The hardest comparison in senior care, and the one most often made too late. Three factors decide it, and only one of them is money.
Money
| Measure | Figure | What it covers | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-medical caregiver, hourly | $37 an hour | Nevada statewide median | CareScout (Genworth), 2025 |
| Non-medical caregiver, monthly | $7,055 a month | Nevada statewide median, at 44 hours a week | CareScout (Genworth), 2025 |
| Assisted living, monthly | $6,241 a month | Nevada statewide median | CareScout (Genworth), 2025 |
In-home care passes Nevada's median assisted living cost at roughly 32 to 33 hours a week; memory care sits above assisted living, so the crossover is somewhat higher. Below thirty hours a week, home is generally cheaper. The problem is that dementia does not stay below thirty hours a week.
Safety — and specifically, wandering
Exit-seeking is the factor that most often ends home care, and it rarely announces itself gradually. A secured environment is something a house cannot easily become. Once wandering starts, keeping someone home safely means either awake overnight coverage or serious home modification, and the cost comparison shifts sharply. Families who have this conversation before an incident get to choose. Families who wait get chosen for by an emergency room.
Engagement
This is the one that gets underweighted and it matters more in dementia than in almost any other situation. A person with dementia at home with a caregiver has one relationship and a familiar room. The same person in a well-run memory care community has structured programming, staff shifts that bring fresh energy, and peers at a similar stage. Some people do markedly better. Others are distressed by the change and do worse. Knowing which one you have is genuinely hard, and it is worth asking a geriatrician or the person's neurologist rather than guessing.
What tends to keep people home successfully
- A spouse in the home who is well
- Sleep that is still intact
- No exit-seeking
- A caregiver the person accepts, consistently assigned
- A single-story house
- Family within driving distance
What tends to end it
- Wandering
- Nights turning over
- Resistance to personal care that a caregiver cannot resolve
- The well spouse's own health failing — the most common trigger of all
- Two-person transfers
Dementia care at home · what it costs · memory care in Las Vegas.
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Hourly or live-in vs 24-hour awake coverage
Home care vs adult day care
A caregiver at home vs An adult day program
Common questions
When should someone with dementia move to memory care?
The three factors that decide it are wandering, whether nights are still safe, and whether the person is engaging or withdrawing. Once exit-seeking starts, keeping someone home safely requires either a secured environment or awake overnight coverage, and the cost comparison shifts sharply.
Is memory care cheaper than 24-hour care at home?
Generally yes. At the Nevada statewide median hourly rate, awake around-the-clock coverage at home exceeds Nevada's median cost for both assisted living and a semi-private nursing home room.
Sources for this page
- CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025 — state data tables — CareScout (Genworth), 2025. More than 25,000 rates collected from long-term care providers nationwide between July and November 2025. Annual figures assume 44 hours a week for 52 weeks.
Reviewed by the Vegas Senior Advisor care team. Last updated November 11, 2026. Spot something wrong? Call (725) 465-8617 and we will correct it within one business day.
