The 5 Best Assisted Living Facilities in Bella Vista, AR for 2024

Active seniors who need some help with daily living activities may opt to reside in an assisted living facility where their personal care, housekeeping, transportation and other needs can be met. Assisted living is often a good choice for seniors who don’t require the around-the-clock medical care of a nursing home but who can no longer live a completely independent lifestyle. Seniors in the Bella Vista area pay an average of $3,900 per month for assisted living care, which is about 10% more expensive than the state average. 

This guide provides average monthly care costs, benefits and drawbacks of retiring in Bella Vista and free resources available to seniors.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Long Term Care, is the state agency that oversees assisted living in Arkansas. The office is responsible for licensing the various levels of assisted living facilities, in addition to ensuring that staffing requirements are met, regular inspection surveys are done and other state laws, policies and regulations are being followed.

• Mercy Emergency Department in Bella Vista is a freestanding emergency center that provides state-of-the-art urgent care 24/7. Certified to operate as a traditional hospital-based ER with nine beds, Mercy ED is also outfitted with its own lab, X-ray machine, CT scan and medical helicopter landing pad. Seniors who suffer a fall, heart attack or other life-threatening injury have access to this emergency room that’s staffed by qualified physicians and advanced technologies. 
• The Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Arkansas provides a variety of services available to seniors living in Bella Vista, including adult day centers, transportation senior activity centers, an ombudsman program and care coordination. 
• The cost of living in Bella Vista is 9.3% more affordable than the U.S. average, making this Arkansas town a good choice for seniors who are on a budget or living on a fixed income. 
• With an average of 221 sunny days a year, Bella Vista enjoys 16 more days of sunshine than the U.S. average. The climate in this part of Arkansas is pleasant and comfortable for seniors who enjoy the four seasons and don’t mind the yearly average snowfall of 11 inches. 
• Seniors can feel very safe living in Bella Vista, where the crime rate is low in comparison with U.S. and Arkansas state averages for both violent and property crime rates.
• Arkansas is a tax-friendly state for retired people. Social Security benefits are not taxed by the state, and property taxes are some of the lowest in the country. 

Seniors residing in assisted living facilities in Bella Vista can expect to pay an average of $3,900 per month according to Genworth’s Cost of Care Survey. The average monthly cost for assisted living within the state of Arkansas is $3,500, while across the nation costs average $4,300 per month, although Bella Vista’s costs are about 10% lower than the national average. 

Bella Vista’s average costs for assisted living at $3,900 per month are a bit higher than the state as a whole and higher than many nearby cities, although rates are about $400 per month less expensive than U.S. median costs for assisted living. More affordable assisted living is available about an hour north of Bella Vista, over the state border in Joplin, MO, where monthly costs average $1,400 less per month. Other nearby cities in Arkansas, such as Little Rock, Fort Smith, Jonesboro and Hot Springs are also less costly than assisted living in Bella Vista.

Seniors in Bella Vista can opt to reside in settings other than assisted living facilities and still receive different forms of health and personal care assistance on a long-term basis. A more expensive option for seniors who need help with day-to-day activities or health care but want to continue living in their own homes are homemaker services or a home health aide at an average monthly cost of $4,767 for either service. Seniors who need the higher levels of care provided in a nursing home can expect to pay $6,007 for a semiprivate room or $6,920 for a private room. 

While many families use their own funds or personal assets to pay for assisted living, there are plenty of additional options to cover these costs. Some additional ways to finance assisted living costs include:

• Veterans Benefits
• Life Insurance Policy
• Long-Term Care Insurance
• Reverse Mortgage

For more information about different ways to finance assisted living, visit our Assisted Living in Arkansas page.