How much does care cost?
The cost of care depends on:
- the type of care you’re receiving
- your location, and
- the care home, home care or sheltered accommodation provider you’ve chosen.
The cost of home care packages
Home care costs can vary hugely, depending on your location.
There are significant regional variations. Costs will also depend on:
- what sort of care you need
- how many hours of care you need, and
- what time of the day and week you need it.
For example, weekends may cost more – and bank holidays can cost double.
Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to combine formal home care support with informal support from relatives and friends.
Having access to respite care (a short stay in a care home), if you need it, is a good option. This is particularly important to consider if your family plays a large part in caring for you.
How much does sheltered accommodation cost?
The cost of living in sheltered housing and extra care accommodation is made up of separate parts. These parts include:
- a service charge for communal services
- rent for your individual property
- heating costs
- costs for housing-related support provided by support workers, and
- costs for care services (where care is received).
Not surprisingly, fees vary by location, provider, the type of services provided and the amount of care the resident receives. To get accurate costs, you can contact the relevant sheltered housing provider.
You can find contact details for sheltered housing providers in the Elderly Accommodation Counsel directory.
Care home fees
The average cost of a residential care home in the UK, in 2020, was £37,232 a year. This rose to over £51,896 a year when nursing care was included*
Our table below shows how care costs can vary hugely across the country. In addition, the costs of staying in a care home can vary considerably between care homes. For example, the more specialised the care (such as dementia care) the higher the care home fees. You’ll also pay higher care home fees for places with more comfortable surroundings and better-quality facilities.
Care home fees are made up of:
- Hotel costs: accommodation, laundry, meals, heating and lighting.
- Care costs: residential care, nursing care, dementia care.
Care homes provide care 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. This gives an average cost per hour of £4.26 for residential care and £5.94 for nursing care.
Find out the cost of care homes in your local area.
Care home fees 2021/2022
| Average weekly UK care home fees | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential care | Nursing care | ||||
| Frail older | Dementia | Frail older | Dementia | ||
| North East | £636 | £652 | £882 | £913 | |
| North West | £629 | £645 | £872 | £902 | |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £641 | £657 | £889 | £920 | |
| East Midlands | £688 | £705 | £955 | £988 | |
| West Midlands | £674 | £691 | £935 | £968 | |
| East of England | £688 | £705 | £955 | £988 | |
| London | £809 | £829 | £1,123 | £1,161 | |
| South East | £858 | £880 | £1,191 | £1,232 | |
| South West | £805 | £825 | £1,117 | £1,156 | |
| Wales | £709 | £727 | £983 | £1,017 | |
| Scotland | £850 | £869 | £863 | £893 | |
| Northern Ireland | £546 | £558 | £720 | £745 | |
| UK | £667 | £682 | £924 | £956 | |
Source: LaingBuisson Care of Older People UK Market Report 32nd edition 2021
You may be eligible for local authority funding for your care costs. To find out if you are, your local authority will need to prepare a support and care plan. This will be based on your care needs.
Once they’ve done this, your local authority will do a financial assessment to determine your ability to pay.
It’s vital you get professional and expert financial advice about funding long-term care – independently or from your local authority. Doing this as soon as possible will help you determine the best way of covering the cost of your care fees.
*(Laing and Buisson Care of Older People Report 32nd Edition 2021)