Long-Term Care Cost Calculator
Estimate total cost of long-term care with inflation.
How Much Does Long-Term Care Cost?
Long-term care includes nursing home care, assisted living, memory care, and in-home care when someone can no longer fully care for themselves. Costs vary widely by type of care, location, and level of support. A semi-private nursing home room might run $80,000–$100,000+ per year in many areas; assisted living often $50,000–$70,000; in-home care can be similar or higher depending on hours. Our calculator lets you enter an annual cost today, a number of years of care, and an inflation rate, then shows the total cost over that period and a year-by-year breakdown. Health care costs have historically risen faster than general inflation, so using a rate of 4–5% is common.
Planning for long-term care
Many people underestimate how much they might need. Medicare does not cover long-term custodial care; Medicaid kicks in only after you have spent down assets. Options include self-funding from savings, long-term care insurance, hybrid life/LTC policies, or relying on family. Use this calculator to see the magnitude of costs, then consider how it fits with your retirement plan. Our life insurance calculator can help with coverage needs, and our retirement calculator and retirement income calculator help you plan for income and withdrawals.
Why inflation matters
If you are 50 today and might need care in 30 years, today’s $80,000/year could be $250,000+ in today’s dollars at 4% inflation. Our calculator applies inflation year by year so you see the rising cost and the total nominal amount you might need. For inflation on other expenses, use our inflation calculator.
Long-Term Care Calculator FAQ
Costs vary by type and location. Nursing homes often $80,000–$100,000+ per year; assisted living $50,000–$70,000; in-home care similar or more depending on hours. Our calculator lets you enter an annual cost and project total cost over multiple years with inflation.
Medicare generally does not cover long-term custodial care (help with daily activities). It may cover limited skilled nursing or rehab after a hospital stay. Medicaid can cover long-term care but typically only after you have spent down assets to state limits.
Health care costs have historically risen faster than general inflation. Many planners use 4–5% for long-term care. You can try a range in the calculator to see how sensitive the total cost is to the inflation assumption.
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Use our retirement calculator for Monte Carlo simulations and country-specific planning.
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