Assisted Living in Michigan

The average cost of assisted living in Michigan is approximately $5,000 per month, according to A Place for Mom’s internal data on our in-state partner communities. That’s just under the national average of about $5,100 per month. The cost of assisted living in Michigan can range between approximately $2,600 on the low end and $7,300 per month on the high end.^[01]

Assisted living costs vary depending on several factors, like apartment floor plan size, quality of amenities, and how advanced on-site care and services are. Typically, costs increase as floor plans become more spacious, amenities become more luxe, and care levels become more advanced.

Another factor that can play into the cost of assisted living is a community’s specific location. Higher assisted living costs are often found in areas with a higher cost of living. Michigan’s cost of living is about 11% lower than the national average. This could explain why the state’s cost of assisted living is also slightly lower than the national average.^[02]

The assisted living costs above reflect the actual prices paid by families referred to A Place for Mom’s partner assisted living communities in Michigan. Our figures account for all fees paid, including any extra services, amenities, and care. Families often use personal savings to cover these costs. For those who may not have that option, there are a variety of other payment methods. You can read below about the typical ways families pay.

It’s a good idea to start planning for how you’ll pay for assisted living as early as you can. The longer you wait, the fewer payment options there may be. Assisted living in Michigan can be paid for through a variety of methods, but most families use a combination of private and public benefit sources. Read more about each payment option below, or view our guide to paying for long-term care for a more high-level overview.

Depending on the facility’s scope of care, the licensure term for assisted living in Michigan is either “Homes for the Aged” or “Adult Foster Care.” In short, Homes for the Aged generally provides care to people aged 55 or older, while an Adult Foster Care home can provide care to any adult.

The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs is responsible for licensing and regulating these Homes for the Aged and Adult Foster Care homes. Both facility types are required to complete an initial resident assessment and develop a service plan at the time of an individual’s admission. But, each facility type must follow slightly different rules.^[06] Here are a couple of examples of the slight regulatory differences between Homes for the Aged and Adult Foster Care homes:^[06]

• Homes for the Aged have no specific staffing ratio requirements, so long as a home’s number of awake staff is sufficient enough to meet residents’ needs. An Adult Foster Care home is required to have direct care staff on duty at all times, with staff ratios depending on the size of the home.
• Administrators in Homes for the Aged must be at least aged 18, have proper education and training, and be capable of properly carrying out all program planning and procedures. Administrators in an Adult Foster Care home must have at least a high school diploma or equivalent and at least one year of relevant experience. They must also be competent in certain areas, such as first aid, CPR, nutrition, and resident safety.

For more information on Michigan’s specific assisted living regulations and the differences between Homes for the Aged and Adult Foster Care homes, visit the Michigan section of the Assisted Living State Regulatory Review.

Ease of access to assisted living records in Michigan

We developed a system to rate each state on how easy — or difficult — it is to find important assisted living records and reports, and compiled tips to help you in your search.

States with the most transparent records allow you to look up important information about each assisted living facility online, including inspections, complaints, survey results, violations, capacity, and whether the facility accepts Medicaid.

Access to Michigan assisted living records: Exceptional

Public access to assisted living records and reports for the state of Michigan is exceptional. Key findings that informed this rating include:

• Michigan has information about assisted living violations dating back two years. Records older than two years must be requested through a Freedom of Information Act request.
• Assisted living records in Michigan are highly transparent, having met all but one of the transparency criteria.

How to look up assisted living licenses and records in Michigan

• Visit Michigan’s Adult Foster Care and Homes for the Aged search tool.
• You can narrow your search or leave all fields blank to generate a list of all providers.
• From the search results, a provider’s name can be clicked to access a page with detailed information about the community and recent inspections or enforcement actions.

How we arrived at our Michigan rating

We developed a standard methodology for state data collection and evaluation, and based our rating primarily on the objective, state-specific accessibility criteria outlined in these questions:

1. Are licensed assisted living communities listed online in any form? Yes
2. If Yes to #1, is the information updated frequently? Yes
3. If Yes to #1, is the list of licensed communities searchable? Yes
4. Does the state post inspections, complaints, survey results, or violations online? Yes
5. If Yes to #4, is the information updated frequently (within 90 days)? Yes
6. If Yes to #2 and #4, is the enforcement information included in the same place as licensed communities? Yes
7. If Yes to #4 and No to #6, are violations and inspections searchable at all? Yes or N/A
8. Is information about special licensing for care shown? No
9. Is capacity shown? Yes
10. Are payment types shown (e.g., Medicaid, private pay)? No
11. Is the administrator/contact name shown? No
12. Can the state fine a facility? Yes
13. What is the frequency of inspections? Every 24 months
14. Does the website include pricing of facilities? No