senior couple with husband spoon feeding soup to his wife

Residents in New Hampshire typically pay more than the national average for senior care. It’s important to understand the main differences between living and care arrangements when deciding the best setting for an older adult transitioning to senior care. The cost of home care, assisted living, and nursing homes can be significant, depending on your location and necessary care level. Here, we describe these differences and introduce some options to help you pay for senior care in New Hampshire.

Cost of assisted living in New Hampshire

There are a lot of factors that influence the cost of assisted living in New Hampshire. Many of these factors depend on the type and level of care you need. In the latest data published by Genworth, the average cost of assisted living in New Hampshire is $6,053 per month. This cost has decreased by -8.98% in the last year.

The level of care a person requires will impact the cost of assisted living, but where you live also matters and there can be vast changes in cost across the state.  For example, the average cost of assisted living in Manchester is $8,061 per month, almost 25% higher than the state average.

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Cost of nursing homes in New Hampshire

The difference between nursing homes and assisted living facilities is in their accommodations and the level of care they provide. In nursing homes, the living environment is more clinical, where residents live in a private or semi-private room without a living room or kitchen area. In assisted living facilities, residents live in apartments with a private bathroom and kitchenette.

The cost of nursing homes in New Hampshire is nearly 90% greater than that of assisted living facilities. The average cost for a semi-private room is $10,950 per month, and a private room is $12,015 per month. These costs will vary around the state.  A semi-private room in Manchester will cost an average of $11,285, and a private room has an average cost of $12,285 per month.

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Read more: How to Pay for Nursing Home Care

Cost of home care in New Hampshire

If you can stay at home but need a little help, home care is an excellent alternative to moving into a facility, which allows you to stay at home and brings care to you. There are two types of home care that can help meet your needs. One option is homemaker services, where a non-medical caregiver goes to your home to help with basic living activities, like grocery shopping, meal preparation, housekeeping, and cleaning. The other option is to hire a home health aide. A home health aide assists with bathing and toileting and can provide health monitoring, like taking their pulse and blood pressure readings. Home health aides can also monitor the person’s mental health condition they are helping.

The cost difference between the two care types is not very big, only about .8%, but the type of care you need will determine what type of training the aide needs. The average hourly cost of a home health aide is $31.45 per hour, and the homemaker service averages $32.45 an hour. The average costs in Manchester are similar to what they are in the rest of the state, with homemaker services averaging $32.19 per hour and home health aide costs averaging $32.35 per hour.

Cost of memory care in New Hampshire

Memory care is the fastest-growing care segment in the U.S. as measured by the number of individuals needing the care and the number of memory care providers. Memory care specializes in the care of residents or patients with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. Memory care is provided at a standalone memory care facility or an additional cost in an assisted living facility or nursing home.

Memory care is typically an additional cost above assisted living or a nursing home. The incremental cost is due to these residents receiving 24-hour long-term care. This additional cost averages $1,795 per month in New Hampshire.