A nursing home in Georgia runs about $105,850 a year for a shared room, less than most states charge but more than almost any family can pay out of pocket for long. The good news is that Medicaid covers this care as an entitlement, with no waitlist, for those who qualify.

This guide walks through what a nursing home is, how to check a facility's quality before you choose one, what it actually costs in Georgia, and how Georgia Medicaid pays for long-term nursing-facility care.

In This Guide

What a Nursing Home Is

In Georgia, a nursing home is a skilled nursing facility. It provides 24-hour licensed nursing care, help with daily activities like bathing and dressing, and rehabilitation services such as physical, occupational, and speech therapy. That round-the-clock nursing is the line that separates it from assisted living. An assisted living community is non-medical and built for people who need help with daily tasks but not constant skilled care. A nursing home exists for medical needs that an assisted living facility can't legally meet, like managing a feeding tube, IV medications, or an open pressure wound.

People arrive at a nursing home along two different paths, and it's worth keeping them straight because they're paid for differently. The first is short-term rehabilitation, often after a hospital stay for a stroke, a fall, or surgery, where the goal is to recover and go home. Medicare helps with that short rehab stay under specific conditions, covering up to 100 days per benefit period after a qualifying three-day inpatient hospital stay, with a daily coinsurance after day 20. The second path is long-term custodial care, where someone needs ongoing nursing and supervision they can't safely get at home. Medicare does not pay for that long-term custodial stay. That is the care families worry about affording, and it's where Medicaid becomes the main payer.

How to Check a Facility's Quality

Quality varies widely from one nursing home to the next, and Georgia gives you several free tools to vet a place before you commit. Use more than one. Each shows you something the others don't.

Start with the state's own records. The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) licenses and inspects every nursing home in the state through its Healthcare Facility Regulation Division (HFRD), and it publishes license verification, inspection (survey) reports, and complaint information for each facility through its GaMap2Care "Find a Facility" database. Look up any facility you're considering and read its recent survey reports. Look for a pattern of repeat deficiencies rather than reacting to a single old citation.

Next, check the federal star rating on Medicare Care Compare. For every Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing home, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services publishes an overall rating from 1 to 5 stars, where 5 means much above average and 1 means much below average. That overall rating combines three things: health inspection results, staffing levels, and quality measures. The staffing component deserves a close look on its own. How many nurses and aides a facility keeps per resident shapes day-to-day care more than almost anything else.

Finally, know who to call when something seems wrong. The Georgia Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, run by the Department of Human Services Division of Aging Services, advocates for residents of nursing homes, personal care homes, and assisted living, and it investigates complaints. A local ombudsman can also be a candid, on-the-ground source of information about specific facilities in your area before you ever sign anything.

What a Nursing Home Costs in Georgia

Nursing-home care is expensive everywhere, but Georgia costs less than most of the country. According to the CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey, the 2024 statewide medians were about $105,850 a year for a semi-private room and about $113,150 a year for a private room. That semi-private figure runs roughly $5,475 below the national median. Those are medians from an industry survey, not government rates and not maximums. The figure at any one facility can land higher or lower depending on location, room type, and level of care.

Room type Georgia (year) Georgia (month) National (semi-private)
Semi-private room $105,850 $8,821 $111,325
Private room $113,150 $9,429 n/a

To put that in context, the same 2024 survey put Georgia assisted living at a median of about $4,940 a month, roughly $59,280 a year. A semi-private nursing-home room costs nearly double that. The gap is the reason families look hard at whether assisted living or in-home care can meet the need before moving to a nursing home, and it's the reason most long-term nursing-home residents end up relying on Medicaid rather than paying privately for years.

Does Georgia Medicaid Pay for Nursing Homes?

Yes, and this is the single most important thing to understand about paying for a Georgia nursing home. Georgia Medicaid is the primary public payer for long-term nursing-facility care in the state, and nursing-facility Medicaid is an entitlement with no waitlist. If a person qualifies financially and needs that level of care, Medicaid covers it. That sets it apart from Georgia's home- and community-based waivers, the Community Care Services Program (CCSP) and SOURCE, which help people stay at home but have limited enrollment slots and can carry a waitlist when those slots are full. The trade-off with the entitlement is that it pays for care in a facility, not at home.

Qualifying turns on an income test and an asset test, plus a medical finding that you need a nursing-facility level of care. Here is how the money side works in 2026.

