The cost of senior care in Texas runs below the national line in nearly every setting. Assisted living averages about $4,570 a month, a semi-private nursing-home room about $167 a day. Which setting a family chooses, and how heavy the care needs grow, can still swing the yearly bill by tens of thousands of dollars.
This guide lays out what every senior-care setting in Texas costs side by side, what pushes the price up or down, and how families actually pay, from private funds to Medicaid for those who qualify.
In This Guide
- Key Takeaways
- What Each Setting Costs in Texas
- What Drives the Price
- How Families Pay
- How to Plan and Budget
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Each Setting Costs in Texas
The figures below are 2026 estimates drawn from industry and survey data for Texas. These are statewide medians and averages, not government rates and not maximums, so the cost at any one provider can land higher or lower depending on metro area, room type, and how much care a person needs.
Read across the settings and Texas's pattern is consistent: care here costs less than the national benchmark in nearly every category. A semi-private nursing-home room averages about $167 a day in Texas, well under the national figure near $327 a day for a shared room. Memory care averages about $5,356 a month against a national average near $7,505. That doesn't make any of it cheap, but it does mean a Texas family's dollar stretches further than the national headlines suggest.
| Care setting | Texas | National |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted living (month) | about $4,570 | varies by survey |
| Nursing home, semi-private room (day) | about $167 | about $327 |
| Nursing home, semi-private room (year) | about $60,955 | about $119,340 |
| Nursing home, private room (day) | about $206 | n/a |
| Memory care (month) | about $5,356 | about $7,505 |
| In-home care (hour) | about $24 to $31 | about $27 |
The in-home figure is an hourly rate, so the monthly bill depends entirely on the schedule. Non-medical home care in Texas runs about $24 to $31 an hour, with the statewide average around $24 to $26. Full-time care averages roughly $4,576 a month, while many families use part-time schedules of about 20 hours a week, which run roughly $1,950 to $2,500 a month. Skilled home health care, the medical kind, is often covered by Medicare or Medicaid when it is medically necessary, so families typically pay out of pocket only for the non-medical hours.
What Drives the Price
The single biggest driver of cost is the level of care a person needs. A nursing home provides 24-hour licensed nursing care, with nurses and aides on every shift plus the building, equipment, and oversight that skilled care requires, so it sits at the top of the range at about $167 a day for a semi-private room and $206 for a private one. Assisted living is built for people who need help with daily tasks but not constant skilled nursing, so it carries a lighter staffing load and averages about $4,570 a month. Memory care sits in between, adding about $800 to $2,000 a month over standard assisted living for the specialized staffing and secured environment that dementia care requires.
Where in Texas a family looks matters almost as much as the setting. Assisted living swings from about $3,599 a month in San Antonio to $4,750 to $5,355 in Houston, the most expensive major city, with Dallas and Fort Worth above the state average and Austin around $3,750 to $4,250. Nursing-home rates move the same way: a semi-private room runs about $195 a day in Dallas, $200 in Houston, and $219 in Austin, all above the statewide average. A family weighing a move across metro lines is also weighing a real difference in the monthly bill.
Within any single setting, the advertised rate is rarely the whole bill. Most facilities quote a base rate for room and routine services, then add charges as care needs grow: help with more activities of daily living, medication management, memory care, or a higher staffing tier. 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
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 Texas.
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 $60,955 a year for a semi-private nursing-home room or $5,356 a month for memory care, it can run out faster than families expect. 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.
Texas Medicaid pays for long-term care, including nursing-facility care and home- and community-based services, for people who meet both a level-of-care test and the financial rules. Texas is a 1634 state, and long-term-care Medicaid uses an income cap of 300% of the federal benefit rate, about $2,982 a month for a single applicant. An applicant whose income sits above that cap is not automatically disqualified: a Qualified Income Trust, also called a Miller Trust, lets the excess income flow through the trust so the person can still qualify. The countable-asset limit is generally $2,000 for a single applicant. When one spouse needs care, federal spousal-impoverishment rules let the at-home spouse keep a community spouse resource allowance, up to $162,660, so the couple isn't held to the single-person asset figure.
