Assisted Living Cost in New Hampshire
New Hampshire is the priciest state in this batch by a wide margin, and the metro gap is the widest yet: Manchester costs $3,362 a month more than the state median. The state also has just one veterans home and a single Medicaid waiver for assisted living, so the payment and veterans sections of this page are short and specific. If your parent lives in southern New Hampshire, budget from the Manchester figure, not the state figure.
Sources: CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, released March 2026, ranked state tables and Cost of Care calculator, accessed November 2026; New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Choices for Independence Waiver and Home and Community Based Services information; New Hampshire Veterans Home information.
New Hampshire assisted living costs, against the national median
The table below is the CareScout 2025 survey for New Hampshire, 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 | New Hampshire median | National median |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted living, per month | $8,025 ($96,300 per year) | $6,200 ($74,400 per year) |
| Home care, non-medical caregiver, per hour | $40 ($91,520 per year at 44 hours a week) | $35 ($80,080 per year at 44 hours a week) |
| Adult day health care, per day | $93 ($24,180 per year at 5 days a week) | $95 ($24,700 per year at 5 days a week) |
| Nursing home, semi-private room, per month | $12,243 ($146,916 per year) | $9,581 ($114,975 per year) |
| Nursing home, private room, per month | $13,444 ($161,328 per year) | $10,798 ($129,575 per year) |
The assisted living cost New Hampshire median runs $1,825 a month above the national median, which is $21,900 over a full year (96,300 minus 74,400). Home care at $40 an hour sits $5 above the $35 national rate. Adult day care at $93 a day sits $2 below the $95 national rate. A semi-private nursing home room at $12,243 sits $2,662 above the $9,581 national figure, and a private room at $13,444 sits $2,646 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 New Hampshire 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 $8,250 to $11,387, a gap of $3,137 a month between the lowest and highest New Hampshire place in this table. The Nashua figure maps to the Manchester metropolitan region, which the calculator reports for Nashua, and the Concord and Portsmouth figures map to the non-metropolitan region of New Hampshire, so read those as region figures, not as place-specific surveys.
| Place | Assisted living median per month, 2025 | Against the New Hampshire median |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester | $11,387 | $3,362 above |
| Nashua | $11,387 | $3,362 above |
| Concord | $8,250 | $225 above |
| Portsmouth | $8,250 | $225 above |
All four places in this table sit above the $8,025 state median, which tells you smaller regions outside these places pull the state figure down, not up. Manchester and Nashua at $11,387 sit $3,362 above the state median, the largest place gap in this batch, while Concord and Portsmouth, the lowest places in this table, still sit $225 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.
New Hampshire licenses Assisted Living Residences through the Department of Health and Human Services, under RSA 151 and Admin Rules He-P 800, at two levels. An Assisted Living Residence - Residential Care facility provides room, board, and personal care, while an Assisted Living Residence - Supported Residential Health Care facility adds health care services. New Hampshire does not require special certification or standards for a residence that offers memory care. Ask at the tour, in writing, which license level a 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 New Hampshire: Choices for Independence Waiver
New Hampshire's Medicaid help for assisted living runs through the Choices for Independence Waiver, a Medicaid Home and Community Based Services waiver operated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Adult and Aging Services. A waiver is the state program that pays for care services outside a nursing home. The waiver covers residential care facility services, and participants may live in their own home, a family member's home, an adult family home, or a residential care facility such as an assisted living facility. Eligibility requires age 18 or older, Medicaid eligibility, and a nursing facility level of care. Room and board is not covered by the waiver; the waiver pays for the care services in the setting, and the resident pays room and board separately. No official Department of Health and Human Services page states a current waitlist for the waiver, so this page makes no waitlist claim. For help sorting the options, ServiceLink, New Hampshire's Aging and Disability Resource Center network, runs a statewide line at 1-866-634-9412. 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 New Hampshire
For a veteran parent, two New Hampshire 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. New Hampshire has one state veterans home, the New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton, founded in 1890 as the Soldiers Home for Civil War Veterans. 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.
New Hampshire against the national median, in one row
Assisted living cost New Hampshire at $8,025 a month sits $1,825 above the $6,200 national median, home care at $40 an hour sits $5 above the $35 national rate, adult day care at $93 a day sits $2 below the $95 national rate, and a nursing home semi-private room at $12,243 a month sits $2,662 above the $9,581 national figure. New Hampshire is a markedly pricier state for assisted living and nursing home rooms, a slightly pricier state for home care, and an average state for adult day care. At $12,243 a month, a semi-private nursing home room costs $4,218 a month more than the $8,025 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 Choices for Independence Waiver pay for room and board?
No. The waiver pays for care services in the setting, including residential care facility services, but not room and board. Budget the housing portion from income, VA benefits where eligible, or family funds, and confirm the facility's room and board charge in writing before admission. ServiceLink, at 1-866-634-9412, can walk through the options for your parent's situation.
Why do Nashua, Concord, and Portsmouth share figures with other regions?
Because the CareScout calculator maps each entry to the closest survey region. Nashua maps to the Manchester metropolitan region, so it shares Manchester's $11,387 figure, while Concord and Portsmouth map to the non-metropolitan region of New Hampshire, so they share its $8,250 figure. None of the three figures is a price measured in that city itself. Budget a move in any of them from the region figure until you hold written quotes from communities in that city itself.
What is the difference between the two assisted living license levels?
An Assisted Living Residence - Residential Care facility provides room, board, and personal care. An Assisted Living Residence - Supported Residential Health Care facility adds health care services on top of that. Ask which level a setting holds at the tour, because the level sets what care the building may provide, and remember New Hampshire requires no special certification for a residence that offers memory care.
Does the $8,025 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 Choices for Independence Waiver and VA eligibility before you sign. Start with assisted living checklist and assisted living costs.