Louisiana is one of the least expensive places in the country to pay for long-term care. At the state’s median prices, $250,000 covers about 3.7 years of care, roughly 11 months longer than the national average and good for fifth place among the 50 states.
The catch is on the other side of the ledger. The typical senior household in Louisiana has a net worth of $153,414, well short of that $250,000 and less than half the national figure of $343,980.
Both numbers come from an analysis of long-term care costs and senior wealth by CareScout’s research team, which ranked the states by how long $250,000 would pay for care at home, in assisted living and in a shared nursing home room. Prices come from the company’s 2025 Cost of Care Survey, and the wealth estimates from Census Bureau data.
Louisiana’s prices are low across the board. In-home caregiving costs a median $59,488 a year, the third-lowest in the country, and covers 4.2 years. Assisted living costs $61,950, sixth-lowest, and covers 4.0 years. A semi-private nursing home room costs $91,250, fifth-lowest, and covers 2.7 years. Nationally, the same three settings cost $80,080, $74,400 and $114,975.
The state is in close company. Neighboring Mississippi ranks second at 3.8 years and Texas fourth at 3.7, essentially even with Louisiana. Arkansas leads the country at 3.9 years and Alabama sits third. All five are in the South, which stretches $250,000 an average of 3.20 years, more than any other Census region. Among the region’s 16 states, only those four neighbors and near-neighbors do better than Louisiana.
The same states also tend to have the least saved. Four of the top five, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama, have typical senior net worth below $250,000. Texas, at $269,100, is the only top-five state to clear the mark. Across the South, senior net worth averages roughly $265,000, the lowest of any region.
The report puts the pattern plainly: long-term care is generally most affordable in the states where families are least able to afford it. Louisiana is a textbook case.
The purchasing power of those savings is also eroding. Nationwide, what $250,000 buys has shrunk by a year since 2020, from 3.8 years of care to 2.8, and it has dropped every single year along the way.
The need is widespread. Seven in 10 people who reach 65 eventually develop severe long-term care needs, according to federal health researchers. Medicare, whose open enrollment starts Oct. 15, does not pay for that kind of care, a point the report says catches many families by surprise.
Even in a low-cost state, the type of care makes a large difference. In Louisiana, $250,000 lasts 4.0 years in assisted living but 2.7 years in a nursing home. The report advises families to budget for a blend of settings, since many people move from help at home to assisted living to a nursing home over time. The figures are statewide medians, and costs in New Orleans or any other community may differ.
Louisiana’s low prices are an advantage, but only for households with savings to put toward them.
