Choosing between assisted living and memory care in Indiana is one of the hardest decisions a family faces when a parent has dementia, and it comes down to one safety question. The question is whether the disease has reached the point where a secured, dementia-specialized setting is the only safe place for them.

If you are weighing this, take a breath. You are not failing your parent by considering a locked unit, and you do not have to read the situation perfectly on your own. Assisted living is for an older adult who needs help with daily life but can still largely direct their own day. Memory care is a secured, dementia-specific setting for someone with Alzheimer's disease or another dementia who would wander, get lost, or come to harm without that supervision. In Indiana, memory care is not a separate kind of building or its own license. It is a dementia-specialized track within an assisted-living community, and that distinction shapes both the cost and the rules. This guide walks through both so you can match the setting to the care your parent actually needs.

In This Guide

Assisted Living vs. Memory Care in Indiana: The Core Difference

Assisted living in Indiana is for an older adult who needs help with daily tasks, bathing, dressing, medications, meals, and getting around, but who can still largely direct their own day. Indiana regulates assisted living unusually. There is no single license called "assisted living." A community that uses the term must register with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) Division of Aging as a Housing with Services Establishment, and only a community that also provides residential nursing care must hold a Residential Care Facility license from the Indiana Department of Health.

Memory care in Indiana is specialized dementia care delivered within an assisted-living community, typically in a locked or secured unit, for residents with Alzheimer's disease or another dementia who can no longer safely manage in a standard setting. Indiana does not issue a standalone memory-care license. Instead, any facility that locks or segregates a unit for residents with Alzheimer's or dementia, or that markets specialized Alzheimer's care, is required by Indiana Code 12-10-5.5 to disclose, in writing, the specific care and programming it provides. That disclosure law is how Indiana distinguishes and regulates dementia-specialized care within the assisted-living framework, so the real decision in front of you is not which building to pick. It is what level of dementia care your parent needs, and what it costs.,

Side by Side

Assisted living Memory care
Level of care Help with daily living; resident can still largely direct their own day Secured, dementia-specialized care for residents who cannot safely self-direct
Typical resident An older adult needing daily support without dementia-specific safety risks Someone with Alzheimer's disease or another dementia who wanders, exits, or presents safety risks
Indiana regulation Registers with FSSA Division of Aging as a Housing with Services Establishment; Residential Care Facility license required only if it provides residential nursing care A secured or dementia-marketed unit within that same framework; governed by the IC 12-10-5.5 Alzheimer's and dementia disclosure law
Cost (2026) Below the national median; Indiana among the least expensive states More than standard assisted living, due to added staffing and the secured environment
Who pays Largely private-pay; PathWays for Aging may cover care services, not room and board Largely private-pay; PathWays for Aging may cover care services, not room and board

When Assisted Living Is Enough, and When Memory Care Is Needed

If your parent needs help with daily tasks but can still largely manage their own day, communicate their needs, and move safely through familiar spaces, assisted living is usually the right fit. The setting is built for daily-living support without dementia-specific supervision.

Memory care becomes the right setting when dementia-related safety is the central issue. The warning signs are typically wandering or exit-seeking, getting lost in familiar spaces, unsafe behaviors, escalating agitation, or the inability to recognize danger. When those behaviors appear, a secured memory-care unit is what the care need calls for. Indiana's disclosure law means any facility marketing specialized Alzheimer's care must tell you exactly what that care looks like, so ask for the disclosure documentation when you tour.

Dementia progresses, and many families start in assisted living and move to memory care as the disease advances. It is a wrenching step to take, and the guilt that comes with moving a parent into a locked unit is real, even when every clinical sign says it is time. It can help to know that the move is often within the same community, a change of wing and price rather than a relocation across town, because some Indiana communities offer both levels under one roof.

What Assisted Living and Memory Care Cost in Indiana

Here is the part families brace for. Long-term care is expensive, but Indiana is one of the more affordable states for it. According to the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey (released March 2026, the successor to the Genworth survey), Indiana's median long-term care costs run at or below the national medians, and Indiana ranks among the least expensive states for senior living and care. For national context, the survey put the 2025 national median for assisted living at about $6,200 a month, or roughly $74,400 a year, and Indiana's figures for assisted living sit below that.

Memory care costs more than standard assisted living, because of the additional staffing and secured infrastructure that dementia care requires. No recognized industry survey publishes a separate Indiana memory-care median, so treat any precise memory-care figure you see advertised as an estimate, not a measured rate, and ask each community for its own number in writing.

