Page 15 of Best Assisted Living in North Carolina

Why trust this guide? Our editorial team analyzed 389 assisted living communities in NC using NC Dept. of Health & Human Services (NCDHHS) data, inspection records, complaints, amenities, and facility-level details. How we rank assisted living in NC
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Last updated
We analyzed These are the facilities in North Carolina our team has analyzed — not a count of every assisted living provider in North Carolina.
389 homes
Other senior care options in North Carolina:
Avg Monthly Cost: $6,747The average monthly cost across facilities in North Carolina. Reflects published or estimated base rates and can vary with care level, room type, and amenities. Individual facilities can vary widely from this average.
National Average: $5,600
Avg Walk Score: 36/ 100The average Walk Score across facilities in North Carolina. A third-party neighborhood walkability score (0–100) measuring convenience and context, not healthcare quality. Individual facilities can vary widely from this average.
National Average: 50/ 100
Avg No. of Beds: 72The average licensed bed capacity across facilities in North Carolina. Individual facilities can vary widely from this average.
National Average: 90

Compare Assisted Living around North Carolina

Info below is compiled from the NC Dept. of Health & Human Services (NCDHHS), senior community websites & trusted data sources such as Walk Score & BBB.

Communities are listed from highest to lowest based on our ranking methodology.

Care Types in This Table AL (Assisted Living): Housing with help for daily activities like bathing, dressing, and medication, without 24-hour skilled nursing. MC (Memory Care): Secured, specialized care for people living with Alzheimer's or dementia. RC (Respite Care): Short-term temporary care that gives family caregivers a break. RESC (Residential Care): Personal care and daily-living support in a smaller, more intimate residential setting. IL (Independent Living): Community living with dining, activities, and transportation for active seniors who need little personal care.
City and state of the facility. Used for mapping and state-average comparisons.
Licensed bed capacity (maximum allowed). Not the same as how many beds are currently filled.
Indicates whether residents are allowed to have pets in the facility.
Third-party neighborhood walkability score (0–100). Convenience/context metric, not a healthcare quality measure.
Better Business Bureau grade for the operating company. Reflects complaint handling and business practices, not clinical care quality.
NC DHSR Star Rating (0–4 stars). Issued by North Carolina's Division of Health Service Regulation based on annual facility inspections. Stars reflect overall compliance with state health and safety rules - 4 stars requires scores of 100+ on two consecutive annual inspections. Ratings can change between inspections if new violations or licensure actions occur.
DHSR Quality Score (/200). Each annual inspection starts at a base of 100 points. Facilities earn demerit points for violations and citations, and merit points for correcting issues, maintaining resident/family councils, sprinkler systems, and other quality programs. The "/200" display reflects the two most recent annual inspections combined - giving a longer-term view of compliance trends rather than a single snapshot.
Count of regulatory inspections in the reporting window. Higher volume can reflect more oversight visits, complaint-driven surveys, or routine licensure cycles.
