Find the right senior care in Greater Seattle — free, and on your side

About Seattle Senior Advisor

Seattle Senior Advisor is a free, local senior-care placement service for Puget Sound families. We're not a national call center — our advisors live and work here, and we've walked the communities we recommend. When a parent's needs change suddenly, families don't have weeks to research; we cut a confusing, high-stakes decision down to two or three vetted, licensed options that actually fit.

Our team holds recognized senior-care credentials — a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA), a Licensed Social Worker (LSW), and a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) — and we verify every option against Washington's Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), through ALTSA's Residential Care Services (RCS), before we ever send it to you. We currently track 2936+ licensed providers across King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties — including the affluent Eastside (Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland), the premium high-cost anchor of the regional market, and the deep adult-family-home networks of Tacoma, Kent, and Everett. Our service is always free to families. Learn more about how we work →

Senior care across Puget Sound — what families should know

Greater Seattle is one of the country's higher-cost senior-care regions, and its market reflects that: thousands of licensed assisted living communities and adult family homes spread across very different cities. Seattle and the Eastside — Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland — are the premium, high-cost anchor, with upscale assisted living, secured memory care, and well-appointed adult family homes near Overlake and EvergreenHealth. Tacoma and Everett are the volume markets, and Tacoma, Lakewood, and Auburn are the value markets. Washington's signature care type is the adult family home: a licensed residential home for six or fewer residents, with roughly 3,900 statewide — often a meaningfully cheaper alternative to a large assisted-living community.

That variety is good news and a challenge: the right choice depends on your parent's care level, budget, and where family lives. Costs in the metro generally run about $6,000–$8,000 a month for assisted living and $7,500–$9,500 for memory care, while adult family homes — at roughly $4,500–$7,000 — frequently come in lower. Veterans' Aid & Attendance and Washington Apple Health (Medicaid), through the COPES waiver administered by DSHS Home & Community Services (HCS), offset much of it for those who qualify; the WA Cares Fund adds a new state long-term-care benefit. We track licensed providers across all three counties — King, Snohomish, and Pierce — and verify every one against DSHS / RCS before we recommend it.

Whether your search is urgent or months away, the fastest path to a good decision is a short conversation with someone who knows these communities firsthand. Start with a free, no-obligation call.

Adult family homes — Washington's signature care type

If you're new to senior care in Washington, the adult family home (AFH) is the option families from other states are most surprised by. An AFH is a licensed residential home — an ordinary house in an ordinary neighborhood — caring for six or fewer residents, with around 3,900 operating statewide. Because the setting is small, the caregiver-to-resident ratio is high, and many homes specialize in dementia, complex medical needs, or a specific language and culture. For a parent who would feel lost in a 100-bed building, an AFH can be a far better fit — and at roughly $4,500–$7,000 a month, it often costs less than a large assisted-living community. Puget Sound's densest AFH networks are in Kent, Tacoma, Renton, Lynnwood, and Everett, and we help families weigh an AFH against a traditional community for both fit and budget.

Washington licenses two residential care types through DSHS: assisted living facilities (under RCW 18.20 and WAC 388-78A) and adult family homes (under RCW 70.128 and WAC 388-76). Memory care isn't a separate license here — it's a "Specialized Dementia Care" specialty added to an assisted living or adult family home license, so a secured dementia setting can be either a large community or a small home. Skilled nursing homes (RCW 18.51) handle the most complex medical needs. You can verify any provider's license yourself through the DSHS provider lookup at fortress.wa.gov, and we check every option we recommend against it.

Paying for care in the Puget Sound region

Greater Seattle is a high-cost market, so the funding plan matters as much as the placement. Most families start with personal savings, Social Security, and a pension, then layer in long-term-care insurance if a policy exists. Veterans and surviving spouses may qualify for VA Aid & Attendance — roughly $1,800–$2,900 a month — and the region is well served by VA Puget Sound, with campuses in Seattle and at American Lake in Lakewood, plus the Washington State Veterans Homes at Retsil in Port Orchard and in Orting.

For families who qualify by income and assets, Washington Apple Health (Medicaid) covers long-term care, and the COPES waiver — administered by DSHS Home & Community Services (HCS) — pays for personal care and many community-based services in assisted living and adult family homes. The newer WA Cares Fund adds a state long-term-care benefit for workers who have contributed. Each county also has an Area Agency on Aging to lean on: Aging and Disability Services in King County, Homage in Snohomish County, and Aging & Disability Resources of Pierce County, all reachable through the statewide Community Living Connections / ADRC network. A free advisor can map which of these apply to your parent's situation before you commit to a community.

Common questions