Assisted Living Cost in Kansas
Kansas looks near-average on assisted living until you look at the rest of the table: adult day care runs more than double the national rate, while nursing home rooms run below it. The metro spread is wide too, at $1,528 a month from Lawrence to Topeka. The other fact to get right first is the Medicaid route, which covers care services in an assisted living facility but does not pay room and board.
Sources: CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, released March 2026, ranked state tables and Cost of Care calculator, accessed November 2026; Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services Frail Elderly Waiver information; Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs state veterans homes information.
Kansas assisted living costs, against the national median
The table below is the CareScout 2025 survey for Kansas, 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 | Kansas median | National median |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted living, per month | $5,948 ($71,376 per year) | $6,200 ($74,400 per year) |
| Home care, non-medical caregiver, per hour | $34 ($77,220 per year at 44 hours a week) | $35 ($80,080 per year at 44 hours a week) |
| Adult day health care, per day | $200 ($52,000 per year at 5 days a week) | $95 ($24,700 per year at 5 days a week) |
| Nursing home, semi-private room, per month | $8,669 ($104,028 per year) | $9,581 ($114,975 per year) |
| Nursing home, private room, per month | $9,064 ($108,768 per year) | $10,798 ($129,575 per year) |
The assisted living cost Kansas median runs $252 a month below the national median, which is $3,030 over a full year (74,400 minus 71,370). Home care at $34 an hour sits $1 below the $35 national rate. Adult day care at $200 a day sits $105 above the $95 national rate, the largest adult day gap in this batch. A semi-private nursing home room at $8,669 sits $912 below the $9,581 national figure, and a private room at $9,064 sits $1,734 below the $10,798 national figure. For the full national picture, read how much does assisted living cost and how much does a nursing home cost.
Assisted living cost Kansas 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 $6,535 to $8,063, a gap of $1,528 a month between the lowest and highest Kansas place in this table. The Kansas City figure maps to the Kansas City metropolitan region, which the calculator reports across the state line, so read it as the Kansas City region figure, not as a Kansas-only survey.
| Place | Assisted living median per month, 2025 | Against the Kansas median |
|---|---|---|
| Topeka | $8,063 | $2,115 above |
| Wichita | $6,875 | $927 above |
| Kansas City | $6,828 | $880 above |
| Lawrence | $6,535 | $587 above |
All four places in this table sit above the $5,948 state median, which tells you smaller regions outside these places pull the state figure down, not up. Topeka at $8,063 sits $2,115 above the state median, while Lawrence, the lowest place in this table, still sits $587 above it. 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.
Kansas licenses assisted living facilities through the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, as a category of adult care home. Kansas also licenses residential health care facilities and home plus facilities, which are smaller settings, so the license type matters at the tour: an assisted living facility, a residential health care facility, and a home plus are not the same license, and a parent whose needs pass what a small home can provide will need a different setting or added services. Ask at the tour, in writing, which license the setting holds, 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 Kansas: Frail Elderly Waiver
Kansas's Medicaid route for care in an assisted living facility is the Frail Elderly (FE) Waiver, a KanCare home and community-based services program overseen by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services. The FE Waiver provides Kansas seniors aged 65 or older who meet the Medicaid nursing facility threshold an alternative to nursing home care, with services including personal care, household tasks, and health services, and participants can live in their own home, the home of a loved one, an assisted living facility, a boarding care home, a home plus facility, or a residential health care facility. The waiver pays for services and supports in those settings, but it will not pay for room and board, so the resident pays housing costs from income, VA benefits where eligible, or family funds. To start, contact the Aging and Disability Resource Center at 1-855-200-2372. This page states no Kansas 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 Kansas
For a veteran parent, two Kansas 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 homes. Kansas has two state veterans homes: the Kansas Soldiers' Home at Fort Dodge and the Kansas Veterans' Home at Winfield, both offering long-term care and assisted living or domiciliary levels of care on application. They are state veterans homes, not private assisted living communities, so treat them as a separate application track, not as a price comparison. For VA health care, use VA.gov to find the facility nearest your parent.
Kansas against the national median, in one row
Kansas assisted living at $5,948 a month sits $252 below the $6,200 national median, home care at $34 an hour sits $1 below the $35 national rate, adult day care at $200 a day sits $105 above the $95 national rate, and a nursing home semi-private room at $8,669 a month sits $912 below the $9,581 national figure. Kansas is a near-average state for assisted living and home care, a markedly dearer state for adult day care, and a cheaper state for nursing home rooms. At $8,669 a month, a semi-private nursing home room costs $2,721 a month more than the $5,948 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 Kansas Medicaid pay for assisted living room and board?
No. The Frail Elderly Waiver pays for services and supports for participants in an assisted living facility and other community settings, but it will not pay for room and board. The resident pays housing costs from income, VA benefits where eligible, or family funds.
Why does the Kansas City figure cross the state line?
Because the CareScout calculator maps the Kansas City, Kansas entry to the Kansas City metropolitan region, which spans the Kansas-Missouri line. The $6,828 figure is the Kansas City region median, not a Kansas-only survey. Budget a Kansas City move from that region figure until you hold written quotes from communities on the Kansas side itself.
What is the difference between an assisted living facility, a residential health care facility, and a home plus in Kansas?
All three are licensed adult care home categories in Kansas, but they are not the same license. An assisted living facility cares for six or more people in apartments with personal care or supervised nursing care available around the clock, while residential health care facilities and home plus facilities are smaller settings. Ask which license a setting holds at the tour, because the license sets what level of care it may provide.
Does the $5,948 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 Frail Elderly Waiver and VA eligibility before you sign. Start with assisted living checklist and assisted living costs.