Assisted living falls and staffing, by the numbers.
The published figures behind what we say — what a fall costs, how fast staff turn over, and how often medication goes wrong — each with the reporting it comes from.
What do resident falls cost a senior living provider each year?
About $380,000 a year per location in direct costs, and considerably more for larger operators.
Average annual direct cost of resident falls across assisted living and skilled nursing, per location. Providers with 20 or more locations averaged $712,000; those with 19 or fewer averaged $158,000.
McKnight's Senior LivingHow much does a single resident fall cost?
Roughly $17,000 to the community, and about $35,000 when the fall leads to a hospitalisation.
Average facility cost of one fall. A fall that ends in a hospital admission averages roughly $35,000, before any liability exposure.
What will older-adult falls cost the United States by 2030?
About $101 billion a year, from a projected 52 million falls annually.
Projected annual U.S. cost of older-adult falls, with roughly 52 million falls and 12 million fall-related injuries a year by 2030.
U.S. CDCWhat are assisted-living communities being sued for after a fall?
Jury awards of $10.5 million to $20.5 million in wrongful-death cases tied to preventable, repeated falls.
Recent jury awards in assisted-living wrongful-death cases where falls were both preventable and repeated — the pattern, rather than any single incident, is what juries have punished.
What is the staff turnover rate in assisted living?
34.53% across assisted-living positions in 2025, and higher for direct-care roles.
Turnover across assisted-living positions in 2025. Resident assistants and personal care aides ran at 43.25% and certified nursing assistants at 40.59% — the roles closest to the resident turn over fastest.
Senior Housing NewsHow many assisted-living communities are short-staffed?
96% of assisted living facilities reported a staffing shortage when AHCA/NCAL surveyed the industry.
In the AHCA/NCAL workforce survey of September 2021, 96% of assisted living facilities reported a staffing shortage, roughly a third of them at a high level. 77% said their situation had worsened over the preceding three months, and 61% were concerned the shortage could force them to close.
AHCA / NCAL, September 2021What does staff turnover cost a community in lost income?
Around $275,000 in net operating income per facility, per year.
Estimated net-operating-income lost per facility, per year, to staff turnover — recruitment, agency cover, and the productivity gap while a replacement learns the building.
How common are medication errors in long-term residential care?
An observed error rate of 42%, with 90% of residents exposed to at least one error over three months.
Observed medication-administration error rate in long-term residential care; 90% of residents were exposed to at least one error over three months.
What do families weigh most when choosing a community?
Safety and emergency response, ahead of amenities and price.
Safety and emergency response are the leading factors families weigh when choosing a community — which is what makes a documented fall record a sales asset as well as a clinical one.
A note on figures
Citing this page: BioAlign Care, “Assisted Living Fall & Staffing Statistics,” bioaligncare.com/resources. Figures are reviewed each January, when the annual salary and turnover reporting is published.
Statistics are drawn from public reporting by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, senior-living trade publications (such as McKnight's Senior Living and Senior Housing News), industry associations, and peer-reviewed literature indexed by NCBI and AHRQ PSNet. Where a figure links out, the linked report carries that figure. Cost and savings figures vary by community; we model your specific building before any agreement, and full citations are available on request.
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