The 3 Best Memory Care Facilities in Dona Ana County, NM for 2024

Home to about 215,600 people, 15.4 percent of whom are aged 65 and older, Doña Ana County is a small agricultural center along the Rio Grande Valley. Of the county’s senior residents, 10.8 percent have Alzheimer’s disease or another form of cognitive impairment. Doña Ana County offers three memory care facilities in the city of Las Cruces to accommodate these people.

The Memory and Aging Center at UNM estimates approximately 43,000 people in New Mexico are living with dementia. Special memory care units are housed in Assisted Living Facilities for Adults (ALFs) that must meet additional requirements relating to care coordination, staffing, employee training, documentation, security, and other provisions. The New Mexico Department of Health, Division of Health Improvement, Health Facility Licensing and Certification Bureau licenses and regulates ALFs.

• Dona Ana County's cost of living is 8.2 percent lower than the U.S. average. Housing and transportation costs are especially inexpensive in the county, coming in at 13 percent less than the national average. This can be helpful for families in the area needing to finance memory care for elderly loved ones with dementia.
• With only 11 inches of rain per year, 2 inches of snow and 293 sunny days on average, Dona Ana County offers the ideal moderate climate for seniors who dislike cold, wet weather.
• Violent crime rates (53.5) and property crime rates (50.9) are higher in Dona Ana County than the U.S. averages, (31.1 and 38.1, respectively). For ALFs, the state of New Mexico requires a secured environment to protect residents from external elements and to keep patients from wandering away from the facility. 
• Dona Ana County is home to several hospitals and medical centers in Las Cruces, including Advanced Care Hospital of Southern New Mexico, Memorial Medical Center and MountainView Regional Medical Center, in the event of medical emergencies or illness.

Memory Care costs in Dona Ana County start around $4,862 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 Dona Ana 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico page.

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