Senior Living in Santa Maria, CA: Every Licensed Community & 2026 Costs
Data updated September 2026·State licensing records andRatings from CMS Care Compare
Senior living in Santa Maria, California spans 95 state-licensed assisted living, memory care, and independent living communities and 14 Medicare-certified nursing homes across Santa Barbara County in California. 8 area nursing homes hold a 5-star CMS rating. Lilisity publishes no score or ranking for any community that has not earned an award; the licensing and CMS data below are public records.
All senior living in Santa Maria: 95 licensed communities by county
Every assisted living, memory care, and independent living community licensed by the state in Santa Barbara County in California, from state licensing records. Listing here is not a rating: Lilisity publishes no score for any community that has not earned an award. Communities marked verified reviews have phone-verified resident and family interviews on file.
Assisted living in the Santa Maria area typically runs $4,500–$6,500 per month, with memory care $1,000–$1,500 above that and independent living below it; skilled nursing is billed through Medicare, Medicaid, or private pay rather than monthly rent. Rates vary widely by apartment size and care level, so ask for the community’s current rate sheet.
Care type
Typical Santa Maria range
What it covers
Independent living
$3,000 – $4,500
Private apartment or cottage, meals and services optional
Assisted living
$4,500 – $6,500
Daily personal care, meals, medication management
Memory care
$5,500 – $8,000
Secured neighborhood, dementia-trained staff
Skilled nursing
Payer-based
24/7 medical care; Medicare/Medicaid/private pay
Ranges reflect operator-published market rates for the region, September 2026. California’s Medicaid waiver programs and VA Aid & Attendance can offset costs — see the FAQ below.
What are the highest-rated nursing homes in Santa Maria?
8 of the 14 Medicare-certified nursing homes in the Santa Maria metro hold the highest possible 5-star overall rating from CMS — including Mission Park Healthcare Center in Santa Barbara. Every facility below links to its full inspection history, staffing hours, and deficiency record.
Source: CMS Care Compare, federal five-star quality rating system, retrieved September 2026. Lilisity republishes this government data unmodified; no facility can pay to change its rating.
Which Santa Maria areas have senior living?
Senior living in the Santa Maria metro is spread across Santa Barbara County in California. The cities with the most licensed communities and nursing homes are listed below; most sit within a short drive of the region’s hospital systems, which matters for families coordinating specialist care or hospital discharge.
California
Santa Maria (48)
Santa Barbara (40)
Goleta (8)
Lompoc (6)
Solvang (4)
Orcutt (1)
Buellton (1)
Carpinteria (1)
How these reviews were collected — and how we’re paid
We interview residents and family members by phone, voice to voice — never web forms, never scraped from other sites.
Every review is named and dated, and verified against the community’s current resident or family list before publishing.
Reviews are published as given — including critical ones. The only scores or rankings we publish are the Top Communities list and the Excellence Awards.
How Lilisity makes money: some communities pay us a referral fee when a family we’ve helped moves in. That fee never changes a review, a rating, or who appears on this page — CMS ratings come from the federal government, and reviews come from residents. Read the full methodology → · How we are paid →
Most states, including California, offer a Medicaid waiver that covers care costs (not room and board) at participating assisted living communities for people who qualify financially and medically. Not every community accepts the waiver, so ask early. Veterans and surviving spouses may also qualify for VA Aid & Attendance, worth up to roughly $2,300 per month toward care.
Assisted living provides housing, meals, and help with daily tasks like bathing and medications in an apartment setting, state-licensed and mostly private pay. Nursing homes (skilled nursing) provide 24/7 medical care, are federally certified and CMS-rated, and are typically paid through Medicare, Medicaid, or long-term-care insurance.
Every facility in the table above links to its full record — CMS star ratings, health-inspection findings, staffing hours per resident, and any fines or penalties, sourced from Medicare's Care Compare data. 8 Santa Maria-area facilities currently hold a 5-star overall rating.
Assisted living moves can happen in days when a community has availability — after a nurse assessment and paperwork. Memory care placements after a crisis often complete within one to two weeks. Calling an advisor who knows current availability is the fastest path: (833) 612-4732.
Lilisity publishes scores and rankings only for the Top Communities list and the Excellence Awards, both built from phone-verified interviews. The 95 communities listed by county come from state licensing records; CMS ratings apply only to Medicare-certified nursing homes.
Talk to a Santa Maria senior living advisor — free
One call covers current availability, honest pricing, and which communities fit your parent’s care needs and budget. No obligation, and we never sell your information.
