How much does a nursing home cost in New Jersey?
The median nursing home cost in New Jersey is $14,448 per month for a private room and $12,775 per month for a semi-private room, based on the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey released March 2026. That's roughly $173,375 per year for a private room.
New Jersey nursing home costs run 32% above the national median.
2026 New Jersey senior care costs at a glance
| Care type | New Jersey median/month | National median (CareScout 2025) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing home (private) | $14,448 | $10,798 | +34% |
| Nursing home (semi-private) | $12,775 | $9,581 | +33% |
| Memory care (est) | $10,900 | $7,750 | +41% |
| Assisted living | $8,710 | $6,200 | +40% |
| Non-medical caregiver (hourly) | $38 | $35 | +9% |
See your exact spend-down timeline for New Jersey
Enter your savings, income, and care type to see how long your money lasts before reaching New Jersey Medicaid asset limits.
Open the New Jersey calculator →Nursing home costs by New Jersey city
Costs vary by metro area within the state. Urban markets typically run 10–25% above state medians, while rural areas can be 10–20% below.
City-level estimates are based on CareScout 2025 metro-area data. Individual facility costs vary 20–40% from these medians depending on amenities, staffing ratios, and room type.
New Jersey Medicaid for nursing home care
New Jersey Medicaid covers nursing home care for residents who meet both medical eligibility (need for skilled nursing care) and financial eligibility (limited assets and income). Understanding the rules before you need them can save your family hundreds of thousands of dollars.
New Jersey Medicaid 2026 asset limits
Individual applicant: $2,000 in countable assets (2026)
Married couple, one spouse applying: Community spouse may keep up to $162,660 under the federal Community Spouse Resource Allowance (2026 maximum), plus the home, one vehicle, and personal belongings
The 5-year look-back period in New Jersey
New Jersey Medicaid reviews all asset transfers made within 60 months (5 years) of your application date. Gifts to family, property transfers below market value, or large unexplained withdrawals trigger a penalty period that delays Medicaid eligibility — during which you must private-pay.
New Jersey's 2026 penalty divisor is approximately $14,448 per month (~$475 per day). A $50,000 transfer that violates the look-back rule would create roughly a 104-day penalty period during which New Jersey Medicaid will not cover care costs.
This is why elder law attorneys consistently advise families to begin Medicaid planning at least 5 years before nursing home care is needed.
Find a New Jersey elder law attorney
The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys maintains a state-by-state directory of certified elder law attorneys.
Find a New Jersey attorney →What makes New Jersey different
New Jersey delivers all long-term care Medicaid through Managed Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS), a managed-care program implemented in 2014 that absorbed the state's prior HCBS waivers and eliminated their waitlists. Two distinctives set New Jersey apart from most states: the state recognizes Spousal Refusal — a planning tool also available in New York but nowhere else — that lets the community spouse formally decline to make their assets available for the institutionalized spouse's eligibility determination, and New Jersey's home equity limit is set at the higher federal tier of $1,130,000 (compared to $752,000 in most states). Mandatory Qualified Income Trusts apply for applicants with monthly income above $2,982. Personal Needs Allowance is $50 per month.
Sources: state Medicaid agency program documentation and CMS spousal-impoverishment standards. See our methodology page for the broader data sources used across this site.
How New Jersey compares to neighboring states
Cost differences across state lines can be substantial. Some families consider relocating for care, particularly if adult children live across a border.