Assisted Living Cost in Delaware
Delaware is a small state with a narrow metro spread, just $70 a month across the places in this table, and that narrow spread is itself useful: in Delaware, the community you choose matters more than the city. The other fact to get right first is the Medicaid route, which covers assisted living care but does not pay housing costs.
Sources: CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, released March 2026, ranked state tables and Cost of Care calculator, accessed November 2026; Delaware Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance DSHP Plus information; Delaware Veterans Home information.
Delaware assisted living costs, against the national median
The table below is the CareScout 2025 survey for Delaware, with the national median beside it. The survey collected more than 25,000 provider rates between July and November 2025 and reports medians, the middle price, not averages pulled up by luxury buildings. Assisted living figures are for a private one-bedroom apartment for 12 months of care.
| Care type | Delaware median | National median |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted living, per month | $7,550 ($90,600 per year) | $6,200 ($74,400 per year) |
| Home care, non-medical caregiver, per hour | $35 ($80,080 per year at 44 hours a week) | $35 ($80,080 per year at 44 hours a week) |
| Adult day health care, per day | Not published in the CareScout ranked table | $95 ($24,700 per year at 5 days a week) |
| Nursing home, semi-private room, per month | $14,494 ($173,922 per year) | $9,581 ($114,975 per year) |
| Nursing home, private room, per month | $15,132 ($181,588 per year) | $10,798 ($129,575 per year) |
The assisted living cost Delaware median runs $1,350 a month above the national median, which is $16,200 over a full year (90,600 minus 74,400). Home care at $35 an hour matches the national rate exactly. CareScout publishes no adult day health care median for Delaware in this table, due to insufficient data for that care type in the state, so this page states none rather than estimating one. A semi-private nursing home room at $14,494 sits $4,913 above the $9,581 national figure (14,494 minus 9,581), and a private room at $15,132 sits $4,334 above the $10,798 national figure (15,132 minus 10,798). For the full national picture, read how much does assisted living cost and how much does a nursing home cost.
Assisted living cost Delaware by place
Place medians come from the same CareScout survey, through its Cost of Care calculator, which reports the closest survey region for each place. All figures are 2025 monthly medians for a private one-bedroom apartment. The spread runs from $7,400 to $7,470, a gap of only $70 a month between the lowest and highest Delaware place in this table.
| Place | Assisted living median per month, 2025 | Against the Delaware median |
|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | $7,470 | $80 below |
| Newark | $7,470 | $80 below |
| Dover | $7,400 | $150 below |
Wilmington and Newark both map to the Philadelphia metropolitan region in the calculator, so they carry the same $7,470 figure; that is a shared region figure, not two separate surveys that happened to agree. Dover carries its own Dover metropolitan area figure at $7,400. All three places sit below the $7,550 state median, which tells you smaller regions outside these places pull the state figure up, not down. Do not treat the state median as the price in any of these places: use the place figure, then replace it with three written quotes in that place, with apartment size and care level stated. For how to use competing quotes, read can you negotiate assisted living costs.
What the monthly bill includes, and what it leaves out
The median buys the building and the base service: a private apartment, meals, housekeeping, supervision, and activities, with staff on site around the clock. It does not buy every charge a resident actually pays. Care is priced in levels, and the level rises as help needs grow, so the second year costs more than the first even before any annual rate increase. Medication handling, a higher care level, and a second occupant are commonly billed on top of the base rate, and many buildings charge a one-time community fee at move-in.
Delaware licenses assisted living facilities through the Division of Health Care Quality, within the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, which licenses, monitors, and surveys assisted living facilities at least once every 12 months, and the license type matters at the tour: a facility's license states the level of care it may provide, and a parent whose needs pass that level will need a different setting or added services. Ask at the tour, in writing, which care level the license covers, which services the base rate covers and which are billed as extras, and what each extra costs. The tour checklist on assisted living checklist groups those questions for you.
Medicaid in Delaware: DSHP Plus
Delaware's Medicaid route for care in an assisted living facility is Diamond State Health Plan Plus (DSHP Plus), a mandatory managed care Medicaid program run by the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance, providing long-term care services and supports for Delaware residents who are elderly or physically disabled, with assisted living care listed among its benefits. The program offers an option to remain in your own home or an assisted living facility instead of going to a nursing facility, and it describes assisted living as a residential care option providing support in a homelike setting. The program does not arrange for or pay housing or other living expenses, so the resident pays room and board from income, VA benefits where eligible, or family funds. This page states no Delaware Medicaid assisted living rate, because none was verified on an official page in this run. For the national Medicaid rules, read does medicaid pay for assisted living, and for the full payment map, read how to pay for assisted living. Medicare does not pay for assisted living room charges or custodial care; see does medicare pay for assisted living for the exact boundary.
VA resources in Delaware
For a veteran parent, two Delaware routes sit beside the private market. The first is VA Aid and Attendance, a monthly cash benefit added to a VA pension for a veteran or surviving spouse who needs help with daily living; the amounts and rules are on VA Aid and Attendance requirements and veterans affairs assisted living. The second is the state's own veterans home. The Delaware Veterans Home, at 100 Delaware Veterans Blvd. in Milford, is the one state veterans home found on the official state site in this run. It is a state veterans home, not a private assisted living community, so treat it as a separate application track, not as a price comparison. For VA health care, use VA.gov to find the facility nearest your parent.
Delaware against the national median, in one row
Delaware assisted living at $7,550 a month sits $1,350 above the $6,200 national median, home care at $35 an hour matches the $35 national rate, adult day care has no published Delaware median in this table against the $95 national rate, and a nursing home semi-private room at $14,494 a month sits $4,913 above the $9,581 national figure. Delaware is an above-average state on assisted living and nursing home care, and exactly average on home care. At $14,494 a month, a semi-private nursing home room costs $6,944 a month more than the $7,550 assisted living median in the same state, so a parent whose needs are close to the nursing facility line should still price both settings in the same place.
Frequently asked questions
Does Delaware Medicaid pay for assisted living housing costs?
No. DSHP Plus lists assisted living care among its benefits, but the program does not arrange for or pay housing or other living expenses. The resident pays room and board from income, VA benefits where eligible, or family funds.
Why do Wilmington and Newark show the same figure?
Because the CareScout calculator maps both places to the Philadelphia metropolitan region. The $7,470 figure is the Philadelphia region median, applied to both places, not two independent place surveys. Budget a Wilmington or Newark move from the Philadelphia region figure until you hold written quotes from communities in that place themselves.
Why does Delaware have no adult day median in this table?
Because CareScout did not publish one for Delaware in its 2025 ranked table, due to insufficient data for that care type in the state. This page leaves the cell blank rather than estimating a figure from another source or from the national rate.
Does the $7,550 median cover two people sharing one apartment?
No. The CareScout median is for a private one-bedroom apartment occupied by one person. A second occupant adds a second-person fee set by each community, on top of the median, not inside it. Couples should budget the median plus the community's written second-person fee, plus a care level for each spouse who needs help, since care is priced per person. See average cost of assisted living for a couple for how couples totals are built.
Your next step is to take the place median for the city where your parent will actually live, get three written quotes that state apartment size, care level, and every extra fee, and check DSHP Plus and VA eligibility before you sign. Start with assisted living checklist and assisted living costs.