What senior care costs in the Charleston area

How much does assisted living cost near Charleston, SC?

No Charleston-area median is published; CareScout's 2025 South Carolina median for a private one-bedroom in assisted living is $64,200 a year, about $5,350 a month, and the state median is the closest sourced figure for the Lowcountry.

The full set of 2025 South Carolina medians, released March 2, 2026:

CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey, South Carolina results (released March 2, 2026). Monthly figures are the annual medians divided by 12. Home care is priced at 44 hours a week for 52 weeks (about $31.37 an hour). CareScout's South Carolina release publishes statewide medians only: there is no Charleston-area figure and no memory care figure.

Expect real quotes in Mount Pleasant, on Daniel Island or on James Island to differ from a statewide figure, often by a wide margin in either direction. Ask every community for its base rent, its care-level charges and its last three annual increases in writing.

What does memory care cost in Charleston?

There is no published memory care median for Charleston, for South Carolina or for any state, because CareScout does not survey memory care as its own category; each community quotes its own price.

Memory care is usually priced above standard assisted living in the same building because of the secured setting and heavier staffing, but any specific premium you read online is an estimate, not a survey result. Ask for the all-in monthly figure, including care level, incontinence supplies and medication management, and ask how often the care level is reassessed.

How does a nursing home compare with home care on cost?

At South Carolina's 2025 medians, a semi-private nursing home room runs about $9,034 a month and a private room about $9,612, while 44 hours a week of non-medical home care runs about $5,982 a month, or roughly $31 an hour.

Home care costs scale with hours, so the comparison flips as needs grow. Here is the arithmetic at about $31 an hour:

Round-the-clock care at home is far more expensive than any facility. Families often find the crossover somewhere around 40 hours a week.

Why do Lowcountry prices vary so much between buildings?

Because the license tells you nothing about price: the same CRCF license covers a five-bed residential home in North Charleston and a resort-style community on Daniel Island, and each operator sets its own rent, care charges and annual increases.

Small residential homes, many of them clustered in North Charleston's 29405 and 29406 ZIP codes, often cost far less than large purpose-built communities, and some accept Optional State Supplementation. Newer communities in Mount Pleasant, Summerville and Daniel Island tend to price at the top of the market. Our assisted living roster sorts every licensed building by size so the two kinds are easy to tell apart.

How should a family budget for care?

Start from the monthly gap: subtract the parent's reliable monthly income from a realistic monthly cost, multiply by 12, and compare that yearly shortfall with the savings and home equity available, then plan for annual increases and higher care charges as needs grow.

A budget that lasts two to three years and ends with a clear public-program plan beats a five-year plan that ends in an unplanned move. If savings may run out, choose a building that participates in Optional State Supplementation or Community Choices Residential Personal Care, or one on a campus with a Medicaid-certified nursing home.