Assisted Living Communities in Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie’s seniors pay just $85 more than seniors in the rest of the country pay for assisted living services at $4,585 per month, compared to the nationwide cost of $4,500. The state average is $485 lower than Erie’s median. Assisted living costs in Pittsburgh, to the south of Erie, are considerably lower at $3,250, costing seniors $1,335 less for these services than Erie’s seniors pay. Youngstown has the region’s highest assisted living median of $4,738, while Altoona, east of Pittsburgh, has a care cost of $4,030, just $70 lower than Pennsylvania’s average of $4,100 monthly. State College, in Pennsylvania’s center, has the third-highest assisted living care cost in the region at $4,518 per month.

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 Pennsylvania page.

Seniors in Erie pay $4,585 for assisted living services. In-home care and home health care provide similar assistance in seniors’ homes with the activities of daily living, and both types of care cost $4,767 per month. Nursing home care has a considerably higher cost of $9,216 per month for a shared room.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health oversees assisted living facilities in Erie and the rest of the state. It provides important updates on state rules for long-term care facilities and has a state-assisted living facility database. It also operates a complaint hotline to support residents’ safety and comfort.

• In a cost-of-living comparison based on a 100-point index, Erie scores 74.6, meaning its living costs are 25.4% lower than the U.S. average. Erie also has a cost of living 17.9% lower than the typical resident of Pennsylvania does at 92.5. This means Erie is one of the most affordable cities in Pennsylvania to live in and helps seniors spend less of their available income.
• Erie has property tax rates that are significantly higher than the U.S. median of 2.79% and average 3.64% of total income. City sales taxes of 7% are also higher than the national average of 6.97%, which may need to be taken into account when considering the costs related to long-term care. However, Erie benefits from property taxes that average 1.83% of property value and are lower than the countrywide median of 1.09%. Pennsylvania additionally has a state income tax average of 3.07%, compared to the national average of 3.38%.
• The Going Places Transportation Program in collaboration with the Department of Senior Services offers a curb-to-curb service for seniors who are unable to use conventional means of transport. It provides transportation for medical appointments, grocery stores, banking and social activities. Financial contributions towards the service are voluntary.
• Erie has more affordable health care than the rest of the country, scoring 87.9 on a 100-point index compared to the U.S. score of 100. There are also seven hospitals within close proximity of the city center, including Erie VA Medical Center, Metro Health Center and UPMC Hamot, which is highly rated for treating heart failure and COPD. There are also numerous home health care providers in the city.
• Erie experiences cold winters and warm, mild summers due to the tempering effect of its lakeside location, offering seniors many opportunities to take part in outdoor activities. The city gets 44 inches of rain annually compared to the U.S. median of 38 inches per year but also has 48 fewer days of sun per year than the nationwide average.