Assisted Living Cost in Maine
Maine is the most expensive state in this batch for nearly every setting, and its Medicaid route is the most easily misunderstood: the waiver that pays for care at home stops at the door of an assisted living facility. The metro spread is narrow, at $548 a month from Augusta to Portland, because every place checked sits above the state median. Get the waiver boundary right first, then price the place your parent will actually live in.
Sources: CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, released March 2026, ranked state tables and Cost of Care calculator, accessed November 2026; Maine Department of Health and Human Services MaineCare residential care and Elderly and Adults with Disabilities Waiver information; Maine Veterans Homes information.
Maine assisted living costs, against the national median
The table below is the CareScout 2025 survey for Maine, 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 | Maine median | National median |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted living, per month | $6,810 ($81,720 per year) | $6,200 ($74,400 per year) |
| Home care, non-medical caregiver, per hour | $44.50 ($101,816 per year at 44 hours a week) | $35 ($80,080 per year at 44 hours a week) |
| Adult day health care, per day | $115 ($29,900 per year at 5 days a week) | $95 ($24,700 per year at 5 days a week) |
| Nursing home, semi-private room, per month | $13,976 ($167,712 per year) | $9,581 ($114,975 per year) |
| Nursing home, private room, per month | $14,904 ($178,848 per year) | $10,798 ($129,575 per year) |
The assisted living cost Maine median runs $610 a month above the national median, which is $7,320 over a full year (81,720 minus 74,400). Home care at $44.50 an hour sits $9.50 above the $35 national rate. Adult day care at $115 a day sits $20 above the $95 national rate. A semi-private nursing home room at $13,976 sits $4,395 above the $9,581 national figure, and a private room at $14,904 sits $4,106 above 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 Maine 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 $8,205 to $8,753, a gap of $548 a month between the lowest and highest Maine place in this table. The Augusta figure maps to the Non-Metropolitan Area region, which the calculator reports for Augusta, so read it as the non-metropolitan region figure, not as an Augusta-specific survey.
| Place | Assisted living median per month, 2025 | Against the Maine median |
|---|---|---|
| Portland | $8,753 | $1,943 above |
| Lewiston | $8,205 | $1,395 above |
| Bangor | $8,205 | $1,395 above |
| Augusta | $8,205 | $1,395 above |
All four places in this table sit above the $6,810 state median, which tells you smaller regions outside these places pull the state figure down, not up. Portland at $8,753 sits $1,943 above the state median, while Lewiston, Bangor, and Augusta, the lowest places in this table, still sit $1,395 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.
Maine licenses residential care facilities through the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Licensing and Certification. Residential care is Maine's licensed setting for assisted housing, so the license to ask about at the tour is the residential care facility license. Ask at the tour, in writing, which services the base rate covers and which are billed as extras, what each extra costs, and what level of care the setting is licensed to provide. The tour checklist on assisted living checklist groups those questions for you.
Medicaid in Maine: MaineCare residential care, and a home-only waiver
Maine's Medicaid program is called MaineCare. Maine is different from most states in this series: MaineCare pays for personal care services delivered in licensed residential care facilities, which is the assisted housing route for a resident who qualifies. The separate Elderly and Adults with Disabilities Waiver is the home route, and it works the other way: it pays for home services such as in-home nursing, home modifications, meal delivery, and personal care for people age 65 or older, or with a disability, who meet the nursing facility level of care, but a participant cannot live in an adult foster care home or an assisted living facility. A waiver is the state program that pays for care services outside a nursing home. Room and board stays private pay under the waiver route, so the resident pays housing costs from income, VA benefits where eligible, or family funds, and should ask Maine DHHS whether the Housing Supports program can help with housing costs. 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 Maine
For a veteran parent, two Maine 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 Maine Veterans Homes, a state-chartered nonprofit, separate from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, that provides long-term care for veterans, their spouses, and Gold Star parents in six homes: Augusta, Bangor, Caribou, Machias, Scarborough, and South Paris. They are 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.
Maine against the national median, in one row
Maine assisted living at $6,810 a month sits $610 above the $6,200 national median, home care at $44.50 an hour sits $9.50 above the $35 national rate, adult day care at $115 a day sits $20 above the $95 national rate, and a nursing home semi-private room at $13,976 a month sits $4,395 above the $9,581 national figure. Maine is a dearer state for every setting in this table, and a markedly dearer state for nursing home rooms. At $13,976 a month, a semi-private nursing home room costs $7,166 a month more than the $6,810 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
Can the Elderly and Adults with Disabilities Waiver pay for care inside an assisted living facility?
No. That waiver pays for services delivered at home, and a participant cannot live in an adult foster care home or an assisted living facility. If your parent already lives in a residential care facility, the route to check is MaineCare's personal care services in licensed residential care facilities, not the waiver.
Why does Augusta share the $8,205 figure?
Because the CareScout calculator maps the Augusta entry to the Non-Metropolitan Area region, not to an Augusta-specific survey region. The $8,205 figure is the non-metropolitan region median, not a price measured in Augusta itself. Budget an Augusta move from that region figure until you hold written quotes from communities in Augusta itself.
Why are Lewiston and Bangor identical at $8,205?
Because a median is a middle price, and two metros can share the same middle price while their individual quotes differ widely. The tie tells you nothing about any single community's price. Treat $8,205 as the starting point for both metros, then collect three written quotes in the metro itself with apartment size and care level stated.
Does MaineCare cover the full bill in a residential care facility?
No. MaineCare pays for personal care services in licensed residential care facilities for residents who qualify, but the resident still pays housing costs from income, VA benefits where eligible, or family funds. Ask Maine DHHS whether the Housing Supports program can help with housing costs, and get the facility's full fee schedule in writing before admission.
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 MaineCare and VA eligibility before you sign. Start with assisted living checklist and assisted living costs.