Finding a care home in California: step by step
Free guides to every part of finding a licensed care home: the kinds of homes, ways to pay, checking a home, visits and paperwork, moving in, and your rights. Read them in order, or start with the step you are on.
Home counts are from CDSS public records, November 12, 2026. How we check
Step 1: Learn the kinds of care homes
Assisted living, board and care, memory care and nursing homes, and how they differ.- Assisted living vs. nursing home
In California, assisted living and board and care hold the same license. A nursing home holds a different, medical license.
- Board and care or assisted living
6,924 of the 8,620 licensed homes are licensed for 6 or fewer residents.
- Memory care in California
California has no separate memory care license. 4,563 licensed homes have a dementia designation on the state record.
- What health needs a care home can take
A care home is not a nursing home: 24-hour skilled nursing, a feeding tube and some other conditions rule one out, except on hospice.
- If daily skilled nursing is needed: Skilled nursing facilities
- Assisted living vs. nursing home
Step 2: Ways to pay for care
Paying privately, Medi-Cal’s Assisted Living Waiver, SSI, VA benefits and insurance.- Paying for a care home in California
Most residents pay privately: about 17% had any care paid by Medicaid in 2022 (CDC). The California median for assisted living was $7,000 a month in 2025 (CareScout).
- Medi-Cal’s Assisted Living Waiver
Medi-Cal can pay a participating home for care, not rent, in 15 counties. 15,910 people were waiting in March 2026 (DHCS).
- SSI in a care home
SSI/SSP pays $1,626.07 a month in a licensed care home in 2026. A home that accepts it may charge $1,444.07 for basic services.
- When the money runs out
A home may give 30 days’ notice once the basic rate is 10 days late. Ask before moving in whether it will take SSI or Medi-Cal later.
- Paying for a care home in California
Step 3: Find homes and check them
Homes near you, a home’s license and inspection reports, and having us ask homes for you.- Find homes near you
Every licensed home in California, with its state record.
- and Check availability
We ask the homes you choose about availability, price and the care you describe, and email you each answer.
- How to check a care home’s license
Look up any home’s license status, size and state inspection reports, by its name or license number.
- If hospice care is needed: Hospice in a care home
- Find homes near you
Step 4: Visit, and get the papers before you sign
Tours, the questions to ask, and the documents every home must give you.- Request a tour
We ask the homes you choose for a visit time, and email you each answer.
- Print a visit checklist
The questions to ask at each home, to print and take with you.
- Three documents every home must give you
Before you sign, you can ask for a blank admission agreement, three years of rate increases and the ombudsman’s contacts.
- Request a tour
Step 5: Move in
The medical assessment, the admission agreement, and the order they come in.- The paperwork for moving in
A medical assessment from the last year comes first. The admission agreement can be signed up to 7 days after moving in.
- The paperwork for moving in
Step 6: The first months, and your rights
Settling in, and the only reasons a home can ask a resident to leave.- The first 90 days
The first weeks are often the hardest. Studies link feeling in control of the move with settling in.
- Your right to stay in a care home
A home may make a resident leave for only five reasons in the law, with written notice, usually 30 days.
- The first 90 days