If you're pricing assisted living in Arkansas for a parent, plan around roughly $4,562 a month, a figure that sits among the most affordable in the country. Before that number drives a decision, know that Arkansas licenses two different levels of assisted living, and which one a place holds tells you whether it can serve your parent.

This guide walks through Arkansas's Level I and Level II licenses, what assisted living really costs here, and where Arkansas Medicaid does and doesn't fit.

In This Guide

What Assisted Living in Arkansas Is

If you've toured places in another state, you're probably expecting one category called "assisted living." Arkansas splits it into two levels, and the split is worth slowing down on before you compare buildings, because picking the wrong level can mean a forced move later when your parent's needs change.

Level II assisted living facilities are licensed by the Arkansas Department of Human Services Office of Long Term Care, part of its Division of Medical Services, under rules last revised January 1, 2024. The line the state draws between the two levels comes down to level of care: whether a facility may take a resident who is medically eligible for nursing-home care, or who is on Arkansas's Medicaid waiver for assisted living.

A Level I facility serves residents who aren't medically eligible for nursing-home level of care and who don't receive services through that waiver. Health care services may not be provided in a Level I facility except as Section 702 of the licensing rules provides. Think of it as the lighter-touch setting: help with daily tasks and a supportive community, for someone who is fairly independent.

A Level II facility serves residents who are medically eligible for nursing-home level of care or who receive services through the waiver, in apartment-style living units. This is the level built for someone whose needs are higher. It has a ceiling, though: a Level II facility may not admit a resident whose needs are greater than it is licensed to provide, and it may not serve residents who need 24-hour nursing services or who are bedridden.

The two levels are separate licenses with separately designated beds, not one stacked on the other. A resident who meets Level II criteria may not reside or be housed in a Level I unit or Level I bed, and a Level II facility must keep the residents who are nursing-home-level eligible in physically distinct parts or wings, separate from those who aren't.

Here's why getting this right first matters: a Level I facility can't keep a resident whose needs have grown into Level II territory. If your parent enters a Level I community and later needs nursing care, that can force a move at exactly the moment a move is hardest. Matching the level to your parent's current and likely-near-future needs spares you that.

Level I Level II
Who it serves Residents not medically eligible for nursing-home level of care, and not receiving the Medicaid assisted living waiver Residents medically eligible for nursing-home level of care, or receiving that waiver, in apartment-style living units
Health care services May not be provided, except as Section 702 of the rules allows Provided, but not to residents who need 24-hour nursing services or who are bedridden
Beds Separately designated Level I beds; a resident who meets Level II criteria may not be housed in one Nursing-home-level residents kept in physically distinct parts or wings
Living Choices waiver Participants may not reside here Participants must reside in a Level II facility

When a place tells you it's "assisted living," the question that actually tells you something is which level it's licensed for, not the word on the brochure. Ask, and confirm it against OLTC records.

What Assisted Living Costs in Arkansas

Arkansas runs well below the national line for assisted living, which is genuinely good news if you're budgeting. In the CareScout (Genworth) 2025 Cost of Care Survey, released in March 2026 and the most recent state-level data, the median cost of assisted living in Arkansas was about $54,744 a year, roughly $4,562 a month, compared with about $74,400 a year nationally. These are industry-survey medians, not government rates, so treat them as a budgeting starting point, not a quote. Costs vary within the state and rise as care needs grow.

Nursing-home care in Arkansas runs far above assisted living, which matters when you're weighing settings against each other. Here's how the survey's Arkansas medians compare on a monthly basis:

Setting Approximate monthly median
Assisted living $4,562
Non-medical caregiver (in-home, 44 hrs/week) $4,767
Nursing home, semi-private room $7,452
Nursing home, private room $8,060

One caution when you compare quotes. A median is a budgeting starting point, not a quote: what any one community charges varies with where care is delivered, the services needed, and the level of support required. Ask what the advertised price actually covers, because it is usually a base rate for the room, meals, and a basic level of help, with care billed in tiers on top of that, so a resident who needs more hands-on help pays more, sometimes a lot more. This matters even more in Arkansas, because a Level II resident with nursing needs sits at the upper end of those care tiers. Ask every place for a written breakdown: what's in the base rate, what's an add-on, how care needs get assessed, and how often the rate rises. If you're weighing how to cover those costs, our guide to how to pay for assisted living in Arkansas walks through the private-pay, benefit, and Medicaid options side by side.

