Long-Term Care Affordability Worsening for Middle-Income Pennsylvanians: AARP Report

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Home care and assisted living costs have surged nearly 50 percent nationwide since 2019, erasing a decade of progress in making long-term care affordable for middle-income older adults, according to a new AARP's new report.

In 2025, the average annual income for Pennsylvanians age 65 and older was $55,938, yet the cost of long-term care far exceeded what most older adults can afford:

• $155,490 - Nursing Home Private Room
• $141,985 - Nursing Home Semi-Private Room
• $73,206 - Assisted Living
• $53,040 - Home Health Aide

These numbers make clear that paying for long-term care services can quickly drain savings and threaten financial security. As costs continue to rise faster than incomes, long-term care affordability is no longer a future concern – it is a crisis today, and Pennsylvania must act now to close the affordability gap by advancing policies that keep care within reach, protect older adults from financial ruin, and allow them to remain at home. 

"Home care and other long-term care services have quickly become increasingly unaffordable in recent years," said AARP Pennsylvania State Director Bill Johnston-Walsh. "As costs rise faster than older adults' household incomes, many families must deplete savings, rely on unpaid family caregivers, or go without needed care."

National key findings from the report include:

• In recent years, long-term care costs grew faster than incomes. From 2019 to 2024, the annual median cost of home care services increased by close to 50 percent, while over the same period the median household income for someone age 65 or older grew by less than half that amount, making long-term care further unaffordable.
• Typical incomes are not enough to pay for long-term care. In 2024, the median household income for someone age 65 or older was about $60,000, while the annual median cost of home care services exceeded $50,000.
• Savings are often insufficient to cover long-term care needs. The median household age 75 and older has about $50,000 in financial assets, enough to cover roughly one year of home care or only a few months of nursing home care.

Read the full report here. See complete state-level data here.

About AARP
AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the 125 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health and financial security, and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation's largest-circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and the AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit aarp.org, aarp.org/espanol or follow @AARP, @AARPLatino and @AARPadvocates on social media.

MEDIA CONTACT:
TJ Thiessen
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SOURCE AARP Pennsylvania