The Best Memory Care Communities in Shasta County, CA

People 65 years of age and older make up slightly more than one-fifth of Shasta County's population of about 175,000. Around 9 percent of these seniors have Alzheimer's disease or other dementia. For seniors and their families who are exploring memory care options, Shasta County offers three memory care facilities.

California State licenses these facilities as Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs), but RCFEs serving seniors with dementia must meet requirements for security and staff training that are above and beyond those required for RCFEs that provide assisted living only.

• Seniors may prefer to live in an area with temperate weather, especially if their new memory care facility offers outdoor areas for them to enjoy. Shasta County has more days with temperatures in the 70s than the average community in America. The area's comfort index is 77 out of 100, where higher is better, and the national average is 54.
  
• The American Lung Association, which measures pollutants in the air, gives Shasta County a passing grade for particle pollution. The county still has work to do, however, on ozone pollution, for which it received a failing grade. To protect their health, seniors in memory care facilities may want to avoid outdoor areas on days with poor air quality.
  
• Shasta County is more affordable than many areas in California, with overall living costs that are 56 percent less expensive than the state average. As a result, seniors with dementia and their families living in Shasta County may be able to put extra savings toward memory care.
  
• As seniors and their families know, taxes can put a dent in families' memory care budgets. Seniors living in Shasta County don't have to pay state income taxes on their Social Security benefits, but any other retirement income they receive is taxable. Shasta also has a county-wide sales tax rate of .25 percent, for a combined sales tax rate of 7.25 percent.
  
  

Memory Care costs in Shasta County start around $5,411 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 Shasta 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 California 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 California page.

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