Independent living: what it is and who it's for

Housing built for older adults who don't need daily care — an apartment or cottage, usually with meals and housekeeping available.

When it's the right level

Independent living is generally the right place to look when the issue is upkeep, isolation and safety-net worries rather than health needs. Care needs change, though, and many communities are licensed for more than one level — what happens when needs increase is the single best question to ask on any tour.

How it's licensed

This is the one category states generally don't license, because it isn't care — it's housing with services. That means no official list exists, and any directory claiming a complete one built it from marketing material. Ours is curated, and every entry names the public source we verified it against.

Where you can browse them

In Oregon we keep a source-verified register of independent-living communities, because no state register tracks them: independent living in Oregon.

What does this cost?

The published national median for assisted living is $6,200 a month (CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey, 2025). Nursing care runs $9,581 a month for a semi-private room; in-home care $6,673; adult day care $2,058. Prices vary enormously by state and city — a national median sets your expectations, it is not a quote.

No directory can honestly quote you a price for a specific community. Operators don't publish their rates, and the rates change without notice — so a per-community number on a site like this one is either out of date or bait to get your phone number. The only current price is the one the community gives you. Medicaid can cover care in communities marked “Accepts Medicaid” if the person qualifies; your state's licensing portal and the community itself can confirm current rates.

Method: 211,985 long-term-care providers surveyed, July–November 2025. We publish regional medians because their source can be checked, and no per-community prices at all.

Still deciding?

The care assessment takes two minutes and no contact details, and the other levels are here: assisted living, residential care, memory care, nursing homes, adult foster care.