Help Paying: Arkansas Medicaid

There is one Medicaid route into assisted living in Arkansas, and it is worth understanding precisely. The Living Choices Assisted Living waiver is a home- and community-based services waiver administered jointly by the Division of Aging and Adult Services and the Division of Medical Services. It pays enrolled providers a per diem for bundled services for each day a participant is in residence and receives services. To qualify, a person must be Medicaid-eligible, aged 21 or older, and determined by Medicaid to be eligible for an intermediate level of care in a nursing facility. Participants must live in a Level II facility, so a Level I community is off the table for it.

Here is what we can't tell you, and we'd rather say so than guess. What that per diem covers, and what a participant still owes each month toward their own housing and meals, is not something we can state from an Arkansas source. Don't assume it either way. Ask the facility and your DHS county office directly what a Living Choices participant is billed for, and get the answer in writing before anyone signs. Living Choices also carries eligibility bounds families miss: it serves Arkansans aged 21 through 64 with a physical disability, or aged 65 and older, and it requires an intermediate level of care as determined by the Office of Long Term Care. Someone who needs skilled care is not eligible for it.

To qualify for Arkansas's long-term-care Medicaid, the financial rules are strict. For a single applicant in 2026, the income standard is 300% of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) federal benefit rate, about $2,982 a month, and the countable-asset limit is $2,000, with a higher resource allowance protected for a spouse who stays in the community (at least $32,532 and at most $162,660 in 2026). Arkansas sets that income limit by rule, at three times the current SSI standard payment amount, so it resets each January. Be aware that the state's own long-term services and supports page still prints the 2023 figures, a $2,742.00 income limit and a spousal resource table topping out at $148,620; the 2026 federal standards above are the ones that govern in practice. Income over that limit is not automatically the end of it, and this is the part families most often get wrong: Arkansas is an income-cap state, so an applicant whose gross countable income exceeds the cap can still become eligible by establishing an income trust (a Miller or qualified income trust) and depositing the excess into it each month. A nursing-home resident on Arkansas Medicaid pays most of their monthly income toward the cost of care and keeps a personal needs allowance, which Arkansas sets at $40 a month for most facility residents, or $30 for a resident whose only income is SSI.

Two more things to plan for, because they can change whether and when someone qualifies. Arkansas applies a 60-month look-back to assets given away or transferred for less than fair value, which can create a penalty period that delays eligibility. And Arkansas runs a Medicaid Estate Recovery Program, which reaches the estate of someone who was 55 or older when they received nursing facility, home and community-based, or related services. Recovery can be made only after a surviving spouse has died, and only when there is no surviving child who is under 21 or blind or permanently and totally disabled. Home and community-based long-term care for older adults runs mainly through two waivers: ARChoices in Homecare for in-home personal care, and Living Choices for care in a Level II facility. Arkansas groups those with nursing facility coverage, a developmental-disabilities waiver, and PACE under one Long-Term Services and Supports umbrella, and DHS says these programs share common income and resource requirements. If your parent's income or assets are near the line, it's worth understanding the rules before anyone applies, because how money is handled in the years beforehand matters. Our guides to Medicaid Planning Strategies and the Medicaid Personal Needs Allowance, Explained cover the questions that come up most.

How to Vet a Facility

Records tell you the history; a visit tells you the present. Do both, and do the records first.

1
Step 1

Confirm the license level, not just the word

Ask whether the place is licensed Level I or Level II, and match that to your parent's current and likely-near-future needs. Check it against OLTC facility records. A Level I place can't keep a resident who has grown into nursing-level needs, so getting this right up front spares a forced move later.

2
Step 2

Get the base rate and the care tiers in writing

Ask what the headline price covers, what counts as an add-on, how care needs are assessed, and how often rates rise.

3
Step 3

Sort out who pays before you fall in love with a building

Be clear about how a stay would be funded and for how long, and if Living Choices is in the picture, ask the facility exactly which charges the waiver's per diem covers and which the resident is still billed for.

4
Step 4

Read the contract and termination terms, and tour around a mealtime

A place should put in writing what it provides and the conditions under which a resident could be asked to leave. Go around a mealtime, when staffing and the real feel of a building are hardest to stage.

