Caring Celebrates 15 Years of “Caring Stars” Awards Recognizing America’s Best Senior Living Communities

Top-Rated Retirement Communities, Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Nursing Homes Earn Caring Stars 2026 Honor for Service Excellence

Charlotte, NC; Nov. 13, 2025 — Caring, a leader in senior living referrals and reviews, today announced its “Caring Stars 2026” senior living community list, celebrating the 15th year of this nationally recognized, consumer reviews award program that was the first of its kind in the senior living industry. 

The honorees represent the ‘best of the best’ — senior living communities who are rated highly by seniors and their families for quality of care, support and services, and who respond to those online reviews. Both the reviews and community responses meet stringent standards before being published on Caring.com. 

“Through 15 years of highlighting service excellence, Caring Stars has helped seniors and their families find trusted senior living communities with confidence,” said Tracey Zhen, CEO of Caring. “This award reflects genuine voices and real experiences — showing which communities truly excel in delivering compassionate, resident-centered care. We congratulate the Caring Stars of 2026 for meeting and exceeding high standards and enriching the lives of the older adults and families they serve.”

As part of its 15-year milestone celebration, Caring has introduced two new categories of Caring Stars winners: “Residents Recommended” and “Family Favorite” — calling out the Caring Stars 2026 communities with a majority of positive reviews from either of the two constituent groups. This is in addition to the “Super Stars” award tier, recognizing communities who’ve earned the Caring Stars award in 3 or more years since 2012.

• 128 communities in 31 states earned the 2026 award
• States with the most winning communities include: Michigan (33), Ohio (23), and Texas (11)
• 71 communities are Super Stars of 2026
• Five communities are recognized as “Residents Recommended,” and 59 as a “Family Favorite”

To qualify for Caring Stars 2026, communities and care homes had to have a stellar reviews profile on Caring.com by October 15, 2025, with:

• An overall average rating of 4.5 stars or higher;
• Demonstrated excellence in total published review volume (across all time) and recent reviews (between 10/15/24-10/15/25), with specific qualification metrics for smaller versus larger homes, and all having at least one 5-star review in 2025; as well as
• Public responses to the feedback (with at least one review response on every winning profile, and published responses on every 1-star or 2-star negative review). 

Caring also screened finalist communities using licensing information on state agency websites (where applicable and data publicly available), including analysis of two years of regulatory inspection reports. Furthermore, Caring conducted an extensive audit of every review on each community finalist’s reviews page to uphold review publication validity and award integrity. Caring’s thorough quality assurance processes help ensure trustworthy, transparent recognition that seniors and their families can rely on.

“Caring has been an invaluable partner to StoryPoint Group, helping amplify the voices of residents and families through authentic feedback. The Caring Stars award is especially meaningful to us because it reflects the trust we’ve earned and allows us to connect with even more families searching for a place where their loved ones will feel at home.”
— Erin Kessler, Customer Insights & Reputation Marketing Manager, StoryPoint Group
(StoryPoint is #1 in the nation with the most winning communities for Caring Stars 2026, 2025 and 2024.)

“An award like Caring Stars shows that as a company, Sonida Senior Living is dedicated to ensuring that we not only measure up in our markets but shines a spotlight on the fact that we exceed, by offering the best services possible for the families that choose a Sonida Senior Living community…The Caring Stars award recognition sets Sonida apart and helps guide families to the best solutions for them.”
— Kari Wilson, Director of Sales Operations, Sonida Senior Living

(Sonida Senior Living is among the Top 5 winning organizations for Caring Stars 2026, 2025, 2023 and 2021.)

“Each year, Caring Stars communities demonstrate what it means to deliver excellence in senior living,” said Susan Ruff, Caring’s VP of Partner Success. “These organizations listen, respond, and continuously improve from their customers’ feedback. We’re honored to help showcase their commitment to high quality senior living and support their ongoing success.”

Visit Caring.com/bestseniorliving to learn more about the 2026 award recipients, or contact reviews@caring.com. Families seeking support in their senior living search can speak with a Caring Family Advisor at (800) 558-0653 for free expert guidance.

With millions of visitors to its flagship website, www.Caring.com , Caring is a leader in senior living referrals and reviews. Founded in 2007, Caring’s mission is to help as many seniors and their caregivers as possible through empathetic, expert guidance. Applying cutting-edge technology to this humane mission, Caring provides relevant senior care information and support, including a directory of local senior living communities and senior care agencies across the United States, as well as 400,000+ consumer reviews. Through a toll-free referral line at (800) 558-0653, Caring’s trusted team of Family Advisors — who are among the most highly trained, highly skilled, and knowledgeable experts in senior living and care — helps seniors and their families research and connect to the most appropriate services and support for their specific situations. For more information about our organization and our free services for seniors and their families, please visit www.caring.com/about and join with Caring on Facebook.