It is definitely a good idea to find out ahead of time what the cost of assisted living is in Arizona.  This will help you and your loved one make out a budget or financial plan, and assist you in determining how much money needs to be set aside each month.

Granted, costs can vary greatly from location to location—a newer, larger and fancier assisted living facility with a lot of bells and whistles will be sure to cost more than a small residential home that has been converted to a group home.

Genworth Financial Inc. 2011 Cost of Care Survey

In order to help assess the financial situation of assisted living residences, the insurance firm Genworth Financial Inc. recently published its 2011 Cost of Care Survey, which listed typical costs for different assisted living expenses in each state.

Nationally, assisted living costs average $39,135 for a year. In Arizona it’s slightly less, or $36,000 a year.

Additional research has found that in Arizona, the average cost of assisted living is about $2,500 a month, which is just slightly lower than the figure quoted above.

Cost of Assisted Living is evaluated by Level of Care

Cost is greatly influenced by the level of care, specialty needs and services. The phrase “level of care” is a commonly used term to evaluate how much care a senior may require. As a senior ages and becomes more dependent, the cost of care also increases. In some ways, you get what you pay for when it comes to assisted living facilities—meaning that the higher priced ones tend to be fancier and offer more.

Genworth Financial Inc. also found that costs for assisted living have risen faster than other senior housing choices.  They concluded that this is probably the case because the facilities are improving in terms of what they offer their residents.

Before you begin the selection process for an assisted living facility, it might be helpful to determine how much you or your loved one can afford to pay, and if you or your relative qualifies for any type of aid. With this information in mind at the start, it will be easier to decide which facilities you can take the time to visit.