With an increase in senior care searches and reviews online, the Caring Stars program helps seniors and their families find America’s best assisted living, retirement communities and nursing homes.

Charlotte, NC; Nov. 16, 2021: In the United States today, there are more than 15,500 online searches per hour related to senior living and care (up from 6,000 per hour in 2017). When seniors and their families search for senior living information, many of these searches focus on finding consumer reviews.  Caring.com — a leading senior living referral service and the nation’s top site for senior care reviews — today released “Caring Stars 2022,” Caring’s annual list of the best senior living communities. 

This list directly addresses searchers’ needs for reliable consumer reviews of senior living communities.  The Caring Stars 2022 includes 439 senior living communities in 44 states, with California, Florida, and Texas having the most winners (65, 39, and 36 respectively). 

Caring Stars started in 2012 as the first service-recognition program of its kind in the senior living industry, and has become a popular guide for consumers online. Caring’s expertly-managed and integrity-focused consumer reviews program highlights for seniors and their families which communities have earned the most and best praise from their customers. 

Compared to 2021, the best senior living communities list for 2022 has nearly tripled in size. After the COVID-19 pandemic drew more attention to senior living and boosted consumers’ use of the Internet, Caring saw an increase in consumers willing to share their service-related reviews online, publishing 58% more reviews per month on average in 2021 than in 2019 (for Jan.-Oct.). The majority of senior living communities also took extraordinary and vital measures to protect the safety and well being of seniors during the pandemic, generating increased positive feedback in reviews about their services.  The return to in-person tours in 2021 also contributed to improved experiences and more positive reviews.

“This has been an unprecedented and very challenging couple of years, and the senior living industry rose to the occasion,” said Caring’s CEO Jim Rosenthal. “We applaud the Caring Stars of 2022 and other senior living communities nationwide, for earning such high praise from their customers in online ratings and reviews during this time. We appreciate the ongoing opportunity to share our information, insights and expertise with seniors and their families as they research and choose senior living communities and other senior care options in their area.” 

To be considered for the longstanding and distinguished Caring Stars 2022 list, senior living communities and nursing homes must have: 

  • 10 or more published reviews on their Caring.com profile by 10/15/21 
  • An overall average rating of 4.5 stars or higher
  • 3 or more published reviews from 10/15/20 through 10/15/21, with at least one of the recent reviews being a 5-star review and one or more published in 2021 
  • Public-facing responses to any 1-star or 2-star negative reviews 

In addition to the above qualifications, Caring conducts a reviews-integrity audit for every review on every finalist’s directory listing. Another quality-assurance measure Caring takes is to screen finalist communities using available licensing and inspection reports on state agency websites. 

Caring Stars is the most trustworthy way online for seniors and their families to quickly and easily identify the best performing senior living communities according to consumers.  For 2020 and 2021, the top-rated Caring Stars communities on average attracted more than twice as many new resident inquiries and nearly three times as many move-ins as Caring’s community partners without the award. To be considered for Caring Stars, a senior living community or nursing home does not need to be partnered with Caring.com. 

For more information and to see the list, please visit: caring.com/bestseniorliving. Consumers may also reach out to a Caring Family Advisor to find a nearby Caring Star community and get empathetic guidance in their search for senior living and senior care: (844) 484-5997. Caring’s resources and services are free of charge for seniors and their families.  

About Caring.com 

With millions of website visitors, Caring.com is a leading senior living referral service and the nation’s top site for senior care 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, as well as comprehensive senior living and senior care directories for the United States, including more than 350,000 consumer reviews. Through a toll-free referral line at (844) 484-5997, Caring’s trustworthy, nationwide team of Family Advisors — who are among the most highly trained, highly skilled, and knowledgeable experts in senior 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 http://www.caring.com/about and join with Caring on Facebook.

Media Contact:

Denise Graab, Caring.com’s Reviews Program Director

reviews@caring.com | (650) 762-8190