Assisted Living in Utah: A Family Guide

Facts checked September 28, 2026 against official Utah sources

What assisted living is called in Utah, what it costs, how Medicaid can help, how to check a community’s license and inspections, and who to call if something goes wrong. Every fact links to the official source.

Licensed by

Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Licensing and Background Checks (DLBC), Office of Licensing¹

Licensed communities on Lilisity

224 assisted living, 118 with memory care

Medicaid help

Limited: New Choices Waiver²

Typical cost

$5,475 a month (state median, CareScout 2025)

File a complaint

(801) 890-2007¹

What assisted living is called in Utah

• Type I assisted living facilityFor residents who can leave the building on their own in an emergency. It provides social care and help with daily living.³
• Type II assisted living facilityFor residents who need some help from one person to leave the building. It offers personal and health care services around the clock. A Type II resident who is assessed to need a secure environment may live in a secure unit.³
• Size categories: large (17 or more residents), small (6 to 16), limited capacity (2 to 5)Each assisted living facility is also classed by how many residents it houses.³

Memory care rules

Residents cannot be locked in, except that a Type II assisted living resident who is assessed to need a secure environment may live in a secure unit approved by the local fire authority. Administrators must take yearly training that includes dementia and Alzheimer's care.³

Questions to ask memory care about nights.

What assisted living costs in Utah

The median cost of assisted living in Utah is $5,475 a month, below the national median of $6,200 (CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, collected July to November 2025). Prices vary with the apartment, the level of care and the community, so ask each one for its current rate sheet, including care-level fees.

If more care is needed later: nursing home costs in Utah, with CareScout medians and the private-pay rates Utah nursing homes publish.

Plan with our free tools: how long will the money last? and home care or assisted living?

Paying for assisted living in Utah

Medicare does not pay for assisted living. Families pay from savings and income, long-term care insurance, or benefits such as VA Aid and Attendance (estimate it). Who actually pays for long-term care.

Medicaid. Yes, for some people. Utah Medicaid's New Choices Waiver can pay for support services for people who meet nursing facility level of care. To apply, you must already be living long term in a nursing facility, a licensed assisted living facility, or certain other licensed facilities, and there is a minimum length of stay. Assisted living facilities can be providers of the waiver's residential services. Program: New Choices Waiver.² Medicaid does not pay rent or meals in assisted living in any state, and not every community accepts it, so ask each one.

How to check a community in Utah

Look up a license. Search DLBC licensing records for regulated programs and see licensing compliance history for up to the past 36 months. Records for regulated health facility programs only go back to October 2023. Older records require a public records (GRAMA) request. Search Utah’s records.⁴

Inspection reports. The DLBC licensing record search shows compliance history for up to the last 36 months, and records for health facility programs only go back to October 2023. For older records, file a GRAMA public records request.⁴

Lilisity shows Utah’s inspection record on each community’s page where the state publishes one: the state’s own records, dated and linked to the official source.

Always visit in person, at a mealtime or in the evening if you can. Bring the tour scorecard and the 8 tour questions.

If something goes wrong

Complaints about care or conditions. The DLBC Office of Licensing investigates complaints about unlicensed programs and concerns about rule or law violations in licensed programs. Submit a concern online or call. Call (801) 890-2007 or file online.¹

Abuse, neglect or exploitation. Call 1-800-371-7897. How to report.⁵ If someone is in danger, call 911.

The long-term care ombudsman is a free advocate for residents of assisted living and nursing homes: they help resolve problems with a community, including move-out notices. find your local ombudsman.⁶

Find assisted living in Utah

Assisted living by city

Memory care by city

Every community and county in Utah · 1 with verified resident testimonials

Sources

1. Licensing agency, complaints (dlbc.utah.gov)
2. Medicaid (medicaid.utah.gov)
3. License types, memory care rules (adminrules.utah.gov)
4. License lookup, inspection reports (dlbc.utah.gov)
5. Reporting abuse (daas.utah.gov)
6. Ombudsman (daas.utah.gov)
7. CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025 (state medians)

Facts checked against these official sources on September 28, 2026. Rules and programs change; confirm with the agency before making a decision. General information, not legal or financial advice.