If you're pricing assisted living for a parent in Minnesota, plan around roughly $6,572 a month, about $78,870 a year. That's Minnesota's median in the 2025 CareScout (Genworth) survey, the 18th highest among the states and roughly 6% above the $6,200-a-month national median. Most families pay privately, but Minnesota changed how this care is regulated in 2021, and there's a public program that can cover the services side of the bill for people who qualify.

This guide explains what assisted living means in Minnesota after the 2021 licensure law, what you'll actually pay, how Medical Assistance and the Elderly Waiver fit, and how to check out a facility before anyone signs.

In This Guide

What Assisted Living in Minnesota Is

Minnesota redrew this picture not long ago, so a fact that was true a few years back may not be true now. On August 1, 2021, the state put assisted living under a real license for the first time: Assisted Living Licensure, created by Minnesota Statutes chapter 144G and administered by the Department of Health. It replaced the older housing-with-services registration, which set a lower bar. If you toured places before 2021 and are doing it again now, this is the change to know about.

There are two license types, and the difference matters when memory loss is part of the picture. A standard Assisted Living Facility provides housing along with help and supportive services. An Assisted Living Facility with Dementia Care is the license a place must hold if it advertises or promotes specialized dementia care; that license requires dementia-trained staff working from a person-centered approach. So if a community is selling itself on its memory care, the question to ask is direct: does it hold the dementia care license, or just the standard one?

The license is also what tells you the state is inspecting the place. When you tour a community that calls itself assisted living, ask which license it holds and confirm it's current with the Department of Health. A building that markets assisted living should be able to show you that without hesitation.

What Assisted Living Costs in Minnesota

Minnesota is an above-median state for long-term care, and that includes assisted living. The most recent figures come from the CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey, whose 2025 data (collected in 2025 and released in March 2026) put Minnesota's median for assisted living at about $6,572 a month, or $78,870 a year, the 18th highest among the states and roughly 6% above the $6,200-a-month ($74,400-a-year) national median. These are industry-survey medians, not government rates, so treat them as a budgeting starting point rather than a quote.

Where you look inside Minnesota moves the number. The Twin Cities metro generally runs higher; rural Minnesota generally runs lower. For context, here's how Minnesota compares with the national medians across care settings in the same survey:

Setting Approximate Minnesota median Approximate national median Minnesota rank
Assisted living $6,572/month ($78,870/year) $6,200/month ($74,400/year) 18th highest
Non-medical caregiver, in-home (44 hrs/week) about $44/hour ($100,672/year) $35/hour ($80,080/year) 6th highest
Nursing home, semi-private room $10,646/month ($127,750/year) $315/day ($114,975/year) 21st highest
Nursing home, private room $13,870/month ($166,440/year) $355/day ($129,575/year) 14th highest
Adult day health care $2,600/month ($31,200/year) $95/day ($24,700/year) 14th highest

Notice how far apart these settings sit, and notice that Minnesota comes in above the national median in every one of them. The gap is widest for in-home care: at roughly $44 an hour, a non-medical caregiver in Minnesota costs about a quarter more than the national hourly rate, the 6th highest in the country. The spread between settings is worth keeping in mind: the right setting for your parent's actual needs can cost very differently than a general "assisted living is the expensive one" assumption would suggest. (In the 2025 survey, CareScout merged its former homemaker and home health aide lines into a single non-medical caregiver rate.)

One caution when you compare quotes. The price a facility 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 dementia 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 facilities with the same headline price can land far apart once the care fees are added.

Does Medicaid Pay? Medical Assistance and the Elderly Waiver

Here's the honest version first, because this is where families most often get caught short. A standard assisted living stay in Minnesota is largely private-pay, and standard Medical Assistance, which is Minnesota's Medicaid program, does not pay an assisted living facility's room and board. If you've been assuming Medicaid will cover the rent the way people imagine it covering a nursing home, that's the assumption to let go of now, before it shapes a budget.

What can help is a different piece of the program: the Elderly Waiver. The Elderly Waiver is Medical Assistance's way of paying for long-term care outside a nursing home, and it can cover the customized living services delivered inside an assisted living facility, things like personal care, supervision, and help with daily living. The split to hold onto is this: the waiver pays for the services, and the resident still pays the room and board out of pocket or other income. It does not turn assisted living into a free benefit; it takes the care costs off the table for people who qualify. A chapter 144G assisted living facility is not the only setting that can bill for customized living, either. A provider licensed as a comprehensive home care provider under chapter 144A can also deliver it, so long as it is operating in a setting exempt from assisted living licensure under Minnesota Statutes 144G.08, subdivision 7, clauses (10) to (13).