A nursing-facility resident on Texas Medicaid contributes most of their monthly income toward the cost of care, keeping only a small $75-a-month personal needs allowance. Texas delivers most of its long-term-care Medicaid through STAR+PLUS, the state's managed-care program for older adults and people with disabilities, which coordinates both nursing-facility care and home- and community-based services. Nursing-facility Medicaid is an entitlement with no waitlist for those who qualify, while the home- and community-based side can carry an interest list. Two more rules shape long-term-care planning: Texas enforces a 60-month look-back on assets transferred for less than fair value, which can trigger a penalty period, and like all states it recovers from the estates of people who received long-term-care Medicaid after age 55.
One gap trips up many families: Medicaid does not pay the room-and-board cost of assisted living. Texas Medicaid can cover the care services in an assisted-living setting through STAR+PLUS, but it does not cover the rent-and-meals portion of the bill the way it covers a nursing-facility stay. A family choosing assisted living should plan to cover room and board privately, even where a waiver helps pay for the care services themselves.
A note on Medicare, because the assumption is common: Medicare covers only short-term skilled rehab after a hospital stay, not the long-term custodial care, the ongoing help with daily living, that most families are budgeting for. That long-term care is what private pay and Medicaid cover.
How to Plan and Budget
Start by matching the setting to the actual need, not the other way around. A candid assessment of how much help a person truly needs is worth more than a default assumption. Many people who need help with daily tasks but not skilled nursing are well served by assisted living at about $4,570 a month or a few hours a day of in-home care, while someone needing continuous supervision or skilled nursing may find a nursing home is the only setting that fits.
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 Medicaid would come into play. If Medicaid is likely to be part of the plan, the look-back and estate-recovery rules reward starting early and getting advice, because last-minute moves to qualify often trigger penalties. 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. Care needs tend to rise over time, so the figure you start with is rarely the figure you finish with. A plan that assumes some increase is more likely to hold up than one built on today's lowest quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends heavily on the setting. As of 2026, assisted living averages about $4,570 a month, a semi-private nursing-home room about $167 a day (roughly $5,080 a month), a private room about $206 a day (roughly $6,250 a month), memory care about $5,356 a month, and non-medical in-home care about $24 to $31 an hour. These are statewide medians and averages, not maximums, so an individual provider can cost more or less.
In most settings, yes. A semi-private nursing-home room in Texas averages about $167 a day, well below the national figure near $327 a day, and memory care averages about $5,356 a month against a national average near $7,505. In-home care runs about $24 to $31 an hour, close to the national average of about $27.
For nursing-facility care and home- and community-based services, yes, if a person meets a level-of-care test and the financial rules. Texas is a 1634 state with an income cap of 300% of the federal benefit rate, about $2,982 a month, and a $2,000 asset limit for a single applicant; an applicant over the income cap can use a Qualified Income (Miller) Trust to qualify. Most long-term-care Medicaid runs through STAR+PLUS, and a nursing-home resident keeps a $75-a-month personal needs allowance while the rest of their income goes toward care.
Not the room-and-board cost. Texas Medicaid can cover the care services in an assisted-living setting through STAR+PLUS, but it does not cover the rent-and-meals portion of the bill the way it covers a nursing-facility stay. A family choosing assisted living should plan to pay room and board privately.
Most start with private pay, savings, income, home-sale proceeds, and long-term care insurance if they have it, then turn to Texas Medicaid once a person meets the level-of-care and financial rules. Because Texas has a 60-month look-back on transferred assets and recovers from the estates of people who got long-term-care Medicaid after age 55, planning early and getting professional advice usually pays off.
Learn More
Find personalized help building a realistic senior-care budget for Texas 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.