Methodology & Sources
Last reviewed: July 14, 2026
Nursing Home Cost Guide is a planning tool, not a price quote or benefits determination. The calculator exposes every input so you can replace a national benchmark with a current written estimate from a facility in your area.
Baseline room costs
The default monthly values come from the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey. The survey reports 2025 national medians of $9,581 per month for a semi-private nursing-home room and $10,798 per month for a private room. A median is a midpoint across surveyed prices, not a prediction for a particular facility.
Geography, staffing needs, level of supervision, therapies, medication management, supplies, deposits, and services excluded from a base rate can materially change the amount charged. For that reason, the monthly-cost field is editable.
Calculation formula
For each selected year, the calculator multiplies the starting monthly cost by 12 and applies the chosen annual growth rate to that year. It then adds all yearly amounts:
total = Σ [monthly cost × 12 × (1 + annual growth rate)^year]
The first year uses an exponent of zero, so it equals the entered monthly cost multiplied by 12. The final-year monthly amount applies the same compound-growth assumption through the beginning of the final selected year. The default growth assumption is 3%, but it is editable and is not represented as a forecast.
What the estimate excludes
The result is a gross planning estimate. It does not subtract Medicare, Medicaid, long-term-care insurance, veterans benefits, or other coverage. It also does not add taxes, entrance fees, deposits, transportation, medications, therapies, personal supplies, or services billed separately.
Medicare and Medicaid boundaries
Medicare describes skilled nursing facility coverage as short-term and subject to eligibility, benefit-period, and qualifying-care rules. Review the current requirements on Medicare.gov rather than assuming it will pay for a long-term stay.
Medicaid is a major payer of long-term services and supports, but eligibility and covered services vary by state and personal circumstances. Start with the Medicaid long-term services and supports overview, then verify requirements with the appropriate state Medicaid agency.
Inflation and future-cost assumptions
The growth-rate input is a scenario control, not a substitute for an inflation index. Users who want to compare their assumption with broader price trends can consult the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. Nursing-home prices may change differently from the overall CPI.
Review and correction policy
We review baseline data and linked government guidance at least annually and when a cited source publishes a material update. Formula changes are tested with zero-growth and one-year cases before publication. If you identify an error or a broken source, please use the contact page and include the page URL, the input values, and the result you expected.