Memory Care Cost Calculator

A shift from a 0.7 regional index (lower-cost region) to 1.5 (high-cost metro) more than doubles the total, while moving from early/mild to severe/late dementia stage only multiplies the room-and-therapy subtotal by 1.25/0.90, about 39% -- a real but much smaller swing. That gap comes from each input's declared range (region spans 0.5x-2.0x, a 4x range; dementia stage spans 0.90x-1.25x, about 1.4x), not from where regionIndex appears in the formula -- multiplication doesn't give any term extra weight for being applied last.

Severe or late-stage dementia care carries a 1.25x multiplier versus 0.90x for early or mild-stage care in this model -- roughly 39% more expensive for the same room type and region -- reflecting the additional staffing that advanced dementia symptoms like wandering, aggression, or full ADL dependence typically require. That's a meaningful but not dramatic swing compared to choosing a private versus semi-private room, or moving between low- and high-cost regions.

Yes for the monthly and daily cost figures at the top -- those come from room type, dementia stage, region, and therapy level alone. Years of care and the annual inflation rate only drive the total projected cost and the funding-gap analysis further down the results, so leaving years-of-care at its default doesn't change today's rate at all; it only changes how many years of compounding get added into the cumulative multi-year total.

The calculator prices 24-hour in-home memory care around $17,500 a month before regional adjustment, typically well above the facility-based memory care estimate for the same region -- the gap widens further in higher-cost areas since both figures scale with the same regional multiplier. Facility care generally comes out ahead on cost once round-the-clock supervision is needed, though in-home care lets a person remain in a familiar setting, a factor this dollar comparison doesn't capture.