Cost of Senior Care in Tennessee (2026)

The cost of senior care in Tennessee sits modestly below the national median, but the gap between settings is still wide. Assisted living runs about $5,845 a month, modestly below the national median, while a nursing home runs closer to $9,429 a month for a semi-private room.1,2 Which setting a family chooses can swing the yearly bill by tens of thousands of dollars.

This guide lays out what every senior-care setting in Tennessee costs side by side, what pushes the price up or down, and how families actually pay, from private funds to TennCare for those who qualify.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• What Each Setting Costs in Tennessee
• What Drives the Cost of Senior Care in Tennessee
• How Families Pay for the Cost of Senior Care in Tennessee
• How to Plan and Budget
• Frequently Asked Questions

What Each Setting Costs in Tennessee

The figures below come from industry cost surveys, not government rates and not maximums, so the cost of senior care at any one Tennessee provider can land higher or lower depending on location, room type, and how much care a person needs. The national benchmark for assisted living is the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey (released in March 2026), which reports a national median assisted-living cost of about $6,200 a month ($74,400 a year).1 For nursing homes, the most recent state-level figures come from the same survey's 2025 state data tables, released March 2026.2 Those tables cover six care types and memory care is not one of them, so they give no Tennessee memory-care median.3

Read across the settings and Tennessee's pattern is consistent: costs sit below the national line, but the distance between assisted living and a nursing home is still large. Assisted living runs about $5,845 a month statewide, while a semi-private nursing-home room runs about $9,429 a month, well over half again as much.1,2

A note on the nursing-home numbers: the Tennessee and national figures both come from CareScout's 2025 survey, which put the national median at $315 a day ($114,975 a year) for a semi-private room and $355 a day ($129,575 a year) for a private room, so Tennessee runs modestly below the national median. CareScout computes each monthly figure by dividing the annual rate by 12, which is why they appear here as approximations.2 For assisted living, CareScout's 2025 tables give a Tennessee statewide median of $70,140 a year, priced on a private, one-bedroom unit, but no Tennessee metro-level assisted-living number is supported by a source, so this guide gives the statewide median only and no city breakdown.1 Memory care is marked not published in the table because CareScout's state tables don't cover it; ask each memory-care community for its own rates.3

What Drives the Cost of Senior Care in Tennessee

The single biggest driver of the cost of senior care in Tennessee is the level of care a person needs, which is why a semi-private nursing-home room, at about $9,429 a month, runs roughly 60 percent more than assisted living at about $5,845.2,1 A nursing home must have licensed nurses on duty 24 hours a day (federal rules allow a waiver) and enough nursing staff for its residents' assessed needs.5 Assisted living centers on non-medical help with activities of daily living.1 For memory care, CareScout's state tables give no Tennessee median, so the only reliable number is the quote a specific community gives you.3

Within any single setting, the statewide median is not a price. Tennessee's rules require every assisted-care living facility to provide at least room and board, help with activities of daily living, laundry, and three meals a day, but that is a regulatory minimum: the rule does not say what any given facility's base monthly rate covers.1 CareScout also notes that actual costs vary with individual care needs, provider availability, and the local market.1 A resident who enters needing little help and later needs much more can see the monthly cost climb well past the opening figure.

When you compare quotes, ask what the base rate includes and what triggers an add-on, because two facilities with similar headline prices can bill very differently once care needs rise.

How Families Pay for the Cost of Senior Care in Tennessee

Almost no one pays for years of senior care out of a single source. Most families start with private funds and shift to other payers as the bills mount. Here's how the main options work in Tennessee.

Private pay is savings, income, the proceeds of a home sale, and long-term care insurance if a person bought it. It's the most flexible option, since it covers any setting, but it's also the one that runs out, and at about $9,429 a month for a semi-private nursing-home room, it can run out faster than families expect.2 Long-term care insurance, where it exists, can offset a share of the cost, though policies vary widely in what they pay and for how long.

TennCare, Tennessee's Medicaid program, pays for long-term care through TennCare CHOICES, its long-term services and supports program, for people who meet both a level-of-care test and the financial rules.4 The monthly income limit for an applicant is $2,982, which is 300 percent of the 2026 federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit rate of $994 a month. An applicant whose income sits above that limit can establish a Qualified Income Trust, Tennessee's term for what other states call a Miller Trust, to redirect the excess income, after which TennCare tests income eligibility again. The countable-asset limit is $2,000 for an applicant.4 When one spouse needs care, the at-home spouse can generally keep one-half of the couple's countable assets, bounded for a January 2026 assessment at no less than $32,532 and no more than $162,660, so the couple isn't held to the single-person asset figure. A court order or a hardship determination can set the amount higher than that cap.4

One gap trips up many families: CHOICES does not pay the room-and-board cost of assisted living. On the CHOICES Member Benefit Table the Assisted Care Living Facility benefit is covered for Group 2 and Group 3 members, limited to 1 unit per day and 12 months per year, and it pays the services component only. Room and board remain the member's responsibility.1 A family choosing assisted living should plan to cover room and board privately, even where CHOICES helps pay for the care services themselves.

Two more rules shape long-term-care planning in Tennessee. The state enforces a 60-month look-back on assets transferred for less than fair value before an application, which can trigger a penalty period during which TennCare won't pay.6 And the home is excluded from countable assets while it is the principal residence of the applicant, a spouse, or a dependent relative (with intent to return established for someone in a facility), but TennCare won't pay for CHOICES long-term care when the home equity exceeds $752,000, unless a spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child lawfully lives there.6 The equity limit can also be waived if the applicant asks and TennCare finds that undue hardship exists.4

A note on Medicare, because the assumption is common: Medicare covers skilled nursing facility care only on a short-term basis, generally after a qualifying hospital stay, not the long-term custodial care, the ongoing help with daily living, that most families are budgeting for.7 That long-term care is what private pay and TennCare cover.

How to Plan and Budget

Start by matching the setting to the actual need, not the other way around. Because a semi-private nursing-home room in Tennessee costs roughly 60 percent more than assisted living, a candid assessment of how much help a person truly needs is worth more than a default assumption.2 Many people who need help with daily tasks but not skilled nursing are well served by assisted living, while someone needing continuous skilled care belongs in a nursing facility, where federal rules require licensed nurses on duty 24 hours a day unless that requirement is waived.5

Then build a realistic timeline. Estimate the monthly cost of the right setting, list the resources available to pay for it, and work out how long private funds will last before TennCare would come into play. If TennCare is likely to be part of the plan, the look-back rule rewards starting early and getting advice, because a transfer for less than fair market value inside the 60-month window triggers a penalty period with no maximum length.6 Two Brevy guides go deeper here: Medicaid Planning Strategies walks through how to position assets and income within the rules, and Medicaid Personal Needs Allowance, Explained covers the small monthly amount a resident keeps.

Finally, budget for the add-ons, not just the base rate. The statewide median is a midpoint of provider-reported prices rather than any one facility's rate, and CareScout notes that actual costs vary with individual care needs, so the figure you start with may not be the figure you finish with.1 A plan that assumes some increase is more likely to hold up than one built on today's lowest quote.

Learn More

Find personalized help building a realistic senior-care budget for Tennessee 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.