Columbia Senior AdvisorWhat does senior care cost around Columbia?
CareScout's 2025 South Carolina medians are roughly $5,350 a month for assisted living, $9,034 for a shared nursing home room, $5,982 for 44 hours a week of home care and $1,560 for weekday adult day care; no Columbia-only or memory care median exists.
Last verified: November 2026| South Carolina, 2025 | Median per year | Per month (about) | 1-year change | U.S. median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assisted living (private one-bedroom) | $64,200 | $5,350 | +3% | $74,400 |
| Nursing home, semi-private room | $108,405 | $9,034 | +1% | $114,975 |
| Nursing home, private room | $115,340 | $9,612 | +1% | $129,575 |
| Home care, non-medical (44 hrs/week) | $71,786 | $5,982 | +5% | $80,080 |
| Adult day health care (5 days/week) | $18,720 | $1,560 | n/a | $24,700 |
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 Columbia-only figure and no memory care figure.
Who pays for long-term care in South Carolina?
Families usually pay first; Medicare covers short skilled stays, home health and hospice; Healthy Connections Medicaid pays long nursing home stays; Community Choices pays for help at home and Residential Personal Care in participating CRCFs; OSS helps low-income CRCF residents; PACE serves Richland, Lexington and Calhoun counties; and VA pension helps eligible veterans and survivors.
South Carolina has no Medicaid assisted living benefit in the usual sense. For people with very little income it relies on OSS, which pays a participating CRCF up to $1,719 a month in 2026.
Where can Midlands families get free benefits help?
The Central Midlands Area Agency on Aging ((803) 376-5390) serves Richland, Lexington and Fairfield counties; SCDHHS Community Long Term Care takes Community Choices referrals at (888) 971-1637; and Medicaid applications go through apply.scdhhs.gov or the SCDHHS Member Contact Center at (888) 549-0820.
Kershaw, Calhoun and Saluda families start with the Santee-Lynches, Lower Savannah and Upper Savannah aging agencies; county veterans affairs offices help with VA claims at no charge.
Costs & Paying: every guide
What senior care costs around Columbia
CareScout's 2025 South Carolina medians for assisted living, nursing homes, home care and adult day care, what they mean for Columbia-area budgets, and why no Columbia or memory care median exists.
Open the guide →How Optional State Supplementation pays for a Midlands CRCF
Optional State Supplementation (OSS) in South Carolina: 2026 maximum payment ($1,719), income limit ($1,804), personal needs allowance, which Columbia-area CRCFs take it and how to apply through SCDHHS.
Open the guide →Community Choices: Medicaid help at home and in assisted living
South Carolina's Community Choices Medicaid waiver: who qualifies, the services it pays for, Residential Personal Care in CRCFs, 2026 income and resource limits, and how Columbia families get a CLTC referral.
Open the guide →When Medicaid pays for a Midlands nursing home
How South Carolina Healthy Connections Medicaid pays for long-term nursing home care: 2026 income cap ($2,982), $2,000 resource limit, qualified income trusts, the 60-month look-back and applying from a Columbia hospital or nursing home.
Open the guide →What Medicare will and won't pay for
Medicare and senior care in Columbia, SC: no coverage for assisted living, the 100-day skilled nursing rule and observation status, home health, hospice in a CRCF or nursing home, and free SHIP counseling in the Midlands.
Open the guide →Veterans' benefits for senior care in the Midlands
VA Aid and Attendance for Columbia-area veterans and surviving spouses: 2025-26 rates, the $163,699 net worth limit, using it for assisted living, the state veterans pavilions in Columbia and free help from county veterans officers.
Open the guide →PACE for Columbia-area seniors
PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) around Columbia, SC: Prisma Health SeniorCare PACE-Midlands for Richland and Lexington, Calhoun County coverage, eligibility, what PACE covers and how it differs from Community Choices.
Open the guide →Planning a private-pay budget for Midlands senior care
How Columbia families pay privately for assisted living and home care: income and savings drawdown, long-term care insurance, using the house, planning for OSS or Medicaid later, and tax deductions.
Open the guide →Side by side
| This section gives you | This section does not give you | |
|---|---|---|
| Prices | South Carolina's 2025 published medians | A Columbia or memory care median that does not exist |
| Programs | How OSS, Community Choices, Medicaid, PACE, Medicare and VA work | A decision on your eligibility |
| Numbers | 2026 income, asset and OSS limits | Tax or legal advice |
| Planning | Questions to ask early | A replacement for an elder law attorney |