To use the Elderly Waiver this way, DHS says a person has to meet all four conditions: be age 65 or older, be eligible for Medical Assistance, meet a nursing-home level of care as determined by a MnCHOICES assessment, and need services the waiver can provide for less than the cost of care in a nursing home. That last one surprises people. If the assisted living service package would cost more than a nursing facility, the waiver will not fund it. On the financial side, Minnesota's asset limit for seniors is more generous than the federal floor many states use: $3,000 for an individual and $6,000 for a couple, plus $200 per dependent, and people over the income limit can still qualify through a medical spenddown. One thing to plan for: Minnesota can make a claim against the estate of someone who received Medical Assistance at age 55 or older, but only for the Medical Assistance that consisted of nursing facility services, home and community-based services such as the Elderly Waiver, and related hospital and prescription drug services. Ordinary medical care your parent received after 55 is not recoverable, and the exemptions in Minnesota Statutes 256B.15 still apply.

If your parent's income or assets are near the line, it's worth understanding 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, Explained cover the questions that come up most.

How to Vet an Assisted Living Facility

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

1
Step 1

Confirm the Assisted Living License and check which type

The Department of Health licenses and inspects assisted living facilities under chapter 144G. Confirm a place holds a current license, and if memory care matters, confirm it holds the Assisted Living Facility with Dementia Care license specifically, not just the standard one.

2
Step 2

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

If your parent may rely on the Elderly Waiver, ask up front whether the facility accepts waiver residents, how the services portion is billed, and how room and board is handled, since the waiver covers the services and not the rent.

3
Step 3

Match the setting and care level to your parent's needs, now and next

Be honest about where your parent is headed, so you don't pick a place they'll outgrow in a year, or pay for care they don't need yet.

4
Step 4

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

Chapter 144G gives residents specific contract and protection rights, so a facility should put in writing what it provides and the conditions under which a resident could be asked to leave. Visit at least a couple of places, and 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 Minnesota?

Minnesota's median is about $6,572 a month, roughly $78,870 a year, in the 2025 CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey, the 18th highest state median and about 6% above the $6,200-a-month ($74,400-a-year) national figure. The Twin Cities metro generally runs higher and rural areas lower. These are approximate industry-survey medians, not government rates, and the advertised price is usually a base rate before care add-ons.

Does Medical Assistance pay for assisted living in Minnesota?

Standard Medical Assistance does not pay an assisted living facility's room and board. What it can do is pay for the customized living services inside an assisted living facility through the Elderly Waiver, for people who are age 65 or older, qualify for Medical Assistance, meet a nursing-home level of care on a MnCHOICES assessment, and can be served for less than the cost of nursing-home care. The resident still pays room and board.

What is the Elderly Waiver, and how does it help with assisted living?

The Elderly Waiver is how Medical Assistance pays for long-term care outside a nursing home. In an assisted living setting it pays for the services portion, the personal care, supervision, and daily help, but not the room and board, which the resident covers. Qualifying takes all four of DHS's conditions: age 65 or older, eligible for Medical Assistance, a nursing-home level of care confirmed by a MnCHOICES assessment, and services the waiver can provide for less than the cost of care in a nursing home.

Who licenses assisted living facilities in Minnesota?

The Minnesota Department of Health licenses and inspects assisted living under Assisted Living Licensure, created by Minnesota Statutes chapter 144G and effective August 1, 2021. It replaced the older housing-with-services registration, so a license from before that change is not the same thing.

What's the difference between the two assisted living license types?

A standard Assisted Living Facility provides housing plus help and supportive services. An Assisted Living Facility with Dementia Care is required for any place that advertises specialized dementia care, and it must have dementia-trained staff using a person-centered approach. If memory care is the reason you're looking, confirm the place holds the dementia care license.

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 TypesNursing Homes in MinnesotaNursing homes in Minnesota cost a median $127,750 a year for a semi-private room. How to check facility quality and how Medical Assistance pays for care. Care TypesMemory Care in MinnesotaMemory care in Minnesota is an Assisted Living Facility with Dementia Care. See the safeguards, the $6,572/mo assisted-living base, and how to vet one. Care TypesHome Care vs. Home Health in MinnesotaHome care vs. home health in Minnesota: home health is skilled care Medicare covers, home care is non-medical help it won't, and the MDH license draws the line. FinancialHow to Pay for Assisted LivingHow to pay for assisted living in 2026: what it costs and how private pay, Medicaid waivers, VA Aid and Attendance, and long-term care insurance each fit. 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. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Memory Care in MinnesotaAssisted living vs. memory care in Minnesota: memory care is a distinct chapter 144G license with secured units and 24/7 awake staff. AL runs $6,572/month.

Find personalized help comparing assisted living in Minnesota 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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Brevy Care Team

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