Share of inspections that resulted in deficiencies, expressed as a percentage of total inspections in the window.
Housing or bed configuration options (e.g. studio, shared), often from facility-reported amenities and licensing details.
TerraBella Shelby
AL
MC
RC
Shelby (Brittain Village)
96
Facility 96
NC AVG 72
Rank #89 / 387
Yes
10
Facility 10
NC AVG 36
Rank #457 / 536
C+
99.50/200
Facility 99.50/200
NC AVG 92.2
Rank #145 / 321
27
74%
Facility 74%
NC AVG 76.2%
Rank #116 / 333
-
Oak Hill Assisted Living Community
AL
Angier
122
Facility 122
NC AVG 72
Rank #33 / 387
No
9
Facility 9
NC AVG 36
Rank #462 / 536
-
93.25/200
Facility 93.25/200
NC AVG 92.2
Rank #241 / 321
21
81%
Facility 81%
NC AVG 76.2%
Rank #189 / 333
-
Springs of Catawba
AL
MC
RC
Hickory
66
Facility 66
NC AVG 72
Rank #198 / 387
Yes
22
Facility 22
NC AVG 36
Rank #360 / 536
A+
102.50/200
Facility 102.50/200
NC AVG 92.2
Rank #73 / 321
24
71%
Facility 71%
NC AVG 76.2%
Rank #94 / 333
-
Brookdale Falling Creek
AL
Hickory
60
Facility 60
NC AVG 72
Rank #230 / 387
Yes
14
Facility 14
NC AVG 36
Rank #424 / 536
-
106.50/200
Facility 106.50/200
NC AVG 92.2
Rank #3 / 321
16
63%
Facility 63%
NC AVG 76.2%
Rank #48 / 333
Suite
Serenity Falls Family Care Home
AL
RESC
Raleigh (Cedar Hill Estates)
3
Facility 3
NC AVG 72
Rank #383 / 387
No
36
Facility 36
NC AVG 36
Rank #254 / 536
-
102.50/200
Facility 102.50/200
NC AVG 92.2
Rank #73 / 321
2
50%
Facility 50%
NC AVG 76.2%
Rank #21 / 333
Private Rooms
Brookdale Forest City
AL
MC
Forest City
76
Facility 76
NC AVG 72
Rank #166 / 387
Yes
16
Facility 16
NC AVG 36
Rank #407 / 536
-
101.00/200
Facility 101.00/200
NC AVG 92.2
Rank #123 / 321
23
78%
Facility 78%
NC AVG 76.2%
Rank #158 / 333
Studio / 1 Bed
Waltonwood – Cary
AL
IL
MC
Cary (Ridgepath)
57
Facility 57
NC AVG 72
Rank #277 / 387
Yes
22
Facility 22
NC AVG 36
Rank #360 / 536
-
101.50/200
Facility 101.50/200
NC AVG 92.2
Rank #103 / 321
16
81%
Facility 81%
NC AVG 76.2%
Rank #189 / 333
Studio / 1 Bed / 2 Bed
Navion of Shelby
AL
MC
Shelby (Valleyhall)
60
Facility 60
NC AVG 72
Rank #230 / 387
Yes
19
Facility 19
NC AVG 36
Rank #384 / 536
-
85.00/200
Facility 85.00/200
NC AVG 92.2
Rank #283 / 321
22
73%
Facility 73%
NC AVG 76.2%
Rank #112 / 333
Suite
The Sanctuary at Stonehaven
AL
MC
Charlotte (Stonehaven)
6
Facility 6
NC AVG 72
Rank #335 / 387
No
3
Facility 3
NC AVG 36
Rank #515 / 536
-
103.50/200
Facility 103.50/200
NC AVG 92.2
Rank #31 / 321
7
86%
Facility 86%
NC AVG 76.2%
Rank #255 / 333
Private Rooms
Navion of New Bern
AL
MC
New Bern
60
Facility 60
NC AVG 72
Rank #230 / 387
Yes
51
Facility 51
NC AVG 36
Rank #138 / 536
-
99.25/200
Facility 99.25/200
NC AVG 92.2
Rank #160 / 321
28
82%
Facility 82%
NC AVG 76.2%
Rank #202 / 333
Suite

Rank badges are statewide: each community is ranked against every NC community we track that reports that metric, not just the 389 on this page.

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TerraBella Shelby

1550 Charles Rd, Shelby, NC 28152
Overview of TerraBella Shelby

TerraBella Shelby is a quality senior living community burrowed in the quiet city of Shelby, NC, offering assisted living and memory care. The community features spacious apartments with a kitchenette, emergency call system, and natural light, ensuring a comfortable and safe living environment. With their person-centered memory care programs, residents living with Alzheimer’s and dementia are encouraged to nurture their current skills, engage in purposeful activities, and live an enriched life.

