How Much Does a Nursing Home Cost in Virginia in 2026?

How much does a nursing home cost in Virginia? About $10,250 a month for a semi-private room and $11,680 for a private one in 2026.

Those figures come from CareScout, a Genworth subsidiary that now runs the yearly Cost of Care Survey the senior care industry treats as the standard.

Virginia’s costs just moved past the national median.

That’s a reversal from 2024, when the state ran below it.

What you pay out of pocket depends on how much of that bill Medicare and Medicaid will cover.

Note: This is general information, not financial or legal advice. Nursing home prices and Medicaid rules are subject to change, so confirm the current numbers with a financial planner or your local department of social services.

What Drives Virginia’s Nursing Home Cost

A private room costs more than a semi-private one for a plain reason.

Nobody splits the staff’s attention or the square footage with a roommate.

Location swings the price even harder than the room does.

By a lot.

In the Richmond area, a private room recently ran about $143,000 a year, roughly $25,000 above the statewide average at the time.

Northern Virginia tends to run even higher, pulled up by its closeness to the pricey Washington, D.C. market.

Rural stretches of Southside and Southwest Virginia usually cost less, though they also have fewer facilities to choose from.

Staffing is the other half of the story, since nursing homes compete with hospitals and home care agencies for the same nurses and aides.

That competition is a big reason Virginia’s prices jumped by double digits this year.

How Does Virginia Compare to Nearby States?

The national median nursing home cost sits at $9,581 a month for a semi-private room and $10,798 for a private one.

Virginia beats that on both counts, not in a good way.

Every month.

North Carolina runs a bit cheaper, with a semi-private room averaging $116,800 a year.

Maryland sits well above Virginia, closer to $14,000 a month for a private room.

So, in the mid-Atlantic, Virginia lands in the middle.

Pricier than North Carolina, cheaper than Maryland.

What Does Medicare Cover?

Medicare pays for short rehab stays, not the long-term stay most people picture when they think of a nursing home.

Once you've been admitted to a hospital for three days and land in a certified skilled nursing facility, Medicare Part A picks up the first 20 days in full after you meet the $1,736 deductible.

Days 21 through 100 cost you $217 a day out of pocket.

After day 100, Medicare stops paying entirely, for that benefit period.

Full stop.

Long-term custodial care, help with bathing, dressing, and eating for months or years, sits outside what Medicare ever pays for.

That gap is why so many Virginia families end up looking at Medicaid, long-term care insurance, or savings instead.

How Much Does Medicaid Cover?

Medicaid is the program that pays most of the country's nursing home bills.

More than 60% of nursing home residents nationwide have Medicaid as their primary payer, per KFF, a nonprofit health policy research organization.

Medicaid covers 44% of everything the country spends on institutional long-term care.

In Virginia, qualifying isn't automatic.

Virginia's Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) requires a screening to confirm you need nursing-level care before it covers a stay.

DMAS checks your income and countable assets too, and most applicants have to spend down savings before they qualify.

Some members still owe a monthly patient-pay amount toward their own care once Medicaid picks up the rest.

An elder-law attorney or your local department of social services can walk you through the actual numbers for your situation.

Ways to Make the Cost More Affordable

Veterans and surviving spouses have an option many families never check.

The Department of Veterans Affairs' Aid and Attendance benefit adds a monthly payment on top of a veteran's pension for anyone who needs help with daily activities or lives in a nursing home because of a disability.

Not everyone knows that.

Long-term care insurance, bought years ahead of time, is another route, though premiums rise with age and health history.

Cheaper Alternatives Some Families Try First

The rising cost of long-term care in Virginia is one reason some retirees end up leaving Virginia for a cheaper state altogether.

Others stay and lean on part-time in-home care for as long as it holds, then move to a facility once daily needs outgrow it.

Cost alone rarely settles it.

Every family runs the math against its own savings, health, and how much hands-on care a household can realistically provide.

Ready to Tour a Facility?

A tour catches details no rate sheet ever shows.

Virginia also runs a free Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program through the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, and its staff will field a complaint or a question long after move-in day.

Ask to walk through a semi-private room and a private one on the same visit.

Website photos rarely match the real thing.

Before you go, look up the facility's star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and its most recent state health inspection report, then ask in person whether it keeps Medicaid beds open for residents whose money runs out.

Ask about the nurse-to-resident ratio on the night shift, not just during the day, and find out what the daily rate covers versus what the facility bills separately, including any community fee stacked on top of the room charge.

Read it before you sign.

FAQ

Quick answers to common Virginia nursing home cost questions.

How much does a nursing home cost per month in Virginia?

A semi-private room runs about $10,250 a month, and a private room runs about $11,680, based on the 2025 Cost of Care Survey.

Does Medicare pay for a nursing home in Virginia?

Only for a short skilled nursing stay after a hospital admission, up to 100 days per benefit period.

It doesn't cover ongoing custodial care.

How do I qualify for Medicaid to cover a nursing home in Virginia?

You'll need a DMAS screening confirming you require nursing-level care, plus income and countable assets under Virginia's limits.

Most applicants work with their local department of social services or an elder-law attorney to sort out the details.

Is Virginia's nursing home cost higher or lower than the national average?

Higher, as of the newest survey.

Virginia now runs above the national median for both semi-private and private rooms, a reversal from 2024.

Which parts of Virginia have the highest nursing home costs?

Northern Virginia and the Richmond area tend to price above the state average, while rural Southside and Southwest Virginia usually cost less.

Is assisted living cheaper than a nursing home in Virginia?

Yes, by a wide margin.

Assisted living in Virginia runs about $6,944 a month, per that same 2025 survey, well under either nursing home rate, but it's built for people who don't need round-the-clock skilled nursing.