). Monthly figures are our arithmetic from CareScout's annual medians (annual / 12); ranks are CareScout's ranking of states from most to least expensive.
Massachusetts ranks third most expensive among the states for assisted living in CareScout's survey and sixth for a private nursing home room. The figures are statewide; CareScout publishes no Worcester County or metro figure.
Is senior care cheaper in Worcester County than in Boston?
Often somewhat, but no published survey measures it: CareScout reports Massachusetts medians only, and AGE's assisted living fee data is statewide, so any specific Worcester County discount you see quoted is an estimate.
What families in Worcester County can compare directly is each residence's written fee schedule. Ask at least three residences in your target area for their full price list, including care-level charges and one-time fees, and compare them with the statewide ranges below.
What do Massachusetts assisted living residences actually charge?
In AGE's 2025 census, the median residence's lowest monthly fee for a traditional unit was $4,228 and its highest $9,225; for Special Care Residence (memory care) units the medians were $7,218 and $10,886.
The range is wide because fees depend on apartment size, care level and the residence's market. The highest fees reported statewide were $20,850 a month for a traditional resident and $22,215 for a memory care resident. See how assisted living fees work.
How much home care can a family buy for the price of assisted living?
At CareScout's $40 an hour Massachusetts median, about 55 hours of home care a week costs the same as the $9,600 monthly assisted living median, so part-time help at home is cheaper and round-the-clock help is far more expensive.
| Paid hours per week | Monthly home care at $40/hour | Versus the assisted living median ($9,600) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | $1,733 | less |
| 20 | $3,467 | less |
| 30 | $5,200 | less |
| 40 | $6,933 | less |
| 44 | $7,627 | less |
| 55 | $9,533 | less |
| 70 | $12,133 | more |
| 84 | $14,560 | more |
| 168 | $29,120 | more |
The table is simple arithmetic at the median hourly rate; agency rates in Worcester County vary, and overnight or live-in arrangements are priced differently.
At a glance
| This page gives you | This page does not give you | |
|---|---|---|
| Prices | CareScout's 2025 Massachusetts medians and AGE's fee ranges | A Worcester County median, because none is published |
| Memory care | AGE's Special Care Residence fee ranges | A CareScout memory care median, which does not exist |
| Quotes | Questions to compare written price lists | A quote from any residence |
Sources include M.G.L. c. 19D and 651 CMR 12.00, the Executive Office of Aging & Independence's assisted living pages and 2025 Census Report, MassHealth's 2026 financial guidelines, DPH and CMS, and the CareScout and VA rate tables cited above; see our editorial standards.
