The 5 Best Memory Care Facilities in St Joseph County, IN for 2024

St. Joseph County is located in northern Indiana near the Michigan border and has a large senior community that makes up over 15 percent of the county's population of 270,000 residents. According to data published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, almost 13 percent of seniors in this county who receive Medicare benefits are living with Alzheimer's disease or dementia. This is compared to the national rate of 11 percent of senior Medicare beneficiaries with this diagnosis.  

There are three memory care facilities in St. Joseph County, two of which are in Mishawaka and one of which is in Granger. These facilities are licensed by the Family and Social Services Agency Division of Aging and are officially called dementia special care units.

• St. Joseph County experiences warm summers with highs in the low-80s and very cold winters with lows near 17 degrees. The region gets 64 inches of annual snowfall, largely due to the lake effect snow that it receives due to its proximity to Lake Michigan, which may make winter travel difficult for families visiting local loved ones in memory care.
• St. Joseph County's property crime and violent crime rates are higher than the national averages, which may be a consideration for families who are helping their senior loved ones relocate to memory care here. On a 100-point scale, with a high score indicating high crime, the county's violent crime rate is 46.9 and the property crime rate is 44.5, compared to the national averages of 31.1 and 38.1, respectively.
• The air quality in St. Joseph County is relatively poor, which may be a concern for seniors with respiratory illnesses or cardiovascular disease. The American Lung Association gave the county an F for ozone pollution and a C for short-term particle pollution. 
• In Indiana, including St. Joseph's County, seniors do not pay state income tax on Social Security benefits, even those that are taxable on the federal level. All other types of retirement income are fully taxable, however, which may impact seniors' memory care budgets in St. Joseph County.

Memory Care costs in St Joseph County start around $4,836 per month on average, while the nationwide average cost of memory care is $5,694 per month.

It’s important to note that memory care rates in St Joseph County and the surrounding suburbs can vary widely based on factors such as location, the level of care needed, apartment size and the types of amenities offered at each community.

Learn more about these programs, plus who’s eligible, on our Memory Care in Indiana page.

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 Indiana page.

St Joseph County-area memory care communities must adhere to the comprehensive set of state laws and regulations that all memory care communities in Indiana are required to follow. Visit our Memory Care in Indiana page for more information about these laws.