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RAL MARKET SCOUT Best states for assistedliving All 51 states ranked · 48 with full rosters ralmarketscout.com
RAL Market Scout · National

Best states & markets for residential assisted living

Compare all 50 states on the numbers that decide where a small assisted living home pencils — licensed supply, 75+ demand, cost, and small-home friendliness. Drill into any fully-mapped state for county-level opportunity scores.

Updated July 2026
RAL Market Scout tracks all 51 state markets for assisted living — licensed home counts, 75+ demand, bed supply, costs, and small-home friendliness. 48 states have full home-level rosters loaded; 47 are fully mapped to the county and city level, with more rolling out.
StateAL homesPop 75+Beds/1kSupplyMedian $/moSmall-home
Alabama202361,91026.8Tight$4,425Mixed
Alaska56133,88753.1Saturated$9,882Yes
Arizona2,047600,21641.5Moderate$6,250Yes
Arkansas100220,46626.3Tight$4,637Big-box
California7,9622,547,67949.8Saturated$7,000Yes
Colorado648348,77741.9Moderate$6,584Mixed
Connecticut239284,3256.0Tight$9,118Yes
Delaware3382,43025.5Tight$7,600Big-box
District of Columbia2236,65749.6Saturated$6,978Big-box
Florida3,0002,149,81834.9Tight$5,610Mixed
Georgia1,359636,25339.6Moderate$5,300Yes
Hawaii17130,64339.8Moderate$12,096Yes
Idaho257128,11064.8Saturated$5,175Mixed
Illinois498882,99535.1Moderate$6,219Big-box
Indiana366458,91944.2Moderate$5,639Big-box
Iowa497242,5707.0Tight$5,380Mixed
Kansas549203,20859.5Saturated$5,975Yes
Kentucky263308,19640.6Moderate$5,528Big-box
Louisiana157301,05317.6Tight$5,162Big-box
Maine88124,11352.4Saturated$8,205Yes
Maryland1,540421,77241.5Moderate$7,172Yes
Massachusetts305519,04426.2Tight$9,600Mixed
Michigan3,888743,51749.1Moderate$5,818Yes
Minnesota2,464404,38075.7Saturated$6,572Mixed
Mississippi180200,10832.0Tight$4,369Big-box
Missouri600452,01844.0Moderate$5,400Mixed
Montana20086,57668.1Saturated$6,075Yes
Nebraska276134,49384.0Saturated$6,350Big-box
Nevada434212,51919.8Tight$6,241Yes
New Hampshire36110,29443.5Moderate$8,025Mixed
New Jersey346672,89731.7Tight$8,710Big-box
New Mexico100165,11225.4Tight$5,950Mixed
New York5541,500,53523.7Tight$7,110Big-box
North Carolina1,085737,44054.1Saturated$6,496Mixed
North Dakota7354,69796.9Saturated$4,729Big-box
Ohio814864,47949.5Saturated$6,102Big-box
Oklahoma214266,95639.3Moderate$6,150Big-box
Oregon2,125322,89678.8Saturated$6,874Yes
Pennsylvania9961,053,40859.7Saturated$6,480Big-box
Rhode Island6485,50545.6Moderate$7,780Big-box
South Carolina429393,37031.3Tight$5,350Mixed
South Dakota17863,53472.4Saturated$4,900Mixed
Tennessee330476,76036.5Moderate$5,845Big-box
Texas2,0011,577,05930.9Tight$5,666Mixed
Utah224155,67345.6Moderate$5,475Mixed
Vermont10354,73643.8Moderate$8,597Yes
Virginia570592,47144.6Moderate$6,945Big-box
Washington6,639510,87342.5Balanced$7,600Yes
West Virginia81150,22424.0Tight$6,340Big-box
Wisconsin4,371434,37970.4Saturated$6,540Mixed
Wyoming3240,77119.6Tight$5,325Mixed

Linked states are fully mapped to the county level. "Beds/1k" = licensed AL beds per 1,000 residents 75+ (lower = tighter supply). "Small-home" = how friendly the state's licensing is to sub-16-bed RAL models.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best state for residential assisted living?
It depends on your model: states marked 'small-home friendly: Yes' with tighter supply (lower beds per 1,000 seniors 75+) tend to favor new small assisted living homes. RAL Market Scout scores supply tightness and small-home friendliness for all 50 states.
How many assisted living facilities are there in the U.S.?
There are roughly 30,000+ licensed assisted living and residential care communities nationwide. RAL Market Scout maintains state-by-state licensed counts and bed supply.

Find your market

RAL Market Scout scores demand, supply gaps, and referral capacity for every county and ZIP — and builds a full report for any address you're evaluating.

Sources: State AL counts and bed supply from NIC MAP / state surveys; 75+ population from U.S. Census ACS; costs are market medians. Snapshot: 2026-07. Informational only.