The 10 Best Memory Care Facilities in Royal Oak, MI for 2024

Royal Oak, an age-friendly Detroit suburb, has a senior community that accounts for 14% of its 57,000 residents. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, those in this age group are significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer's, a fatal disease that’s projected to increase by 16% in Michigan in coming years. Fortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a more optimistic picture of Alzheimer’s trends in the Royal Oak region. According to the CDC, Alzheimer’s was the underlying cause of 6.4% of deaths in the region in 2016. Four years later, it linked 5.8% of deaths to this disease. While the total number of deaths in the county increased by 28% during that time, Alzheimer’s-related deaths went up by 17%.

The Royal Oak region has numerous residential dementia care facilities for seniors living with Alzheimer's and related disorders. These facilities have highly trained caregivers and promote a high standard of living for residents through interactive brain games, life skills stations and failure-free recreational activities. 

This guide provides more information on memory care in Royal Oak and highlights local dementia resources.

 

The Michigan Department of Human Services licenses and regulates memory care facilities as homes for the aged in Royal Oak and the rest of the state. This department enforces rules for staffing and safety features, and it requires dementia care facilities to publish information related to admission and discharge criteria, the care planning process and continuing education policies for staff.

 

• Royal Oak is a member of the AARP Age-Friendly Network, meaning that its leaders have implemented changes to create a welcoming community for residents of all ages, especially seniors. The city has a livability score of 53 based on metrics such as access to ADA-accessible transportation services and area amenities, such as grocery stores and parks. This may make the city a favorable option for those with dementia.
• Seniors in Royal Oak don’t pay state income taxes on their Social Security benefits, and the state provides deductions ranging from $20,000 to $54,404 on other forms of retirement income. The state’s retiree-friendly tax laws may make memory care in Royal Oak financially viable for some seniors.
• In general, the cost of living in Royal Oak is 5% lower than in the nation as a whole, which may benefit prospective memory care residents with limited care budgets. While grocery costs are slightly higher than in a typical U.S. city, utilities cost about 6% less here and housing is 26% less expensive.
• Royal Oak is home to Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, an award-winning nonprofit hospital with over 1,100 beds. This teaching hospital has nearly four dozen residency and fellowship programs and a Level I adult trauma designation. Additionally, its neurology program is among the best in Southeast Michigan.
• In Royal Oak, the warm season lasts from May 27 through September 17 and brings daytime temperatures ranging between 74 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Similarly, the cold season lasts about three and a half months, beginning at the end of November and lasting through March 10. During this time, the weather is cool, with daytime temperatures between 33 and 43 degrees Fahrenheit. To keep residents comfortable year-round, many memory care facilities have individual climate controls in residents’ rooms.
• The American Lung Association gives Oakland County, where Royal Oak is located, an A for 24-hour particle pollution and a D for ozone pollution, indicating subpar air quality. Fortunately, many memory care facilities have air purification systems to help residents stay comfortable and healthy.

 

Note: Residential memory care is usually offered in assisted living facilities, and in general, memory care rates tend to be 20-30% higher than assisted living rates. No national database currently tracks memory care costs in the United States, so we've estimated the monthly memory care costs listed below by adding 25% to the rates listed in Genworth's 2021 Cost of Care Survey.

In Royal Oak, memory care residents pay $5,269 per month for housing and dementia support.

 

Memory care facilities in Royal Oak charge average monthly rates of $5,269 for services, which is competitive compared to Michigan’s norm of $5,313 and 6% lower than the national average. In addition to this, local care costs are economical compared to monthly fees in nearby communities, with seniors in Lansing paying slightly higher monthly rates of $5,391 for services and residents in Flint paying $5,469 for dementia care. In Monroe, the difference in monthly fees is even more significant, with memory care residents in this city paying 20% more for care than seniors in Royal Oak, and in Ann Arbor, monthly fees exceed care costs in Royal Oak by 45%.

 

Memory care facilities in Royal Oak charge $5,269 for care. This is moderate compared to other senior care options in the city, with older adults paying $5,720 for in-home care and home health care and those who live in nursing homes paying $8,882 for services. Assisted living is considerably more cost-effective at $4,215, and those who attend adult day health care pay $1,430 for care.

 

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 Michigan page.