What is the difference between a personal care home and assisted living in Kentucky?
A Kentucky personal care home is a licensed health facility under KRS 216B and 902 KAR 20:036 offering room, meals, supervision and personal care to ambulatory or mobile nonambulatory adults, while an assisted living community is licensed under KRS 194A and 902 KAR 20:480 as apartment-style living with services set out in a lease.
The practical differences are the living unit (assisted living requires private living units meeting KRS 194A.703; personal care homes can have shared rooms), the payment rules, and how inspections are published. OIG posts personal care home inspection findings in GenSearch; assisted living licensure findings must be requested.
Which costs less in Louisville, a personal care home or assisted living?
There is no published Kentucky median for personal care homes, but for low-income residents the personal care home is often the only affordable residential option because State Supplementation, which pays toward a $1,409 base standard of need, applies there and never in assisted living.
CareScout's 2025 Kentucky assisted living median is about $5,290 a month. A personal care home serving a State Supplementation resident must accept the standard of need minus a $60 personal needs allowance as full payment (921 KAR 2:015), which caps what it can charge that resident.
How many personal care homes are there in the Louisville area?
OIG's October 2026 directories list 5 freestanding personal care homes in the seven counties, 10 long-term-care campuses with licensed personal care beds (470 beds in all), and 12 family care homes.
The small number reflects KRS 194A.704, which requires apartment-style personal care homes to convert to ALC-BH or ALC-DC licenses. See every one on the personal care roster.
Who should consider a personal care home over assisted living?
A Louisville adult on SSI-level income who needs supervision and daily help but not nursing care, can get around with or without a walker or wheelchair, and can leave the building in an emergency is the classic personal care home resident.
People who need medication administration, nursing tasks or a secured dementia unit should look at ALC-BH, ALC-DC or nursing options instead.
At a glance
| A Kentucky personal care home | A Kentucky assisted living community | |
|---|---|---|
| Law | KRS 216B, 902 KAR 20:036 | KRS 194A.700-.729, 902 KAR 20:480 |
| State Supplementation | Eligible | Not eligible |
| Inspections online | Yes, in OIG GenSearch since 2024 | Findings available on request |
| Living unit | Rooms, which may be shared | Private apartment-style units |
Sources include KRS Chapter 194A, 902 KAR 20:480, Kentucky CHFS and DMS pages, CareScout and VA rate tables as cited above; see our editorial standards.
