Memory Care Communities in Melbourne, Florida

In Melbourne, residential dementia care costs $5,576 per month. This rate exceeds Florida’s average of $5,000 but comes slightly below the national median of $5,625. Other cities in Central Florida have competitive care costs, including Orlando, where seniors pay 10% less for memory care. Similarly, rates in Ocala come in 14% below Melbourne’s average, and in Sebastian, the monthly care cost competes with the local norm at $4,188. Even so, Melbourne may be a budget-friendly alternative to The Villages, a community where memory care facilities charge $6,510 for services.

Note: Residential memory care is usually offered in assisted living facilities, and in general, memory care rates tend to be 20-30% higher than assisted living rates. No national database currently tracks memory care costs in the United States, so we've estimated the monthly memory care costs listed below by adding 25% to the rates listed in Genworth's 2021 Cost of Care Survey.

Memory care residents in Melbourne pay $5,576 per month for specialized residential services.

While many families use their own funds or personal assets to pay for memory care, there are plenty of additional options to cover these costs. Some additional ways to finance memory care costs include:

 

• Veterans Benefits
• Life Insurance Policy
• Long-Term Care Insurance
• Reverse Mortgage

 

For more information about different ways to finance memory care, visit our Memory Care in Florida page.

The average memory care rate in Melbourne exceeds costs for most senior care solutions, with seniors paying $5,576 for specialized care. Although nursing home care rates are higher than memory care fees at $9,688, other options tend to cost less. For example, seniors who live in their own homes pay $4,767 for basic in-home care and skilled home health care, and those who don’t need memory support pay $4,461 for assisted living. Additionally, adult day health care rates come in 75% lower than local memory care costs.

In Melbourne, memory care facilities may be freestanding or housed within assisted living communities, and they follow the Florida Agency for HealthCare Administration’s regulations for assisted living facilities. To obtain licensure, facilities must disclose the memory care services they provide, and they must follow state-mandated guidelines for building security, staffing ratios and caregiver training.

 

• The Health First Memory Disorder Clinic serves Melbourne as one of the 17 memory clinics funded through Florida’s Dementia Care and Cure Initiative. This clinic provides free memory screenings to anyone concerned about memory loss, and it conducts research and offers educational opportunities to the community. The city also houses two hospitals, Holmes Regional Medical Center and Melbourne Regional Medical Center, to meet seniors’ health care needs.

 

• Melbourne has long, hot summers and short, mild winters and may be an attractive retirement destination for seniors sensitive to cold temperatures. The hottest temperatures typically come between the end of May and the end of September when daytime highs average 89 degrees Fahrenheit. During the cold season, which spans early December to early March, daytime temperatures average in the low 70s Fahrenheit.

 

• The American Lung Association reports exceptional air quality in Brevard County, benefiting memory care residents who have comorbidities, such as heart disease or asthma. The region has the highest marks available for the three metrics the organization ranks, which include ozone pollution, 24-hour particle pollution and annual particle pollution levels.

 

• Crime occurs more often in Melbourne than in a typical U.S. city, although rates have been slowly dropping over the past two decades. On a 100-point index, the city rates 42.7 for violent crime, outpacing the national norm by 20 points, and its property crime rate comes in at 57.9 versus 35.4 nationally. Fortunately, memory care facilities often have door alarms, high-security locks and security gates to keep residents safe.

 

• Melbourne’s cost of living comes in about 4% below the national norm and six percentage points below Florida’s average and may result in competitive memory care rates. In general, housing costs come in 5% lower than state and national norms, and health care costs fall 3% below the U.S. average.