The 5 Best Memory Care Facilities in Fort Collins, CO for 2024

In Fort Collins, about 11% of the city’s 170,000 people are aged 65 and over. Despite the city’s relatively small senior community, Alzheimer’s disease is a serious threat to public health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2016, 10.7% of deaths in the region were linked to this disease. In 2020, that percentage was even higher at 11.4%. The total number of deaths in the region increased by 18% during that four-year period, but the number of Alzheimer’s-related deaths went up by nearly 26%.

To meet the needs of seniors and families affected by Alzheimer’s, many residential facilities in Fort Collins offer dementia care. This level of care includes around-the-clock monitoring, medication reminders and assistance, individualized service plans and daily meals. Dementia care facilities may also use dementia-informed therapies and have failure-free social and recreational opportunities that support engagement and cognitive health.

Through this guide, readers can learn more about dementia care in Fort Collins, including how much facilities charge for specialized memory services and options that may help them pay for care.

The Health Facilities and Emergency Medical Services Division, which is part of the Colorado Department of Public Health, oversees, regulates and licenses assisted living facilities that offer memory care services in Fort Collins and the rest of the Centennial State. 

• Of course, seniors considering living in Colorado are aware of how cold the Centennial State gets. Fort Collins is similarly cold, featuring an average January low of 15.3 degrees, substantially colder than the national average of 21.7 degrees. The city also sees lots of snowfall, averaging 48 inches per year, 71% more than the national average of 28 inches. Paradoxically, Fort Collins sees 16% more sunshine than the U.S. average (205 days), typically recording 237 sunny days per year.
• Home prices in Fort Collins are 68.6% higher than the U.S. median ($291,700), currently sitting at an average of $487,800. Fortunately, seniors considering retiring in Fort Collins can sidestep this cost by moving to a memory care community. Memory care facilities’ monthly costs typically include all costs of living, such as housing, dining and transportation.
• Fort Collins is immediately east of a national forest, which is home to a short string of mountains. These mountains can readily be seen from most of Fort Collins, occupying the city’s western horizon. Seniors in the city can appreciate living next to such beautiful mountains.
• The BestPlaces Health Cost Index identifies the costliness of health care services in cities around the country. With a score of 100 being the U.S. average, Fort Collins receives a BestPlaces Health Cost Index score of 93.2, meaning health care services rendered here cost an average of 6.8% less than what the average American health care provider would charge.
• According to U.S. News & World Report, Fort Collins is home to the fourth-best hospital in Colorado: UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital. The hospital is considered nationally ranked in one specialty and high performing in one specialty and six procedures and conditions. Denver, just 60 miles south of Fort Collins, is home to the state’s fourth- and seventh-best hospitals. Even though Fort Collins has slightly fewer physicians per capita (207 per 100,000 residents) than the national average (210 per 100,000), seniors in Fort Collins should have no trouble accessing high-quality health care.

Assisted living providers offer memory care as an additional service, typically charging 20-30% more than for standard assisted living care. Due to a lack of authoritative resources about memory care costs in the United States, we’ve pulled average assisted living costs from Genworth’s 2021 Cost of Care Survey and increased them by 25% to estimate the costs listed below.

On average, memory care providers in Fort Collins charge $5,000 per month. This rate is $938 below Colorado’s statewide average ($5,938) and $625 less than the national average ($5,625). Cities in Colorado charge anywhere from $6,875 per month (Denver) to $4,500 (Greeley). Colorado Springs averages $5,829 in monthly memory care costs, whereas memory care providers in Pueblo charge an average of $4,750 per month for their services.

Adult day care is the most affordable senior care option in Fort Collins, costing just $2,773 per month. Assisted living care costs around $4,000, whereas home care and home health care providers both charge around $6,101 per month. Nursing home care is by far the most expensive senior care option available to seniors in Fort Collins, costing between $9,079 for semiprivate accommodations and $9,785 for private accommodations.

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

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

For more information about different ways to finance memory care, visit our Memory Care in Colorado page.