The 5 Best Assisted Living Facilities in Cleveland, TN for 2023

Cleveland, which is the seat of and the largest city in Bradley County, is home to about 45,500 residents, including about 7,235 seniors aged 65 or older. Located in extreme southeast Tennessee, about 30 miles from Chattanooga, Cleveland is a small Southern town at the base of the Appalachian and Great Smoky Mountains. Besides beautiful mountains and the nearby Ocoee River, the Cherokee National Forest is also partially within Cleveland’s borders. The Forest offers 625,000 acres of natural beauty and lots of year-round outdoor activities for active seniors to enjoy.

Seniors can age in place in assisted living facilities, which provide room and board, personal care and some medical services. Residents enjoy the combination of continued independence and assistive care when necessary. The average cost of assisted living in Cleveland is $4,264, which makes it higher than the state average for assisted living but slightly less than the national average.

This guide provides aging adults with information about assisted living in Cleveland, including a list of free senior resources and comparisons of the average costs of other senior care options. It also compares Cleveland’s average assisted living cost with other Tennessee cities and offers some benefits and drawbacks of retiring in this area.

Assisted living facilities in Cleveland are regulated by the Tennessee Department of Health’s Board for Licensing Health Care Facilities. The Department performs an inspection before issuing licenses. It also makes unannounced inspections within 15 months of a facility’s previous inspection and at other intervals as needed.

• The overall cost of living in Cleveland is more than 5% lower than the state average and 18% lower than the national average, making it a good place to stretch those retirement dollars. Specific areas with lower costs compared to the national average include 28% savings on transportation and 35% savings on housing.
• Retirees in Cleveland benefit from having a low overall tax burden. Kiplinger’s ranked Tennessee among the top 10 tax-friendly states for retirees in 2021. The state doesn’t charge any income tax, Social Security retirement benefits or other income received from retirement plans, such as pensions and 401(k) plans.
• Seniors in Cleveland may have a high sales tax burden, as Tennessee is one of four states with the second-highest statewide sales tax rate at 7%. However, the state doesn’t tax interest and dividends from investments, which attracts retirees who rely heavily on investment income. Tennessee also doesn’t tax income from wages, which benefits older adults who still work. Prescription drugs are tax-exempt, and groceries have a lower sales tax rate.
• Cleveland has a local hospital, which saves residents a trip to the nearest hospital in Chattanooga, about 24 miles away. Tennova Healthcare-Cleveland is a general medical and surgical facility with a medical surgical ICU and an on-site emergency room. It was rated high-performing in the treatment of COPD and has more than 220 providers practicing at the facility.
• Cleveland’s climate is considered continental with a strong subtropical influence. Summers are warm and humid, and winters are relatively mild but unpredictable. Cold air from the north can bring snow, but Cleveland only averages 2 inches per year compared to the state average of 28. The city does sometimes get freezing rain and ice storms, and it receives an above-average amount of annual rainfall.

According to Genworth’s Cost of Care Survey, the average cost of assisted living in Cleveland is $4,264 per month. This amount is $225 higher than Tennessee’s overall average. While it’s lower than the national average, the difference is only $36 per month

Cleveland’s cost of assisted living is on the high side when compared to other Tennessee cities, but the amount is lower than some. Compared to Nashville and Knoxville, Cleveland’s average cost is higher by $544 and $364, respectively. Alternately, the average cost in Cleveland is lower than Memphis by $127, and it beats Chattanooga’s average by $251 per month.

Assisted living is but one type of senior care, and retirees may require more, or less, care than what’s provided in these facilities. For those needing less care, adult day health care runs an average of $1,733 per month in Cleveland. Depending on their needs, seniors may opt to receive care in their homes. Homemaker services run an average of $4,076 per month, while home health aides cost about $4,601. Seniors needing regular medical care and more personalized support may require nursing home care, which is the most expensive option. Nursing home facilities run about $6,844 per month for semiprivate rooms and $7,467 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 Tennessee page.