What senior care costs near St. Francis - and how to choose without regret
Whether your parent needs a little help at home or full nursing care, the money question hits first in St. Francis: this guide lays out the 2026 medians by care type, Wisconsin's Medicaid reality, and how to vet any facility.
Assisted living near St. Francis compares against a national median of $6,200 a month - and Wisconsin's own median of $6,540, ranked #19 of 50 states.
In-home care averages $35 an hour nationally - about $80,080 a year at 44 hours a week for St. Francis households.
A semi-private nursing home room runs $9,581 a month at the 2025 national median - the number St. Francis families weighing skilled care start from.
St. Francis plus 12 surrounding towns within 40 km share one senior-care market of about 836,670 people - comparing 3-4 communities is realistic.
Waitlists are the hidden cost near St. Francis: good communities fill up, and crisis placements pay premium rates for whatever is open. Starting the search before the emergency is the single biggest money-saver in long-term care.
St. Francis has about 8,951 residents, and its families face the same three care paths as everywhere else: in-home help (around $35 an hour nationally), assisted living (median $6,200 a month), and nursing care ($9,581 for a semi-private room). What changes locally is availability, waitlists and Wisconsin's rules - covered below.
What care costs in 2026
| Care type | 2025 national median | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| In-home care | $35/hour | Non-medical help at home - meals, bathing, companionship |
| Adult day care | $95/day | Daytime supervision and activities, evenings at home |
| Assisted living | $6,200/month | Housing plus daily-living help; care-level fees extra |
| Memory care | typically 20-40% above assisted living | Secured dementia care with higher staffing |
| Nursing home (semi-private) | $9,581/month | 24/7 skilled medical care |
| Nursing home (private room) | $355/day | Same care, private room |
Compare senior care options near St. Francis
These platforms show communities and home-care agencies near you with pricing guidance. Advisors are free to families - providers pay them, as they do this site.
Disclosure: this is an independent guide. If you connect with a provider through a link here, the platform may pay this site a referral fee. That fee never changes your price - and it never changes what the inspection records say.
Wisconsin: Medicaid, prices and the inspection file
| Question | Wisconsin answer |
|---|---|
| Medicaid & assisted living | Yes - Wisconsin's two Medicaid long-term care programs, Family Care (through a managed care organization) and IRIS (self-directed), pay for assisted living SERVICES but not room and board, which "are the responsibility of the program members who must pay these costs out of pocket"; Family Care members may live in a licensed CBRF, a licensed or certified adult family home, or a certified RCAC, while IRIS members may only use their own home, a licensed/certified AFH or a certified RCAC (CBRFs and registered RCACs are not allowable IRIS settings). |
| State median, assisted living | $6,540/month (#19 of 50 states) |
| Licensing & inspection records | Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), Division of Quality Assurance (DQA) |
Wisconsin has no license category called "assisted living facility" - DQA licenses Community-Based Residential Facilities (CBRFs, 5+ residents, up to 3 hours of nursing care per week) and 3-4 bed Adult Family Homes, certifies 1-2 bed Adult Family Homes, and registers or certifies Residential Care Apartment Complexes (RCACs, independent apartments, max 28 hours/week of services); crucially, a merely REGISTERED RCAC may serve private-pay tenants only, so Medicaid dollars cannot follow a resident there - only a CERTIFIED RCAC can take Medicaid waiver funding.
This guide is research, not advice: an independent summary of published costs and state rules. It is not a care provider, placement agency, law firm or financial advisor - care and Medicaid decisions deserve professional advice for your family's situation.
Why only these platforms
What actually costs families in long-term care is rarely the monthly rate - it is the wrong placement: the understaffed night shift, the move that has to be redone in a year, the community that quietly evicts residents when savings run out. Every one of those is checkable before signing.
Senior care referral is an industry with real abuse - phone-blast lead sellers and pay-to-play rankings. This guide only links platforms that show you multiple named communities and let you decline: never single-facility funnels. And no platform placement replaces the one check that matters - your state's own inspection records, linked on every page of this guide.
| Platform | What you get | Background |
|---|---|---|
| A Place for Mom | Free advisor + shortlist of communities near you | Largest U.S. senior living referral network |
| Caring.com | Directory with reviews and pricing guidance | Established senior care directory |
Starting the search around St. Francis
Placement platforms show you multiple communities near St. Francis with pricing ranges, and their advisors are free to families - communities pay them, the same way this site earns referral fees. Use them to build a shortlist, then verify every finalist against Wisconsin's inspection records yourself.
- Your parent's care needs honestly assessed - hours of help, mobility, memory
- Last 12 months of their finances - what monthly number is sustainable
- The all-in monthly quote at their assessed care level, not the base rent
- Wisconsin's inspection record for every finalist (agency linked on this page)
- The what-happens-when-savings-run-out answer, in writing
Before any tour
Every state licenses or certifies senior care facilities and publishes inspection results - Wisconsin's agency is listed below. Before any deposit near St. Francis, run every finalist through the state's records: complaint history, violations, and how the operator responded tell you more than any tour.
This guide is research, not advice: an independent summary of published costs and state rules. It is not a care provider, placement agency, law firm or financial advisor - care and Medicaid decisions deserve professional advice for your family's situation.
Common questions
What fees do communities add on top of rent?
Care-level fees (assessed need tiers that can add $500-1,500+ monthly), medication management, and one-time community or move-in fees are the big three. Always compare communities on the all-in monthly number at your parent's assessed level - base rent alone is a marketing figure.
How much does in-home care cost?
About $35 an hour at the 2025 national median - roughly $80,000 a year at 44 hours a week. Since the 2025 survey, non-medical caregivers are tracked as a single category, so quotes for 'homemaker' versus 'home health aide' services should no longer differ much for non-medical help.
What questions expose a bad facility fastest?
Three: What is the caregiver-to-resident ratio on nights and weekends? How long has the current administrator been here? What happens when private funds run out? Communities that answer all three plainly and in writing are the shortlist.
Should my parent stay home with help or move to assisted living?
Run the hours math first: in-home care at about $35 an hour serves people who need help, not round-the-clock supervision. Below about 30-40 hours a week, home usually costs less; past that - or when safety needs someone always present - assisted living's $6,200 median often buys more coverage. The right answer follows the care needs, not the buildings.
How do I check a facility's inspection record?
Every state has a licensing or certification agency that publishes inspection results and complaint histories - this guide links your state's agency on every page. Search every finalist before any deposit: violations, complaint patterns and how the operator responded tell you more than the tour.
Does Medicaid pay for assisted living?
It depends entirely on your state: 36 states cover some assisted living services through waivers, 9 cover them in limited settings, and 6 have no assisted living pathway at all. Even where covered, waivers typically pay for care services while the family handles room and board. This guide's Medicaid page gives your state's verified answer.
Compare senior care options near St. Francis
These platforms show communities and home-care agencies near you with pricing guidance. Advisors are free to families - providers pay them, as they do this site.
Disclosure: this is an independent guide. If you connect with a provider through a link here, the platform may pay this site a referral fee. That fee never changes your price - and it never changes what the inspection records say.
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