Income. A single applicant's monthly income generally must be at or below $2,982, which is the 300% SSI special income limit for 2026. An applicant whose income runs above that cap is not simply locked out. Georgia, like other states, allows a qualified income trust (sometimes called a Miller trust) to hold the excess so the applicant can still qualify.

Assets. Countable assets generally must be at or below $2,000 for a single applicant. Some assets don't count toward that limit, including a primary home (within federal equity limits), one vehicle, and personal belongings. A married couple gets federal spousal-impoverishment protections, so the spouse staying in the community can keep a share of the couple's resources and income.

Estate recovery. One thing families are often blindsided by later: federal law requires every state, Georgia included, to try to recover what Medicaid paid for a recipient's long-term care from that person's estate after they die, including by placing a claim against the home that was exempt while they were alive. Recovery cannot happen while a surviving spouse is living, and there are hardship waivers, but a family that owns a home should understand estate recovery before applying. Our Georgia Medicaid estate-recovery guide covers how it works, and an elder-law attorney can advise on planning options.

Keep in mind that Georgia did not expand Medicaid, so adults generally qualify only through specific categories such as being aged 65 or older, blind, or disabled, rather than on income alone. Long-term-care Medicaid runs through the aged, blind, and disabled pathway, which is its own application track with its own income and asset rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a nursing home cost in Georgia?

The 2024 CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey put Georgia's median at about $105,850 a year (roughly $8,821 a month) for a semi-private room and about $113,150 a year (roughly $9,429 a month) for a private room. Those are statewide medians from an industry survey, not maximums, and Georgia runs below the national median.

Does Medicaid pay for nursing home care in Georgia?

Yes. Georgia Medicaid is the main public payer for long-term nursing-facility care, and that care is an entitlement with no waitlist for those who qualify financially and need that level of care. That sets it apart from the state's CCSP and SOURCE home- and community-based waivers, which can carry a waitlist because their enrollment slots are limited.

What are the Medicaid limits for a nursing home in Georgia in 2026?

A single applicant's monthly income generally must be at or below $2,982 and countable assets at or below $2,000. A primary home, one vehicle, and personal belongings generally don't count toward the asset limit, and a married couple gets federal spousal-impoverishment protections for the spouse who stays at home.

What if my income is over the $2,982 limit?

Being over the income cap doesn't automatically disqualify you. Georgia allows a qualified income trust, often called a Miller trust, that holds the income above the limit so the applicant can still qualify for nursing-facility Medicaid. Setting one up correctly is detailed work, so many families use an elder law attorney.

How do I check whether a Georgia nursing home is good?

Look the facility up on the state's GaMap2Care "Find a Facility" database for its license status, inspection (survey) reports, and complaint history. Then check its 1-to-5-star overall rating on Medicare Care Compare, paying attention to the staffing component, and contact your local Long-Term Care Ombudsman for on-the-ground information.

Learn More

Care TypesNursing Homes by State: Costs, Medicaid Coverage, and How to ChooseWhat a nursing home costs, how Medicaid pays for it, and how facilities are rated all share a federal floor but vary by state. See yours, with a 50-state guide. Care TypesAssisted Living in GeorgiaGeorgia has two assisted living licenses that decide what care your parent can get. See what each costs, what Medicaid covers, and how to vet a facility. Care TypesMemory Care in GeorgiaMemory care in Georgia: what a certified memory care center is, what it costs, how HB 987 protects residents, whether Medicaid helps, and how to vet one. MedicaidGeorgia Medicaid Long-Term CareGeorgia Medicaid long-term care in 2026: nursing facility coverage, five HCBS waivers (CCSP, SOURCE, ICWP, NOW, COMP), PACE, eligibility, and how to apply. MedicaidGeorgia Medicaid Personal Needs AllowanceGeorgia Medicaid's Personal Needs Allowance is $70 a month for nursing facility residents in 2026. Learn how the patient liability calculation protects it. MedicaidGeorgia Nursing Facility Admission ProcessHow Georgia Medicaid covers nursing facility admission in 2026: PASRR screening, level of care, financial eligibility, patient liability, and the first 30 days. MedicaidGeorgia Medicaid (the full guide)Georgia Medicaid 2026: income and asset limits, CCSP and SOURCE waivers, Pathways to Coverage, the Miller Trust rule, estate recovery, and how to apply. Care TypesMemory Care vs. Nursing Home in GeorgiaMemory care vs. a nursing home in Georgia: which fits dementia and who pays. Memory care is largely private-pay; Georgia Medicaid covers nursing homes.

Find personalized help comparing nursing homes in Georgia 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.

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