Who lives in assisted living residences?
There are approximately 1 million assisted living residents living in over 36,000 facilities nationwide. The majority of individuals move into assisted living because of a significant change in health condition. Approximately two-thirds of residents come to assisted living from home. The rest come from hospitals, nursing homes, and other assisted living facilities.
Currently, more than a million Americans are living in an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 assisted living communities. The vast majority of residents are frail elderly, with an average age of 83. In Michigan, approximately 10,000 elderly adults reside in assisted living facilities licensed as Adult Foster Care homes. Approximately 11,000 elderly adults reside in licensed Homes for the Aged. Tens of thousands of other adults are estimated to be living in a variety of unlicensed community living or retirement residence settings which offer a wide range of supports and services. There is currently no generally accepted definition of assisted living in Michigan and no systematic means of counting these unlicensed facilities and their resident capacity.
