Free senior care guidance for Triangle families. No cost to you, ever.
Call (984) 205-2995
Raleigh Senior Advisor

In-Home Care vs. Assisted Living

North Carolina's 2025 CareScout medians put home care around $5,720/month for a 44-hour week versus $6,496/month for assisted living -- the crossover point that decides which one costs less.

Get matched freeCall (984) 205-2995
Home›Comparisons›In-Home Care vs. Assisted Living
Short answer

NC's 2025 CareScout medians put non-medical home care around $5,720/month for a typical 44-hour week, versus $6,496/month for assisted living. Home care usually wins at low weekly hours; a community usually wins once care needs pass roughly 40-50 hours a week.

When home usually wins

A few hours a day, medication reminders, help with errands and light housekeeping -- home care lets someone stay in a familiar house for meaningfully less than a community's flat monthly rate.

When a community usually wins

Once overnight supervision or near-continuous care is needed, hourly home care costs compound past what a flat-rate community charges, and staffing continuity becomes harder to guarantee with a home agency than with a community's own staff.

Questions families ask

What exactly does the CAP/DA Medicaid waiver cover for a parent aging in place in Apex?

The Community Alternatives Program for Disabled Adults (CAP/DA) is North Carolina's Medicaid 1915(c) home- and community-based services waiver for adults 18+ who need a nursing-facility level of care but want to remain at home. It covers up to 18 in-home and community-based services, including adult day health, in-home aide services, home modifications and equipment, meal preparation, respite care, personal emergency response systems, and consumer-directed care that lets the beneficiary hire and supervise their own caregiver.

How do I actually apply for CAP/DA if my mother lives in Raleigh?

Apply for long-term-care Medicaid generally through Wake County's Department of Social Services, and apply for CAP/DA specifically by contacting a local CAP/DA case management entity serving Wake County; the CAP/DA program is administered overall by the NC Division of Health Benefits/NC Medicaid within NCDHHS. The NC Medicaid Contact Center (888-245-0179) can help direct families to the correct local starting point.

Is CAP/DA the same thing as Medicaid paying for assisted living in Wake County?

No. CAP/DA is a home- and community-based waiver that serves people living in their own home, not in a licensed adult care home or assisted living facility, so it does not pay for assisted living room and board or services. North Carolina has no Medicaid waiver dedicated to assisted living; room and board there is instead covered through the non-Medicaid State/County Special Assistance program.

What is State/County Special Assistance, and is it a Medicaid waiver?

State/County Special Assistance (SA) is a state- and county-funded cash supplement that helps pay the room-and-board cost for eligible low-income residents of licensed adult care homes and family care homes — it is explicitly not a Medicaid waiver or Medicaid program itself. SA recipients do become automatically eligible for Medicaid, which then covers separate medical and personal-care costs, but the SA cash payment for room and board comes from state and county funds, not the Medicaid program.

Not sure where to start?

Answer five questions and a local advisor will come back with senior care options in your area that actually fit your situation and budget. It is free, and there is no obligation.

Find care options
Find senior care — free