Assisted Living in Illinois

When families search for assisted living, Illinois is often at the top of the list — and for good reason.

People often say Illinois is a small version of the United States as a whole, meaning the state has a little bit of everything the country has to offer. With mostly moderate weather, plus plenty of farmland and rural towns to go along with its mid-size industrial cities and Chicago — the third-largest city in the U.S. — Illinois is a uniquely desirable retirement destination. It’s the quintessential Midwestern state, bordering the Mississippi River in the west, the Ohio River in the east, and Lake Michigan in the north. The “Land of Lincoln” also has a rich political history: Other than Honest Abe, several other U.S. presidents have called Illinois home, including Ulysses S. Grant, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama.

Currently, A Place for Mom partners with more than 540 senior living communities in Illinois that provide assisted living.

The median monthly cost of assisted living in Illinois is about $4,900.

Top cities in Illinois

Cook County Dupage County Lake County Chicago Will County Rockford

Illinois Assisted Living Regulations

Assisted living communities are regulated by the Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Assisted Living. Public access to assisted living records and violations history in Illinois is rated as moderate. You can use the state’s facility locator to research the violation history of an assisted living community.

In Illinois, an assisted living community — or assisted living establishment — provides community-based residential care for at least three unrelated adults (at least 80 percent of whom are 55 years of age or older) who need assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), including personal, supportive, and intermittent health-related services. ADLs include but are not limited to: bathing, dressing, eating, walking, physical transfer, giving medications, or helping residents give themselves medications. This care is available 24-hours per day, if needed, to meet the scheduled and unscheduled needs of a resident.

Cost of Living

Overall, the cost of living in Illinois is considered to be slightly more affordable than the national average. All index scores are based on a scale with the national average set at 100.

Price Indexes

Cost of Living: 96
Groceries: 94
Housing: 87
Utilities: 101
Transportation: 101

Demographics

About 13% of the Illinois population are seniors. In the 2016 presidential election, Illinois leaned liberal.

2016 Presidential Election

56% voted Democratic
39% voted Republican
5% voted third party

Population

Median age: 38
Over the age of 55: 29%
2018 population: 12,741,080
2020 population: 12,651,325
Estimated 2025 population: 12,429,694

Miscellaneous

34% regularly attend a religious service
39% consider themselves atheist, agnostic, or a non-believer
Across the state there are a total of 12,453 congregations
There are 518 Masonic lodges in the state

Climate and Weather

Illinois' climate is mainly divided into two sections, with the northern half of the state classified as humid continental, and the southern half classified as humid subtropical. This means the state has four distinct seasons including warm summers and cold winters, and the northern areas near Lake Michigan often experience more extreme temperatures and higher amounts of precipitation.

Humidity and Precipitation

Average humidity level: 71%
Average monthly precipitation: 3”
Average maximum monthly precipitation: 6” (May)

Air Quality

Average air quality index rating: 38 (Good)
Average maximum air quality rating: 55 in May (Moderate)

Moderate air quality rating means that those who are sensitive to particulates in the air should limit the amount of time they spend on outdoor exertion.