Knoxville Senior AdvisorWhat does senior care cost in the Knoxville area?
CareScout's 2025 Tennessee medians are about $5,595 a month for assisted living, $9,429 for a semi-private nursing home room, $5,911 for 44 hours a week of home care and $1,733 for weekday adult day health care; there is no published Knoxville or memory care median.
Last verified: October 2026| Care type (Tennessee median, 2025) | Per year | About per month | Change from 2024 | U.S. median per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assisted living (private one-bedroom) | $67,140 | $5,595 | +4% | $74,400 |
| Nursing home, semi-private room | $113,150 | $9,429 | +3% | $114,975 |
| Nursing home, private room | $120,450 | $10,038 | +2% | $129,575 |
| Home care, non-medical (44 hrs/week) | $70,928 | $5,911 | +3% | $80,080 |
| Adult day health care (5 days/week) | $20,800 | $1,733 | n/a | $24,700 |
| Private duty nurse (1 hr/week, 52 weeks) | $4,108 | $342 | n/a | $4,680 |
CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey, Tennessee results (released March 2, 2026). Monthly, hourly and daily figures are our arithmetic from CareScout's published annual medians (annual / 12; home care annual / 2,288 hours; adult day annual / 260 days; nursing home annual / 365). CareScout collects rates by metro area but its Tennessee release publishes statewide medians only, and it does not survey memory care as a separate category.
Who pays for long-term care in Tennessee?
Most families start by paying privately; Medicare covers only short skilled stays, home health and hospice; TennCare CHOICES pays nursing home care for eligible residents and the care portion of assisted living and home services; OPTIONS for Community Living helps at home on a sliding fee; and VA Aid and Attendance helps eligible veterans and surviving spouses.
The fact that catches most families off guard is the room-and-board gap: TennCare can pay for care in an ACLF but not for rent and meals, which the resident's own income must cover.
Where can Knoxville families get free benefits counseling?
ETHRA's Area Agency on Aging and Disability screens for TennCare CHOICES and OPTIONS across all seven counties at 1-866-836-6678, and TN SHIP gives free Medicare counseling at 1-877-801-0044.
TennCare applications go through TennCare Connect or 855-259-0701. In Knox County, the CAC Office on Aging at (865) 546-3500 connects older adults with meals and local services.
Costs & Paying: every guide
What senior care costs around Knoxville
CareScout 2025 Tennessee medians: assisted living about $5,595 a month, semi-private nursing home about $9,429, home care about $31 an hour, adult day about $1,733 a month. What Knoxville families should add.
Read the guide →TennCare CHOICES: long-term care coverage in East Tennessee
TennCare CHOICES Groups 1, 2 and 3; 2026 income cap $2,982 a month, $2,000 resources, five-year look-back; ACLF services covered but not room and board; how Knoxville families apply through ETHRA or TennCare Connect.
Read the guide →OPTIONS for Community Living: Tennessee's state-funded home help
Tennessee's OPTIONS for Community Living program funds homemaker, personal care and home-delivered meals through ETHRA for Knoxville-area adults with daily-living limitations. Eligibility, fees and how to ask.
Read the guide →What Medicare covers in senior care, and where it stops
Medicare and long-term care for Knoxville families: skilled nursing after a three-day hospital stay, home health for homebound patients, hospice, and why Medicare never pays assisted living rent.
Read the guide →VA Aid and Attendance for East Tennessee veterans
VA Aid and Attendance 2025-26 maximum rates ($2,424 a month for a single veteran, $1,558 for a surviving spouse), the $163,699 net worth limit, how care costs reduce countable income, and Knoxville's State Veterans Home.
Read the guide →Protecting a spouse when one partner needs long-term care
2026 spousal impoverishment standards for TennCare: community spouse resource allowance $32,532 to $162,660, monthly maintenance needs allowance $2,705 to $4,066.50, home equity limits, and planning steps for Knoxville couples.
Read the guide →Paying privately for senior care in the Knoxville area
How Knoxville-area families pay privately for assisted living, memory care and home care: income and asset math, home sale timing, long-term care insurance, life insurance options and when to plan for TennCare.
Read the guide →Side by side
| This section gives you | This section does not give you | |
|---|---|---|
| Prices | Tennessee's published 2025 medians | A Knoxville or memory care figure that does not exist |
| Programs | How CHOICES, OPTIONS, Medicare and VA pension work | An eligibility decision |
| Limits | 2026 income, asset and spousal standards | Legal or tax advice |
| Planning | Questions to ask and when to start | A replacement for an elder law attorney |
