The 10 Best Assisted Living Facilities in Clearwater, FL for 2023

Clearwater is a Gulf Coast city that’s popular with seniors. This was confirmed by the 2020 census, which found 22.5% of its 117,000 residents are aged 65 and older. For comparison, the national average is 16.5%. The city’s beach, famed for its powdery white sand, is one of the draws, but there are others. The downtown area has many entertainment venues, such as the historic Capitol Theatre — which is renowned for its great acoustics — and vibrant shopping experiences, including The Market Marie.

There is an abundance of assisted living facilities in Clearwater. They’re suitable for seniors who find living at home increasingly challenging. Although each facility is unique, common features include staff trained to help seniors struggling with daily routines, such as personal grooming and housekeeping. The typical monthly fee for a placement in Clearwater is $3,350, which is more affordable than normal for Florida, where the average senior pays around $4,000.

This guide considers the advantages and disadvantages of living in Clearwater and compares the costs of assisted living with some nearby cities. It also looks at costs for other types of senior care and lists some useful resources for seniors in residential care facilities.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration issues licenses to assisted living facilities that satisfy all of its requirements. These include the owner passing an ALF Director’s course and a level 2 FBI background check. The facility must be properly staffed for its resident capacity and obtain all the required fire safety, insurance and health and safety compliance documents.

• The Transportation Disadvantaged Program offers qualifying seniors a low-cost way of getting around Pinellas County. To be eligible, the senior must be a county resident, have an income no more than 150% of the Federal Poverty Level and have no other way to get transportation. For $11, seniors can get an unlimited pass to ride the PTSA’s wheelchair-accessible buses. There is also a door-to-door service that costs $3 per one-way trip.
• According to Sperling’s Best Places, Clearwater’s healthcare cost index of 101.4 is above the state and national averages. However, when accounting for a range of living costs, the city has an index of 98.3, which is much lower than the state average of 102.8. 
• Florida’s sunny days contribute to the state’s attraction for seniors, and Clearwater doesn’t disappoint, with 240 of them per year. Temperatures range from a pleasantly cool 52 degrees in January to a comfortably warm 90 degrees in July. Precipitation, which includes around 51 inches of rainfall annually, happens on about 105 days per year, watering the city’s green parks, lush lawns and plentiful trees.
• Clearwater has a better-than-average health cost index of 98.5. This is due to a combination of factors, such as having very good air quality and more Medicare-registered physicians than normal for a city of its size. Clearwater also scores highly for its environmental work as an active participant in the EPA’s Superfund program.
• Crime in Clearwater is slightly above average for Florida and relatively in keeping with the medians for property and violent crime across the country. Generally, neighborhoods furthest from Old Tampa Bay and coastal areas experience lower levels of crime. 
• Florida’s reputation as a tax-friendly state for retirees is well-earned. The state doesn’t tax retirement incomes, which includes Social Security benefits, pensions and IRAs, and it doesn’t have an inheritance tax or estate tax. Seniors who want more specific tax information relating to their finances should contact the nearest taxpayer service center in Tampa. 

According to the 2021 Genworth Cost of Care Survey, Clearwater is one of the more affordable cities in Florida for assisted living. Its seniors typically save $650 per month when compared to the state median and $1,150 when measured against the national average.

Clearwater is at the cost-effective end of the scale for central Florida. The only city within a few hours’ radius with lower fees is Lakeland, where the median is $3,300. It’s more likely that seniors comparing cities in the area will encounter higher costs because their peers in Orlando typically pay $4,000. Down the coast in North Port, fees average $4,145.

At $3,350, assisted living can be a financially attractive option when compared to homemaker and home health aide services, which typically charge $4,767 and $4,862, as the latter two still require the senior to pay for their home. The most affordable choice is adult day health care, at $2,123. Nursing homes are significantly more costly, with a typical private room costing $9,885 per month, with semiprivate ones usually around $8,927.

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 Florida page.