Assisted Living in Maryland (2026): Cost & Who Pays

If you're pricing assisted living for a parent in Maryland, the figure to plan around is roughly $7,172 a month. That's the state's approximate median, and it sits above the national median of about $6,200 a month.1 Most assisted living in Maryland is private-pay, but two public programs can help eligible residents with the cost.

This guide explains what assisted living means in Maryland, who licenses it, what you'll actually pay, where Medicaid and the state's SOAR program, which helps with assisted living fees, fit, and how to check out a place before anyone signs.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• What Assisted Living in Maryland Is
• What Assisted Living Costs in Maryland
• Help Paying: Medicaid's Community Options Waiver and SOAR
• How to Vet an Assisted Living Program
• Frequently Asked Questions

What Assisted Living in Maryland Is

When families here say "assisted living," they're describing a specific license: an Assisted Living Program, licensed and overseen by the Maryland Office of Health Care Quality (OHCQ), the unit inside the Maryland Department of Health responsible for these settings.2 An Assisted Living Program provides housing plus supportive services, supervision, personalized assistance, health-related services, or a combination of these, for people who can't do, or need help doing, the activities of daily living. It's housing plus supervision plus assistance, under a single license.

One thing is worth knowing before you tour anywhere: OHCQ says the regulations that govern Assisted Living Programs, COMAR 10.07.14, underwent extensive revision effective April 28, 2025.2 So when you tour, confirm the program's license is current, ask what help it can provide, and be honest about where your parent's needs are headed, not just where they are today. The point is to match the program to the care your family actually needs over time, so your parent doesn't outgrow it in a year.

How much help your parent needs also shapes who can help pay, which is the question every family eventually reaches. We'll come to that next.

What Assisted Living Costs in Maryland

Maryland is one of the pricier states for assisted living: its median ranks 12th highest among the states. In the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey (released March 2, 2026, from rates gathered July through November 2025), the median cost of assisted living in Maryland was about $86,070 a year, roughly $7,172 a month, above the national median of about $74,400 a year.1 These are industry-survey medians, not government rates, so treat them as a budgeting starting point rather than a quote.

CareScout collects rates by metropolitan area, so prices near you can differ from the statewide median. For context, here's how the settings compare in the same survey:

Maryland's nursing-home costs in particular run far above the national medians, so the gap between assisted living and a nursing home here is wide.1 That's one reason families work hard to keep a parent in assisted living, or at home, as long as their care needs allow.

One caution when you compare quotes. The price a program advertises is usually a base rate that covers the room, meals, and a basic level of help. Care often gets billed in tiers on top of that, so a resident who needs more hands-on help, or memory care, pays more, sometimes a lot more. 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. Two programs with the same headline price can land far apart once the care fees are added.

Help Paying: Medicaid's Community Options Waiver and SOAR

Here's the honest version first, because this is where families most often get caught short. Most assisted living in Maryland is private-pay.2 What does exist are two public programs that help eligible residents, each with its own rules and its own door to knock on.

Maryland Medicaid's Community Options Waiver

Maryland Medicaid Long Term Services and Supports runs the Community Options Waiver (also called the Home and Community-Based Options Waiver), which lists assisted living services among the waiver services a participant may get.2 The waiver exists to help a person get services and support at home and in the community instead of in an institution.3 Ask any program you're considering exactly which charges the waiver would cover and what your parent would still owe each month.

To qualify, a person has to clear two bars. First is medical: they must need a nursing-facility level of care, along with the waiver's other rules, such as being 18 or older and living at home or in the community.3 Second is financial: monthly income can't exceed 300% of the federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit (about $2,982 a month for an individual in 2026), and countable assets can't exceed $2,000 or $2,500, depending on eligibility category. Maryland is also a medically needy state, so an applicant whose income runs above that standard may still qualify by spending down the excess on medical bills toward a monthly medically-needy income level of about $350, and someone denied the waiver because income is too high may be eligible for the Increased Community Services Program instead. A husband or wife who stays in the community is protected by spousal-impoverishment rules, which in 2026 let the at-home spouse keep up to $162,660 in countable assets.3 Maryland also applies a 60-month look-back to assets transferred for less than full value, which can trigger a penalty period, and it pursues estate recovery after death for Medicaid paid at 55 and older, but only after a surviving spouse has died and only when there's no surviving child under 21 or blind or disabled child.3

Two more things to know. The waiver has a waitlist, though a person who is in a nursing facility and whose care Medicaid has paid for at least 30 days may apply with no wait.3 And if this is your path, ask a program directly whether it accepts the Community Options Waiver before you fall in love with the building.

Supporting Older Adults with Resources (SOAR)

The second program is Supporting Older Adults with Resources (SOAR), administered through the Maryland Department of Aging. In 2026 three existing state-funded programs run by the Department of Aging were consolidated into SOAR.2 SOAR provides partial financial support toward assisted living monthly fees for Marylanders age 62 and older who make less than 60% of the state median income, have assets below the program's thresholds, and need help with activities of daily living.2 It helps with part of the fees, not all of them. Contact the Maryland Department of Aging to ask how to apply.

So the rough sorting is this. If your parent meets a nursing-facility level of care and qualifies financially, the Community Options Waiver is the route to look at first. If they're 62 or older, have limited income, and need help with daily activities, SOAR is the program to ask about. Either way, apply early, ask each program you're considering which subsidy it accepts, and don't assume one program's eligibility carries over to the other.

If your parent's income or assets are near the line, it helps to understand how Medicaid asset rules and spend-down work before anyone applies, because how money is handled in the years beforehand can change whether and when someone qualifies. Our guides to Medicaid planning strategies and the Medicaid personal needs allowance cover the questions that come up most.

How to Vet an Assisted Living Program

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

Bring the agreement home and read it without a salesperson in the room. If the refund, care, or discharge 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.

Learn More

Find personalized help comparing assisted living in Maryland 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.