Committed to elevating its residents’ standard of living, TerraBella Shelby offers five exclusive senior lifestyle programs. From chef-prepared meals and a full schedule of activities to an all-encompassing approach to health and wellness, residents find everything they need right here. To make an even greater difference in how residents live each day, the community also offers various amenities, including a professional beauty salon and barber shop on-site, a lifetime veterans savings program, visiting physicians, local outings & excursions, and housekeeping services, making residents’ lives more at ease and carefree.

Contact TerraBella Shelby

Overview of Oak Hill Assisted Living Community

Oak Hill is a one-of-a-kind senior living community located in Angier, NC, that provides assisted living services. Focusing solely on assisted living, the community ensures seniors receive the best residential setting and care. Seniors may choose between a companion and private apartments from the four main halls of the community. Providing care and assistance for over 25 years, the community offers a relatively high caregiver-resident ratio with one caregiver for every eight residents.

The community fosters a comfortable and secure environment, providing standard care and service 24/7. Residents enjoy healthy, well-balanced meals prepared by talented chefs three times every day. Lines of crepe myrtles embrace the community’s entrance and amenities such as an in-house beauty salon, meeting rooms, and aesthetic courtyards and covered porches.

Contact Oak Hill Assisted Living Community

Overview of Springs of Catawba

Springs of Catawba is an assisted living and memory care community in Hickory that offers an inviting atmosphere so that residents can be comfortable and feel a sense of belonging in their new home; management ensures that everyone is treated with respect and compassion. Life in an assisted living home means a life of convenience and flexibility.

Springs of Catawba’s essential services include housekeeping, ADLs, medication management, meal plans, engaging activities, and specialized memory care support.

Contact Springs of Catawba

Overview of Brookdale Falling Creek

Nestled in the quaint city of Hickory, North Carolina, Brookdale Falling Creek offers an assisted living community where seniors can enjoy their golden years filled with curiosity, laughter, and happiness. The community handles all cooking, cleaning, and household chores, allowing residents to redefine independence. Free from daily responsibilities, seniors can explore new hobbies, rekindle past interests, and build genuine relationships. With convenient access to shopping, restaurants, and local attractions, residents have numerous opportunities to engage in activities they love. Brookdale Falling Creek provides a range of amenities and programs designed to enhance the quality of life for its residents.

Personalized assistance with daily living activities, such as dressing and managing medications, ensures seniors can focus on enjoying life to the fullest. The community emphasizes holistic wellness, covering intellectual, purposeful, social, physical, spiritual, and emotional dimensions. With vacation-style amenities, a vibrant social calendar, and a variety of elegant apartment floor plans, Brookdale Falling Creek offers a supportive and enriching environment for seniors.

Contact Brookdale Falling Creek

Overview of Serenity Falls Family Care Home

Serenity Falls Family Care Home is an idyllic retreat situated in the peaceful neighborhood of Raleigh, NC, that offers assisted living. Residents here enjoy top-tier care and assistance tailored to their needs and preferences from a compassionate and highly skilled available 24/7. With its cozy and nurturing environment, residents keep their peace of mind and live comfortably in their golden years.

Encouraging residents to interact with their surroundings and gain meaningful experiences, a jam-packed calendar of fun activities and engaging programs is conducted. Here, residents have a delightful dining experience with delicious and healthy home-cooked meals that cater to dietary needs and preferences. The community is ideal for those seeking assistance in their golden years, especially with its dedicated care and beautifully furnished amenities.

Contact Serenity Falls Family Care Home

Overview of Brookdale Forest City

Brookdale Forest City, located in Forest City, NC, offers a tranquil yet convenient setting for seniors. The community provides both assisted living services and memory care for individuals living with memory loss. Residents can enjoy pet-friendly apartments filled with natural light, and they have the freedom to personalize their living spaces. With round-the-clock monitoring and assistance from a dedicated team, residents are guaranteed to receive assistance whenever they need it.

Fostering an active and engaging lifestyle, Brookdale Forest City offers a wealth of amenities, including a library, beauty/barber shop, therapy room, private dining room, and walking paths. Residents can relax in the fireside living room or on the porch, and stay connected with Wi-Fi access throughout the community. With beautifully landscaped grounds and a variety of programs and activities, Brookdale Grandon Farms offers a vibrant and supportive environment, making it an excellent choice for seniors.

