Is Your Compensation Strategy Keeping Up? What the Latest Assisted Living Salary Data Reveals
If you manage an assisted living community, you already know that staffing is your biggest challenge — and your biggest expense. But are you benchmarking your wages against the latest industry data? The newly released 2025-2026 Assisted Living Salary & Benefits Report from Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service (HCS), supported by NCAL, provides the data and answers you need.
Wages Are Still Rising — But the Pace Is Shifting
Hourly rates continued to climb in 2025 across all nursing positions — but the pace is slower than prior years. Are your wages keeping up with the national median? The report gives you the information you need to stay competitive.
The Good News: Turnover Is Trending Down
After peaking during 2020-2021, turnover rates for CNAs, Medication Aides, and Resident Assistants have continued to decline in 2025. That's encouraging — but keeping that progress going starts with knowing the latest data.
Regional Differences Matter
National medians only tell part of the story. Pay rates vary widely by state — for example, Resident Assistant hourly rates ranged from $21.29 in Minnesota to $14.77 in Tennessee. If you're competing for talent in a high-cost market, you need state- and region-specific data to make smart decisions.
What's Inside the Report
Based on data from over 1,057 assisted living communities representing more than 79,500 employees, the report covers 50 management and staff positions with data broken down by region, bed size, revenue, and profit status. Beyond compensation benchmarks, it includes 19 fringe benefits, shift differentials, sign-on bonus trends, and projected salary increases for 2026.
The discount rate for NCAL members is $325 (non-member price: $400).