Assisted Living Cost in Minnesota
Minnesota's headline is its home care price: at $44 an hour, staying home with help costs more here than in most states, which changes the math between home care and assisted living. The metro spread is wide too, at $2,339 a month from Duluth to Minneapolis and St. Paul. Price the setting your parent will actually use, not the state average.
Sources: CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, released March 2026, ranked state tables and Cost of Care calculator, accessed November 2026; Minnesota Department of Human Services Elderly Waiver and customized living information; Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs veterans homes information.
Minnesota assisted living costs, against the national median
The table below is the CareScout 2025 survey for Minnesota, 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 | Minnesota median | National median |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted living, per month | $6,482 ($77,784 per year) | $6,200 ($74,400 per year) |
| Home care, non-medical caregiver, per hour | $44 ($100,672 per year at 44 hours a week) | $35 ($80,080 per year at 44 hours a week) |
| Adult day health care, per day | $120 ($31,200 per year at 5 days a week) | $95 ($24,700 per year at 5 days a week) |
| Nursing home, semi-private room, per month | $10,646 ($127,752 per year) | $9,581 ($114,975 per year) |
| Nursing home, private room, per month | $13,870 ($166,440 per year) | $10,798 ($129,575 per year) |
The assisted living cost Minnesota median runs $282 a month above the national median, which is $3,384 over a full year (77,784 minus 74,400). Home care at $44 an hour sits $9 above the $35 national rate. Adult day care at $120 a day sits $25 above the $95 national rate. A semi-private nursing home room at $10,646 sits $1,065 above the $9,581 national figure, and a private room at $13,870 sits $3,072 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 Minnesota 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 $4,750 to $7,089, a gap of $2,339 a month between the lowest and highest Minnesota place in this table. The St. Paul figure maps to the Minneapolis metropolitan region, which the calculator reports for St. Paul, so read it as the Minneapolis region figure, not as a St. Paul-specific survey.
| Place | Assisted living median per month, 2025 | Against the Minnesota median |
|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis | $7,089 | $607 above |
| St. Paul | $7,089 | $607 above |
| Rochester | $5,033 | $1,449 below |
| Duluth | $4,750 | $1,732 below |
Two places in this table sit above the $6,482 state median and two sit below it, which tells you the state figure is not the price in any of these places. Minneapolis and St. Paul at $7,089 sit $607 above the state median, while Duluth, the lowest place in this table, sits $1,732 below 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.
Minnesota licenses assisted living facilities through the Department of Health under Minnesota Statutes chapter 144G. 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 Minnesota: Elderly Waiver and customized living
Minnesota's Medicaid route for care in an assisted living facility is the Elderly Waiver, for people age 65 or older who meet the nursing facility level of care and choose to live in the community. A waiver is the state program that pays for care services outside a nursing home. Under the waiver, the service that matters most inside an assisted living facility is customized living: an individualized package of regularly scheduled, health-related and supportive services, typically provided in assisted living settings, with a 24-hour version that adds round-the-clock supervision. Elderly Waiver rates must not include room and board, rent, or raw food costs, under Minnesota Statutes section 256S.17, so the resident pays housing costs separately. For eligible adults, the state's Housing Support program may pay room and board; the lead agency financial worker sets the amount of the resident's own resources used for room and board and any Housing Support payment. Ask the county or tribal agency handling the case to run both the waiver and the Housing Support math before you sign. 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 Minnesota
For a veteran parent, two Minnesota 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. Minnesota operates eight Minnesota Veterans Homes: Bemidji, Fergus Falls, Hastings, Luverne, Minneapolis, Montevideo, Preston, and Silver Bay. Minneapolis is the oldest and largest, and Minneapolis and Hastings also offer domiciliary (boarding) care alongside skilled nursing. 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.
Minnesota against the national median, in one row
Minnesota assisted living at $6,482 a month sits $282 above the $6,200 national median, home care at $44 an hour sits $9 above the $35 national rate, adult day care at $120 a day sits $25 above the $95 national rate, and a nursing home semi-private room at $10,646 a month sits $1,065 above the $9,581 national figure. Minnesota is a dearer state for every setting in this table, and a markedly dearer state for adult day care and private nursing home rooms. At $10,646 a month, a semi-private nursing home room costs $4,164 a month more than the $6,482 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 the Elderly Waiver pay for assisted living room and board?
No. Elderly Waiver rates must not include room and board, rent, or raw food costs, under Minnesota Statutes section 256S.17. The waiver pays for the care package, including customized living services, while housing is paid separately. For eligible adults, Housing Support may pay room and board; ask the lead agency financial worker to run that math alongside the waiver.
Why does St. Paul share Minneapolis's figure?
Because the CareScout calculator maps the St. Paul entry to the Minneapolis metropolitan region, not to a St. Paul-specific survey region. The $7,089 figure is the Minneapolis region median, not a price measured in St. Paul itself. Budget a St. Paul move from that region figure until you hold written quotes from communities in St. Paul itself.
What is customized living?
Customized living is an individualized package of regularly scheduled, health-related and supportive services funded under the Elderly Waiver and typically provided in assisted living settings. The package is built around the person's assessed needs and goals, rather than a fixed menu, and a 24-hour version adds round-the-clock supervision. It does not cover move-in costs, entrance or community fees, or room and board.
Does the $6,482 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 Elderly Waiver and VA eligibility before you sign. Start with assisted living checklist and assisted living costs.