Contact Brookdale Forest City

Overview of Waltonwood – Cary

Experience redefined retirement living at Waltonwood’s Luxurious Senior Living. This community’s mission goes beyond being just another Senior Community. They strive to treat each resident and family member with dignity, respect, and personalized care that exceeds expectations. Committed to upholding a “Tradition of Excellence,” Waltonwood is dedicated to going above and beyond for residents and their families.

This care facility offers a lifestyle of utmost independence and choice, surrounded by warm and inviting environments, comfortable amenities, and a compassionate staff. Waltonwood places a strong emphasis on providing personalized services that cater to individual needs, ensuring residents have the freedom to live life on their own terms. The community’s commitment to excellence and attention to detail create an environment where residents can thrive and enjoy a fulfilling retirement experience. With a range of living options available, residents can select from luxurious Independent Living cottages and apartments with optional services, Assisted Living apartments providing customized support, and specialized care for individuals with Dementia/Alzheimer’s. 

Contact Waltonwood – Cary

Overview of Navion of Shelby

Set in the welcoming community of Shelby, NC, the Navion of Shelby is an esteemed senior living community providing assisted living services. A wide range of cozy and spacious accommodations including one-bedroom and two-bedroom are available. Having a highly equipped and dedicated team, this community offers an emergency response team and round-the-clock personalized care services.

True to its goal of promoting a perfect balance between personal freedom and intentional care, residents can enjoy weekly housekeeping and laundry services, in-house maintenance services, and free transportation to all professional services. Experience delicious dining with delightful meals and snacks every day. Engage in diverse social activities and community events. Equipped with the right tools and people, seniors can never go wrong with Navion of Shelby.

Contact Navion of Shelby

Overview of The Sanctuary at Stonehaven

The Sanctuary at Stonehaven provides memory care at 6741 Ciscayne Pl in Charlotte’s Mecklenburg County, a six-resident facility housed in a single-story building designed for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The small community emphasizes specialized staffing trained in cognitive impairment, with higher caregiver-to-resident ratios supporting residents requiring memory care oversight and supervision.

Daily life includes dining, beauty services, recreational and exercise programming, health services, and housekeeping assistance. Transportation services help families navigate medical appointments and errands, though the neighborhood itself is car-dependent (Walk Score 3); the facility sits 7.7 miles from downtown Charlotte, placing it near regional healthcare but in a low-walkability area.

The facility’s regulatory record shows significant strengths. Across seven state inspections since 2018, it recorded nine deficiencies; 80% fewer than the North Carolina state average of 46 over the same period. The facility’s DHSR quality score of 103.5 exceeds the state average of 98.

No fines, enforcement actions, or immediate jeopardy findings appear in the regulatory record.

However, inspection reports identify a persistent pattern: medication management and staff training deficiencies have appeared across multiple years (2018, 2019, 2021) without demonstrated full resolution. The most recent 2021 inspection documented expired staff CPR certification and a missed medication dose spanning 60 days. Earlier inspections cited medication labeling, documentation, storage, and physician order implementation gaps. The trajectory shows no clear improvement or decline.

This community fits families seeking a small, highly supervised memory care setting where residents receive individualized attention in a contained environment, with regulatory oversight showing notably lower deficiency rates than average.

Contact The Sanctuary at Stonehaven

Overview of Navion of New Bern

Operating at full capacity with all 60 beds occupied, Navion of New Bern is an assisted living community located on South Glenburnie Road in New Bern, North Carolina. It also features a variety of pet-friendly one- and two-bedroom suites.

24-hour access to personalized care is provided, along with emergency response systems. Moreover, regular housekeeping, laundry, in-house maintenance, and transportation services are available to support residents’ daily living. Social activities and dining are also offered.

