Memory Care Communities in Charlotte, NC

The state of North Carolina on a whole is less than the Charlotte average at $5,013. The national average is $125 more than the Charlotte area. Comparing other cities around the state can help seniors locate the most affordable location to retire. Greensboro is one of the least expensive areas at $4,750, while Raleigh, Wilmington and Asheville are a few of the most expensive cities at $6,735, $6,568 and $6,248 respectively.

When trying to decide how to pay for assisted living, one of the first questions that comes up is "How much does it cost?" With the impact of inflation, it's more important than ever to have up-to-date information when making a financial plan for senior living. To help shed light on real senior living prices, Caring.com has compiled proprietary cost data from its network of more than 75,000 senior living providers to provide insight into the average cost of assisted living in Charlotte and 48 other cities in North Carolina.

Charlotte’s memory care communities often accept several public and private pay options, letting residents use a variety of strategies to pay for their care. 

• Medicaid: North Carolina Medicaid includes the Personal Care Services Program, which pays for up to 130 hours per month of assistance with daily living activities according to a beneficiary’s functional needs assessment. Memory care residents can use this benefit to pay for help with eating, dressing, bathing, toileting and mobility.
• Medicare: Although Medicare doesn’t pay for residential memory care services, it can help seniors reduce their monthly care fees by covering medical services individuals may receive, including medication administration, skilled nursing and rehabilitative therapies.  
• VA Benefits: The Veterans Administration oversees two programs, Aid and Attendance and Housebound, which provide an increased monthly pension for qualifying seniors to use at their discretion for memory care services. Additionally, the VA pays for memory care services through its Geriatrics and Extended Care program.  
• Private payments: Seniors in memory care have several private pay options for covering their monthly housing and service fees, including private and federal pension income, Social Security benefits and money from selling or renting out a home.

Senior living community prices in Charlotte depend on the level of care provided. Currently, assisted living averages $4,650, while independent living is nearly 40% cheaper at $2,824. Due to the extra supervision and specialized services seniors with dementia need, memory care is around a third more at $6,224. Factors such as location, on-site amenities and community reputation can also influence the prices individual senior living providers in the city charge.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Service Regulation monitors long-term care communities in Charlotte and throughout the state. The agency is responsible for overseeing nursing care, activities of daily living, health and safety, rooms and other necessary services.

Benefits

• Charlotte has several top-ranking hospitals supporting a healthy environment for older adults. These include the award-winning Carolinas Medical Center, which houses the Atrium Health Neurosciences Institute. The institute's Senior Care Memory Clinic features a multidisciplinary medical team that treats those with memory loss and dementia.  
• Mecklenburg County, where Charlotte sits, joined the AARP Age-Friendly Network in 2016. Local memory care residents and their families benefit from countywide initiatives such as home repair assistance programs, low-cost door-to-door transportation and age-friendly outdoor spaces.
• North Carolina exempts all Social Security benefits from income taxes. While the state taxes all other income at a flat rate of 4.75%, it has a large standard deduction of $12,750 for single filers in 2024. This may help seniors budget for local memory care services.

Drawbacks

• Charlotte’s annual crime rate of 42 incidents per 1,000 residents exceeds state and national norms and indicates a 1 in 24 chance of a resident becoming the victim of any type of crime. However, the crime rate aligns with norms in other cities with similar population sizes. To promote residents’ safety, memory care communities provide transportation escorts and careful on-site monitoring.
• Charlotte’s cost of living runs about 12.6% above the state norm and 2.5% over the national baseline. However, its Medicaid program provides some coverage for local memory care expenses, promoting affordability for qualifying seniors.