Assisted Living in Washington

In Washington, assisted living facilities provide care to seven or more people within a community-like setting. These facilities provide room and board, assistance with daily activities, and limited nursing services. On average, the cost of assisted living in Washington is $5,500 per month, or $66,000 annually, according to A Place for Mom’s internal data. Assisted living is the second most affordable senior living option in Washington, right behind independent living.

Assisted living costs greatly vary in Washington and often depend on factors like location, floor plan, care needs, and amenities. However, the approximate monthly cost of assisted living ranges from $3,500 to $7,800, according to A Place for Mom’s proprietary data.^[01] This cost range is an estimate based on what referred families actually paid at our partnering assisted living facilities in Washington. Costs account for room and board, care, and access to on-site amenities.

The average cost of assisted living in Washington is close to the national average, but it’s slightly higher by a few hundred dollars. Some Washington assisted living communities have higher prices because they’re located in popular areas, offer more on-site health care services, and feature robust lifestyle programs. However, there are more affordable options in less popular areas that still offer a healthy balance of care services and amenities. Seniors and their families can also save on some care costs with programs like Medicaid or Medicare.

Seniors and their families often pull together several income sources to cover assisted living costs in Washington. Families who start planning early tend to have the most options because it gives them more time to research the most suitable options. Most families use some combination of private and public resources to pay for assisted living. In this section, we’ve highlighted potential options and resources. You can also visit our guide to paying for long-term care for a brief summary of payment options.

In the state of Washington, all assisted living facilities must be licensed and regulated by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). To qualify as an assisted living facility, a residence must provide housing and care services to seven or more people.^[05]

After an initial inspection before licensing, assisted living facilities are inspected approximately once a year. To find inspection reports on a particular assisted living facility in Washington, you can follow these steps:

• Go to the DSHS Assisted Living Facility Locator.
• Search the community by location or name.
• Find the facility, find where it says “This facility has reports,” and select “reports.”
• Select the report you’d like to view.

In Washington, reports include the date of inspection, deficiencies found, and the date deficiencies were corrected.

How easy is it to access assisted living records in Washington?

We developed a system to rate each state on how easy — or difficult — it is to find important assisted living records and reports, and we compiled tips to help you in your search.

States with the most transparent records allow you to look up important information about each assisted living facility online, including inspections, complaints, survey results, violations, capacity, and whether the facility accepts Medicaid.

Access to Washington assisted living records: Exceptional

Public access to assisted living records and reports for the state of Washington is exceptional. Key findings that informed this rating include:

• Assisted living records in Washington State are highly transparent, having met all but one of the transparency criteria.
• Washington assisted living records are available through a convenient online search form.

How to look up Washington assisted living licenses and records

• Visit Washington State’s DSHS site: Adult Family Home Locator or Assisted Living Facility Locator.
• Enter a city or ZIP code to narrow your search.
• Click a community name from the search results for more information.
• Communities that have recently been subject to enforcement actions are specially marked in the results.

How we arrived at our Washington rating

We developed a standard methodology for state data collection and evaluation, and we based our rating primarily on the objective, state-specific accessibility criteria outlined in these questions:

1. Are licensed assisted living communities listed online in any form? Yes
2. If Yes to #1, is the information updated frequently? Yes
3. If Yes to #1, is the list of licensed communities searchable? Yes
4. Does the state post inspections, complaints, survey results, or violations online? Yes
5. If Yes to #4, is the information updated frequently (within 90 days)? Yes
6. If Yes to #2 and #4, is the enforcement information included in the same place as licensed communities? No
7. If Yes to #4 and No to #6, are violations and inspections searchable at all? Yes
8. Is information about special licensing for care shown? Yes
9. Is capacity shown? No
10. Are payment types shown (e.g., Medicaid, private pay)? Yes
11. Is the administrator/contact name shown? Yes
12. Can the state fine a facility? Yes
13. What is the frequency of inspections? Every 12 months
14. Does the website include pricing of facilities? No