Additionally, the surrounding neighborhood has a Walk Score of 51, making it moderately walkable. Some daily errands and nearby services can be reached on foot, providing residents with a balance of convenience and neighborhood accessibility while making visits easier for family members.

Throughout its decade-long state inspection history, recurring concerns involving medication administration and infection control were identified. However, corrective actions were implemented and later verified by state authorities as successfully addressing the cited compliance issues.

Contact Navion of New Bern

Weighting overview

  • 35%
    Resident Experience
  • 25%
    Regulatory
  • 15%
    Visual Media
  • 10%
    Website
  • 10%
    Stability
  • 5%
    Environment
01

Resident & Family Experience 35%

The single largest share of every ranking. Aggregated review sentiment and volume from major platforms — the closest signal to real resident experience.

  • Includes
  • Review Sentiment
  • Review Volume
02

Regulatory & Safety Record 25%

State inspection records, citations, and complaint visits. We weight per-inspection rates more heavily than raw counts.

  • Includes
  • State Inspections
  • Citations/Inspection
  • % Inspections w/ Citations
  • Complaint Visits
  • Accreditations
  • BBB Rating
03

Visual Media & Transparency 15%

Communities that publish high-quality visuals give families a real preview. No photos or tours = a negative transparency signal.

  • Includes
  • Video Tours
  • Virtual Walkthroughs
  • Photo Quantity
  • Photo Quality
04

Website & Operator Transparency 10%

Site quality and whether the operator publishes basic accountability information — staff names, contact details, ownership.

  • Includes
  • Website Content
  • Mobile Usability
  • Staff Info Available
  • Owner Info Available
05

Community Stability 10%

Operational signals indicating whether a community is well-run and meeting demand.

  • Includes
  • Occupancy Rate
  • Bed Options
06

Environment & Pricing 5%

Walkability and pricing transparency. Walk Score is weighted higher for Independent Living than for Memory Care, where most residents do not leave unaccompanied.

  • Includes
  • Walk Score
  • Pricing Transparency
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Frequently Asked Questions about Assisted Living in North Carolina

What's the difference between assisted living and memory care in North Carolina?

Assisted living in North Carolina supports residents with daily activities (bathing, dressing, medication management) while preserving independence. Memory care is a specialized form of assisted living for residents living with Alzheimer's or dementia, and adds 24/7 secured environments, dementia-trained staff, and structured routines designed to reduce confusion and wandering.

What's the difference between assisted living and a nursing home in North Carolina?

Assisted living in North Carolina is a residential model focused on housing, hospitality, and help with daily activities. Nursing homes (skilled nursing facilities) provide 24/7 medical care from licensed nurses for residents with significant health needs, and are regulated more strictly under both state and federal CMS rules.

Does North Carolina Medicaid cover assisted living?

North Carolina Medicaid does not directly pay room-and-board for assisted living, but most states (including North Carolina) offer Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers that can offset the cost of care services delivered inside a licensed community. Eligibility, waitlists, and covered services vary — check directly with the state Medicaid agency.

What is assisted living?

Assisted living combines private or semi-private apartments with help on activities of daily living (meals, bathing, dressing, medication management) and a social calendar — for residents who need some support but do not need 24/7 medical care.

How many assisted living facilities are listed on this page?

This page features 389 assisted living facilities in North Carolina. Use the filters and comparison tools above to compare ratings, amenities, and pricing.

How do I choose the right assisted living facility in North Carolina?

Start by matching the level of care offered to the resident's current and anticipated needs, then compare licensing status, staff-to-resident ratios, recent inspection results, and pricing. Tour at least two or three communities in North Carolina, talk to current residents and families, and confirm what is included in the base rate versus billed as add-on services.

What should I look for when visiting assisted living facilities in North Carolina?

Pay attention to staff interactions with residents, cleanliness and odor, food quality at meal times, the activity calendar, and how questions about pricing and care plans are answered. Ask to see the most recent state inspection report, the move-out / level-of-care-change policy, and a sample monthly bill that lists every fee.