The 10 Best Assisted Living Facilities in Carpinteria, CA for 2024

Assisted living is a senior care option for aging adults who require limited daily assistance and nursing care but want a less restrictive living environment with social opportunities. The average monthly cost of assisted living in Carpinteria is $5,845, which is higher than the state average and much higher than the national average.

This guide covers assisted living in Carpinteria, including a rundown of the average costs of assisted living among nearby cities and costs of other senior care options. It also provides several benefits and drawbacks of retiring in Carpinteria and some free aging-related resources.

The Senior Care Licensing Program monitors and licenses assisted living facilities in Carpinteria and throughout California. It has field staff in 13 regional offices around the state who perform regulatory inspections. The Santa Barbara Adult and Senior Care Unit within the Woodland Hills North Adult and Senior Care Regional Office covers all of Santa Barbara County, including Carpinteria.

• California exempts Social Security income from state income taxes, which benefits seniors in Carpinteria. However, most other retirement benefits are taxed and income taxes are hefty for seniors with higher incomes. For seniors with lower or mid-range incomes, income tax rates are much lower.
• California’s average combined sales tax rate is 8.82%, but sales taxes in Santa Barbara County is 7.75% thanks to a county tax rate of 1.75% combined with the state rate of 6%. The county boasts a lower sales tax rate than 68.5% of other cities and counties in California. Two common expenses for seniors, groceries and prescription drugs, are completely exempt from sales taxes.
• Although Carpinteria doesn’t have a local hospital, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital is just 12 miles down the road. This regionally ranked facility is highly rated when it comes to caring for ailments often afflicting seniors, including heart failure, heart attacks, hip fractures, kidney failure, strokes and pneumonia. It also rated high in performing colon cancer surgery, lung cancer surgery, back surgery and knee replacement.
• Seniors may feel safer living in Carpinteria because the city has lower crime rates compared to the national and state averages. Rates range from one to 100 with one representing the lowest crime rate. Carpinteria was rated an 11.1 on the scale for violent crime and 27.2 for property crime. Comparatively, the national average is 22.7 and 35.4, respectively, while the state rates are 25.2 and 37.1.
• Since Carpinteria is located on the central coast, seniors benefit from the ideal California climate. Primarily, this means no snow and mild winters and summers. Carpinteria earned a 9.7 out of 10 on the comfort index for its summer climate, which includes an average high of 73 degrees in the warmest month. It also rated an 8.2 for its winter climate with an average overnight low of 43 in January, the coldest month. It’s considered one of the more pleasant places to live in California.

According to Genworth’s 2020 Cost of Care Survey, the average monthly cost of assisted living in Carpinteria is $5,845. This cost is higher than the state average by $845 and higher than the national average of $4,300 by more than $1,500 per month.

Carpinteria’s higher-than-average cost of assisted living doesn’t stack up well against other nearby cities. It’s higher than San Diego’s cost by nearly $1,300 per month and it costs more than both Los Angeles and Santa Maria, which mirrors the state’s average of $5,000. It’s even higher than San Luis Obispo but only by $45 per month.

Seniors wanting to compare their senior care options in Carpinteria quickly discover that adult day health care is the lowest cost option at only $1,766 but it provides the least amount of care. For those wanting care provided at home, the cost is lower than assisted living at $5,339 per month for either homemaker services or home health aides. Seniors who need extensive personal care and medical supervision may opt for nursing home care, which has the highest cost at $8,365 per month for semi-private rooms and $9,885 for private rooms.

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 California page.