Greenville Senior AdvisorWhat does senior care cost in the Greenville area?
South Carolina's 2025 CareScout medians are about $5,350 a month for assisted living, $9,034 for a semi-private nursing home room, $5,982 for 44 hours a week of home care and $1,560 for five days a week of adult day health care; no Greenville-specific or memory care median is published.
Last verified: October 2026| Care type (South Carolina, 2025) | Annual median | About per month | Change | U.S. median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assisted living (private one-bedroom) | $64,200 | $5,350 | +3% | $74,400 |
| Nursing home, semi-private room | $108,405 | $9,034 | +1% | $114,975 |
| Nursing home, private room | $115,340 | $9,612 | +1% | $129,575 |
| Home care, non-medical (44 hrs/week) | $71,786 | $5,982 | +5% | $80,080 |
| Adult day health care (5 days/week) | $18,720 | $1,560 | n/a | $24,700 |
CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey, South Carolina results (released March 2, 2026). Monthly figures are the annual medians divided by 12. Home care is priced at 44 hours a week for 52 weeks (about $31.37 an hour). CareScout's South Carolina release publishes statewide medians only: there is no Greenville-only figure and no memory care figure.
Who pays for senior care in South Carolina?
Most Upstate families pay privately at first; Medicare covers only short skilled stays, home health and hospice; Healthy Connections Medicaid pays for long-term nursing home care; the Community Choices waiver pays for help at home and Residential Personal Care in participating CRCFs; Optional State Supplementation helps low-income CRCF residents; PACE serves Greenville, Pickens and Anderson counties; and VA pension with Aid and Attendance helps eligible veterans and survivors.
The fact that surprises families most is how South Carolina handles assisted living for people with little income: rather than a Medicaid assisted living benefit, it relies on OSS, a state payment of up to $1,719 a month in 2026 to a participating CRCF.
Where can Greenville-area families get free help with benefits?
The Appalachian Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging (864-242-9733, toll-free 1-800-434-4036) serves Greenville, Anderson and Pickens counties, Upper Savannah COG ((864) 941-8077) serves Laurens County, and SCDHHS Community Long Term Care takes Community Choices referrals at (888) 971-1637.
Medicaid applications go through apply.scdhhs.gov or the SCDHHS Member Contact Center at (888) 549-0820.
Costs & Paying guides
What senior care costs in Greenville and South Carolina
CareScout's 2025 South Carolina medians for assisted living, nursing homes, home care and adult day care, what they mean for Greenville families, and the home care vs. assisted living math.
Read →Optional State Supplementation: South Carolina's help with assisted living
South Carolina's Optional State Supplementation (OSS) in 2026: $1,719 maximum payment to the facility, $1,804 net income limit, $85 or $105 personal needs allowance, and how Greenville families use it.
Read →The Community Choices waiver for Upstate families
SCDHHS's Community Choices waiver: who qualifies (nursing facility level of care, age 65+ or 18-64 with physical disabilities), services including personal care, adult day health and Residential Personal Care, and how to get a referral.
Read →How Medicaid pays for nursing home care in South Carolina
How South Carolina Healthy Connections Medicaid covers long-term nursing home care: 2026 income cap and qualified income trusts, the $2,000 resource limit, the five-year look-back and how Greenville families apply.
Read →What Medicare pays for in senior care
What Medicare covers for Greenville-area seniors: skilled nursing after a hospital stay, home health, hospice and rehab, what it never covers, and free Medicare counseling through the Upstate's I-CARE program.
Read →VA Aid and Attendance for Greenville-area veterans
How VA pension with Aid and Attendance works for Greenville, Anderson, Pickens and Laurens County veterans and surviving spouses: 2026 rate table, net worth limit, assisted living and home care costs, and the state veterans home in Anderson.
Read →PACE in Greenville, Pickens and Anderson counties
How PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) works in the Upstate through Prisma Health SeniorCare PACE-Upstate, who qualifies, what it covers, and why Laurens County is not in its service area.
Read →Paying privately for senior care in Greenville
How Greenville-area families pay privately for assisted living, memory care and home care: income, savings, home equity, long-term care insurance, life insurance options and planning for the point where public programs take over.
Read →At a glance
| This section gives you | This section does not give you | |
|---|---|---|
| Prices | South Carolina's published 2025 medians | A Greenville or memory care figure that does not exist |
| Programs | How OSS, Community Choices, Medicaid, PACE, Medicare and VA pension work | An eligibility decision |
| Limits | 2026 income, resource and OSS figures | Legal or tax advice |
| Planning | Questions to ask and when to start | A substitute for an elder law attorney |
