The 5 Best Assisted Living Facilities in Poplar Bluff, MO for 2024

 

Offering scenic beauty and age-friendly recreational amenities in the Ozark foothills, Poplar Bluff is a welcoming community with numerous amenities and benefits for retirees. It has a large senior community that makes up a fifth of its 16,000 residents and is a popular retirement destination for those seeking affordability and access to health care. The city is home to one hospital and several assisted living facilities, further making it a viable option for retirees.

Assisted living is a practical option for older adults who need daily support. It includes housing, daily meals and recreational activities, along with individualized care plans with services such as medication management and assistance with dressing or grooming. On average, seniors in Poplar Bluff pay $2,538 per month for assisted living, making this city one of the most affordable in the state and nation for this level of care. By comparison, the state average is several hundred dollars higher at $3,000, and nationally, assisted living facilities charge $4,500.

This guide provides more information on assisted living in Poplar Bluff, including some of the benefits of moving to this city for long-term care. It also outlines some of the most common ways seniors pay for residential care.

In Poplar Bluff, assisted living facilities are regulated by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.  This department publishes laws that all facilities in the state follow related to housing, staff training and care planning, and it maintains a list of all licensed assisted living facilities in the state.

 

• Missouri’s state income tax laws are fairly friendly toward retirees and may make assisted living in Poplar Bluff financially feasible for some individuals. Social Security is considered taxable, but it’s fully exempted at the state level for retirees whose annual income is below $85,000. Additionally, those whose modified adjusted gross income is below $25,000 can claim a $6,000 exemption.
• Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center is located in the city proper and gives residents access to a full range of emergency, rehabilitative, primary and specialty services. There are about 249 doctors per 100,000 residents compared to 210 nationally, which may reduce wait times to see practitioners. To make it easy to attend medical appointments, many assisted living facilities provide transportation services to health care facilities in the region.
• Poplar Bluff scores 6.5 on a 10-point comfort index, compared to a national norm of 7.8. The most pleasant months are in late spring and mid-autumn when temperatures are in a comfortable range of 70 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Winters are cold with nighttime temperatures around 25 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and summers are very warm with daytime highs around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Fortunately, assisted living facilities typically have indoor and outdoor activities and events to help residents stay active year-round.
• Crime, especially property-related offenses, occurs considerably more often in Poplar Bluff than in a typical U.S. city. On a 100-point index, the city scores 95.1 for property crime, compared to the national score of 35.4. Violent crime is less common, although its score of 38.8 is still well above the national norm of 22.7. While this may be a concern for vulnerable seniors, assisted living facilities keep residents safe through surveillance cameras, alarm systems and high-security locks.
• The cost of living in Poplar Bluff is about 26% lower than the U.S. average and 12 percentage points below the Missouri norm, which may appeal to seniors seeking assisted living on a budget. Housing costs are particularly low compared to state and national averages and may drive down the cost of residential care.

 

On average, assisted living facilities in Poplar Bluff charge $2,538 per month for care.

In Poplar Bluff, assisted living residents pay $2,538 per month for housing and services. This is hundreds of dollars below Missouri’s norm of $3,000 and 44% below the national average, indicating that Poplar Bluff is among the most cost-effective places in the state and nation for residential services. Additionally, while seniors in Jefferson City pay more competitive rates of $2,075 for assisted living, other cities in the region typically have higher residential care costs. For example, in Columbia, monthly fees are about 10% higher than in Poplar Bluff. In Springfield, rates exceed the local norm by 28%, and in St. Louis, monthly care costs are even higher at $4,100.

Assisted living facilities in Poplar Bluff charge average monthly rates of $2,538 for care, making this the most economical long-term care option in the city. Adult day health care, which doesn’t include housing, costs about $300 more per month, and those who obtain private services at home pay $3,756 for in-home care and home health care. Nursing homes, which provide a higher degree of medical support than assisted living facilities, charge starting monthly rates of $5,232.

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 Missouri page.