Bring the contract home and read it without a salesperson in the room. If the refund, care, or termination terms are unclear, have a family member or an elder law attorney look it over before anyone signs. The goal isn't a perfect place. It's one whose limits you understand going in.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does assisted living cost in Arkansas?

The statewide median is about $4,562 a month, roughly $54,744 a year, in the 2025 CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey (released March 2026), which puts Arkansas among the most affordable states, well below the national median of about $74,400 a year. These are approximate industry-survey medians, not government rates, and the advertised price is usually a base rate before care add-ons, which rise with a resident's needs.

What is the difference between Level I and Level II assisted living in Arkansas?

A Level I facility serves residents who aren't medically eligible for nursing-home level of care and don't receive Arkansas's Medicaid assisted living waiver, and health care services may not be provided there except as Section 702 of the licensing rules allows. A Level II facility serves residents who are medically eligible for that level or who receive the waiver, in apartment-style living units, but it may not serve anyone who needs 24-hour nursing services or who is bedridden. The two are separate licenses with separately designated beds, and a resident who meets Level II criteria may not be housed in a Level I bed, so match the level to your parent's needs to avoid a forced move later.

Who regulates assisted living in Arkansas?

Level II assisted living facilities are licensed by the Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services, Office of Long Term Care (OLTC), under rules last revised January 1, 2024. Ask any facility you're considering which level it holds, and check its record with OLTC before you choose.

Does Arkansas Medicaid pay for assisted living?

Through one program. The Living Choices Assisted Living waiver pays enrolled providers a per diem for bundled services for each day a participant is in residence and receives services. To qualify, a person must be Medicaid-eligible, aged 21 or older, determined by Medicaid to need an intermediate level of care in a nursing facility, and living in a Level II facility. What that per diem covers, and what a resident is still billed for out of their own income, isn't something we can state from an Arkansas source, so ask DHS and the facility directly rather than assuming either way.

What are Arkansas Medicaid's financial limits for long-term care?

For a single applicant in 2026, the long-term-care Medicaid income standard is 300% of the SSI federal benefit rate, about $2,982 a month, and the countable-asset limit is $2,000, with a higher resource allowance protected for a spouse who stays at home (at least $32,532 and at most $162,660 in 2026). The Arkansas DHS page still shows the older 2023 figures, so use the 2026 standards. Income above the cap is not an automatic disqualification: Arkansas is an income-cap state, and an applicant over the limit can still become eligible by establishing an income trust. Arkansas also applies a 60-month look-back to asset transfers and runs an estate recovery program against the estates of people who were 55 or older when they received long-term-care services, with recovery barred while there is a surviving spouse, or a surviving child who is under 21 or blind or permanently and totally disabled.

Learn More

Care TypesAssisted Living by State: Costs, Rules and Medicaid CoverageWhat assisted living costs, how licensing and Medicaid coverage differ from state to state, plus a guide to all 50 states so you can jump straight to yours. Care TypesHow to Pay for Assisted Living in ArkansasAssisted living in Arkansas runs about $4,562 a month, and Medicaid never pays room and board. Here's how to layer income, VA, insurance, and Living Choices. Care TypesNursing Homes in ArkansasNursing homes in Arkansas in 2026: a semi-private room runs about $89,425 a year. How to check a facility's record, what it costs, and how Medicaid pays. Care TypesMemory Care in ArkansasArkansas has no separate memory care license. It regulates dementia care through staff training and an Alzheimer's Special Care Unit disclosure statement. Care TypesHome Care vs. Home Health in ArkansasHome care vs. home health in Arkansas: home health is skilled care Medicare covers, home care is non-medical help it won't, and who pays turns on that line. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Memory Care in ArkansasAssisted living vs. memory care in Arkansas: safety and cognition drive the choice. AL runs about $4,562/month; Arkansas has no separate memory-care license. MedicaidMedicaid Planning StrategiesSee which assets you keep, how the 5-year look-back works, and the legal moves that qualify you for Medicaid long-term care without losing the house. MedicaidMedicaid Personal Needs Allowance, ExplainedHow the Medicaid Personal Needs Allowance works in 2026: the $30 federal floor, state figures from $30 to $200, and how patient liability is calculated.

Find personalized help comparing Level I and Level II assisted living options in Arkansas at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

BC

Brevy Care Team

Expert eldercare guidance from Brevy's team of healthcare professionals and researchers.