Both settings are largely private-pay. Indiana Medicaid does not pay a resident's room and board in assisted living or memory care. For families who cannot sustain private pay, Indiana delivers most long-term services and supports for residents age 60 and older through PathWays for Aging, a Medicaid managed-care program launched July 1, 2024 and run by contracted health plans. PathWays can cover care services through Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), but it does not pay the housing cost. Long-term care insurance, if it was purchased before a care need arose, can offset part of the monthly bill.

How to Decide

  1. Is your parent cognitively safe in a standard assisted-living setting? Wandering, exit-seeking, or unsafe behaviors that a standard community cannot manage are the signal that memory care is needed.
  2. How will the cost be covered? Both settings are primarily private-pay. If Medicaid eligibility is likely, explore PathWays for Aging early, because care services can be covered even though room and board cannot.

When you tour a memory-care unit in Indiana, ask the facility for its IC 12-10-5.5 disclosure form. By law, that document must spell out the unit's dementia-care philosophy; its criteria for placement, transfer, and discharge; its assessment and care-planning process; its staff-to-resident ratios for each shift; its family-support programs; its guidelines for physical and chemical restraints; and an itemization of charges and fees. That single form is often the most informative document you can get when comparing units, because it puts staffing and cost on paper.

To start a waiver or eligibility inquiry, or to confirm a community is properly registered, contact the FSSA Division of Aging at in.gov/fssa/da.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between assisted living and memory care in Indiana?

Assisted living supports daily tasks for someone who can still largely direct their own day. Memory care is a secured, dementia-specialized setting for someone with Alzheimer's disease or another dementia who can no longer safely self-direct. In Indiana, memory care is not a separate facility type or license; it is a dementia-specialized track within an assisted-living community, governed by the state's Alzheimer's and dementia disclosure law (IC 12-10-5.5).

Does Indiana have a separate memory-care license?

No. Indiana does not issue a standalone memory-care license. Any facility that locks or segregates a unit for dementia residents, or markets specialized Alzheimer's care, must comply with Indiana Code 12-10-5.5, which requires a written disclosure of the specific dementia-care practices the facility uses, filed annually with the state's Division of Aging.

How much does memory care cost in Indiana compared to assisted living?

Indiana's senior-care costs run below the national median, and the state ranks among the least expensive for senior living and care; the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey put the 2025 national assisted-living median at about $6,200 a month. Memory care costs more than standard assisted living because of the added staffing and secured environment. No recognized survey publishes a separate Indiana memory-care median, so ask each community for its own figure.

Does Indiana Medicaid pay for memory care?

Indiana Medicaid does not pay room and board in memory care or assisted living. The PathWays for Aging program, Indiana's Medicaid managed-care program for residents age 60 and older, can cover care services through Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) for qualifying residents, but the housing cost remains the resident's responsibility.,

When should a parent move from assisted living to memory care?

The trigger is usually a dementia-related safety issue: wandering, exit-seeking, unsafe behaviors, or an inability to recognize danger. When a standard assisted-living setting can no longer safely manage those behaviors, a secured memory-care unit is what the situation calls for. In some Indiana communities the move is within the same building, a different wing rather than a new address.

Learn More

Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Memory Care by StateMemory care is assisted living built for dementia, and it costs more. Compare the two on care, cost, and coverage, then open a full guide for your state. Care TypesAssisted Living in IndianaAssisted living in Indiana sits below the national median of about $6,200 a month, and the state has no single license. Cost, who pays, how to vet a place. Care TypesMemory Care in IndianaIndiana has no separate memory care license. A state disclosure form lays a facility's dementia care bare. See what it tells you, the cost, and how to use it. Care TypesNursing Homes in IndianaNursing homes in Indiana in 2026: what a skilled nursing facility costs, how to check a facility's quality, and how Medicaid pays for long-term care. Care TypesCost of Senior Care in IndianaWhat senior care costs in Indiana in 2026: in-home care runs about $35 an hour, and Indiana sits below national medians for assisted living and nursing care. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Nursing Home in IndianaAssisted living vs. a nursing home in Indiana comes down to level of care and who pays. Compare costs, when each fits, and what Indiana Medicaid covers. Care TypesHome Care vs. Home Health in IndianaHome care vs. home health in Indiana: home health is skilled care Medicare covers, home care is non-medical help it won't, and the IDOH license draws the line.

Find personalized help comparing assisted living and memory care in Indiana 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.