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Raleigh Senior Advisor

Senior care in your metro, explained by people who know the buildings

Free guidance for families across the Raleigh-Durham Triangle. Compare licensed assisted living, memory care, nursing and in-home care -- and find out what your state actually pays for.

75 verified communities
36 cities covered
Free to your family
Quick answer

Raleigh Senior Advisor is a free senior care referral service. We help you compare licensed communities, verify licensing through your state's regulator, and understand what Medicaid, Medicare and VA benefits actually cover.

Free to families — paid by communities, not by you
Local advisors who know these communities
Every license verified against state health department records
No obligation and no pressure to tour

Finding senior care in the Raleigh-Durham Triangle means navigating seven different counties, two different Area Agency on Aging regions, and a state licensing system -- North Carolina's adult care home license -- that most families have never heard of before they need it. Costs vary once a community's actual care-level fees are added to the base rate, and the state's own published cost data only covers statewide medians, not Raleigh-specific figures.

That is what this site is for. We publish what North Carolina's regulators actually require, what the published cost data actually says, and which communities in the Triangle we have verified — then a local advisor helps you narrow it down. The service is free to your family because communities pay us when a family moves in. You should know that going in, which is why we say it here rather than in the footer.

Short answer

Raleigh Senior Advisor is a free senior care referral service for families across the Raleigh-Durham Triangle. We help you compare licensed assisted living, memory care, nursing and in-home care options, verify licensing through your state's regulator, and understand what Medicaid, Medicare and VA benefits will and will not pay for.

What senior care costs. NC's statewide median is $6,496/month for assisted living, per the 2025 CareScout Cost of Care Survey (formerly the Genworth Cost of Care Survey). No metro-specific or memory-care figure is published. Read the full explanation →
How North Carolina licenses assisted living. NC uses one license type -- 'adult care home' -- under Chapter 131D, with no Type A/B/C tiering. Read the full explanation →

Types of senior care

Cities we cover

Questions families ask

How do I check if an assisted living community in Cary is actually licensed?

Use the NC Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Health Service Regulation (DHSR) Regulated Facilities search at info.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/search.asp, which lets you search by county (Wake) or facility name and confirms the current license status, address, and bed capacity for any licensed adult care home. Every community operating as assisted living in Cary must be licensed under N.C.G.S. Chapter 131D and 10A NCAC 13F, regardless of how it markets itself.

Does North Carolina license assisted living facilities as Type A, B, or C like some other states?

No. North Carolina uses a single licensure category called 'adult care home' under N.C.G.S. Chapter 131D and 10A NCAC 13F, adopted by the N.C. Medical Care Commission, rather than an acuity-tiered Type A/B/C system some other states use. A facility can add a Special Care Unit designation to that same license for memory care, but this is not a separate license class.

What's the difference between a 'family care home' and a regular adult care home in Durham?

A family care home is licensed to serve 2 to 6 unrelated residents in a residential-style setting, while a larger adult care home (7 or more beds) operates under the same statute and rules but with a different fee and penalty schedule based on bed count. Both are licensed by DHSR's Adult Care Licensure Section under the identical Chapter 131D / 10A NCAC 13F framework — a family care home is a subset of the adult care home category, not a separate license type.

What has to be disclosed if a memory care unit in Wake Forest calls itself a 'Special Care Unit'?

Under G.S. 131D-8 and 10A NCAC 13F .1300 (the Special Care Unit rules), a facility operating a dementia/Alzheimer's unit must file a disclosure statement with DHSR describing the unit's philosophy of care, staffing and training specific to dementia care, physical environment, admission and discharge criteria, and programming — this disclosure must also be made available to prospective residents and families. The required content and format are published on DHSR's Special Care Unit disclosure page (ncdhhs.gov, ACLS).

How do I find inspection reports and violation history for a nursing home in Durham?

Nursing homes (skilled nursing facilities) are licensed and certified by DHSR's Nursing Home Licensure and Certification Section and are also surveyed under federal Medicare/Medicaid rules, so their inspection results, deficiencies, and CMS Five-Star Quality Rating are published on Medicare's Care Compare website (medicare.gov/care-compare) alongside the underlying survey (Form 2567) reports. You can cross-reference the same facility's NC license status through DHSR's Regulated Facilities search at info.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/search.asp.

Is the same state agency in charge of licensing both nursing homes and assisted living communities in Raleigh?

Yes, both fall under the NC Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Health Service Regulation (DHSR), but two different sections handle them: the Adult Care Licensure Section (ACLS) licenses adult care homes and family care homes (what most people call assisted living), while the Nursing Home Licensure and Certification Section (NHLCS) licenses and federally certifies nursing homes (skilled nursing facilities). They operate under different statutory and rule frameworks and use different inspection/rating tools.

Where do I file a complaint about care quality at an adult care home in Apex?

Complaints about a licensed adult care home or family care home anywhere in North Carolina, including Apex, go to DHSR's Complaint Intake Unit at 1-800-624-3004 (in-state) or 919-855-4500, staffed weekdays 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. except holidays. DHSR's Complaint Intake Unit often forwards complaints about specific resident conditions to the local county Department of Social Services for investigation, since Adult Protective Services in NC is county-administered.

What are DHSR's complaint line hours, and does it cover a facility in Fuquay-Varina?

DHSR's Complaint Intake and Health Care Personnel Investigations Section can be reached at 1-800-624-3004 (in North Carolina) or 919-855-4500, weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., excluding state holidays. This line covers complaints about any DHSR-regulated facility statewide, including licensed adult care homes, family care homes, and nursing homes in southern Wake County towns like Fuquay-Varina.

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