South Carolina Assisted Living

South Carolina is frequently overlooked in not only the southern United States, but the rest of the country when it comes to senior living.

If anyone talks about a state in the region, many are going to tell you to move to Florida, yet South Carolina has many of the same characteristics of Florida elderly care services and is not nearly as crowded.

Seniors have to deal with high volumes of traffic in Florida, noisy cities, and a flood of tourists that visit year-round. Meanwhile, South Carolina has the same beautiful weather with mild winters and far fewer people.

South Carolina is also a tax-friendly state for seniors which makes it even more of a bargain considering its already low assisted living costs.

South Carolina Assisted Living Average Costs

The state ranks within the Top 10 of most affordable places to live for assisted living in America.

The median for the state is only $3,400 per month, which is several hundred dollars lower than the national average. Senior housing can get even more affordable than that as the lowest 10 percent facilities in the state for senior living cost a little over $2,000 per month, with some rooms in the high-$2,000s or low-$3,000s.

The cities of Central, Georgetown, Sumter, Greenwood, and Clinton are well regarded for their assisted living affordability. The counties of Laurens, Georgetown, Greenwood and Darlington are known for the same reason.

Meanwhile, Tega Cay, Mount Pleasant, Charleston, Lexington, and Simpsonville have some of the highest monthly assisted living average costs in South Carolina. The counties of Charleston and Dorchester rank one and two for the most expensive senior housing.

South Carolina helps with assisted living costs through its Community Choices Waiver under the Medicaid system. The recently expanded program can help with some or all of the monthly rent charges.

Different Types of Assisted Living Available in South Carolina

South Carolina defined their assisted living programs as “community residential care facilities”, or CRCFs. The facilities are licensed by the South Carolina Board of Health and Environmental Control.

A CRCF is created to provide room and board, and a “degree of personal assistance” for a period of time that can go over 24 hours of continuous care. Meanwhile, seniors with more specific needs can receive care under an Alzheimer’s special care unit (SCU) which is similar to assisted living yet with more hands-on service.

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