Headline figures
Across the UK, the average weekly fee for a residential care home in 2024 is around £1,160, and for a nursing home around £1,410. The market consultancy LaingBuisson publishes annual reports tracking these figures. Carehome.co.uk publishes ongoing averages based on listings. Neither captures the full range. The ranges below are the realistic envelope you should expect to see when you compare actual homes in an area.
The figures matter because most people in a care home are paying these fees themselves. The means test in England means that anyone with assets above £23,250, including the value of their home in many cases, is expected to fund their own care. That is the default. NHS Continuing Healthcare, if granted, is the way out of paying. Most applications do not succeed.
Weekly fees by region
The ranges below are typical for self-funders. Local authority placements tend to be at the lower end of each range. Premium homes in any region can sit well above the upper figure.
| Region | Residential per week | Nursing per week |
|---|---|---|
| London and South East | £1,400 to £1,900 | £1,700 to £2,300 |
| South West | £1,200 to £1,600 | £1,500 to £1,900 |
| East of England | £1,200 to £1,500 | £1,500 to £1,800 |
| West Midlands | £1,000 to £1,300 | £1,300 to £1,600 |
| East Midlands | £1,000 to £1,300 | £1,300 to £1,600 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £950 to £1,250 | £1,250 to £1,550 |
| North West | £950 to £1,250 | £1,250 to £1,550 |
| North East | £900 to £1,200 | £1,200 to £1,500 |
Ranges from carehome.co.uk monthly averages and LaingBuisson Care of Older People market reports. Figures are 2024 fee year and increase by 5-8% per year typically.
What drives the price
Five things move the fee within a region:
- Type of care. Residential is cheapest. Nursing adds the cost of a Registered Nurse on duty. Dementia care, particularly EMI (elderly mentally infirm) units with secure environments, costs more again.
- Room type. A single ensuite room costs more than a shared room without facilities. New-build homes typically sell only ensuite. Older homes have a mix.
- Building age and amenities. Purpose-built homes with cinema rooms, hairdressers and beauty salons charge a premium. Converted houses with limited common space sit at the cheaper end.
- Local property values. Care home fees broadly track the cost of land and labour, so areas with expensive housing have expensive care homes. London is the extreme.
- Care complexity. Many homes charge a higher rate when assessed needs are heavier, particularly behavioural needs in dementia or one-to-one supervision.
The dementia premium
Specialist dementia and EMI units typically charge £200 to £400 a week more than equivalent residential or nursing care. A dementia nursing placement in London or the South East commonly sits at £2,000 to £2,500 a week, or £104,000 to £130,000 a year. Many families do not realise this until they start the actual placement search.
See dementia care funding for how this interacts with NHS Continuing Healthcare and what to look for in a placement.
The two-tier pricing problem
Most homes charge self-funders more than local authority residents for the same care. A self-funder might pay £1,400 a week while a council-funded resident in the next room pays £900 for the same package. This is legal but unfair. It exists because local authority fee rates are squeezed and operators recover the gap from self-funders.
When a self-funder’s savings run down to the means-test threshold, the council steps in and starts paying. At that point the home may decline to keep them unless the family agrees to a “top-up” payment to make up the difference between the council’s rate and the self-funder rate. This is a major reason families fund care for years and then face a forced move.
Top-ups must be voluntary and must come from a third party. The resident themselves cannot legally pay their own top-up. See the means test for how this transition works in practice.
How long fees rise
Care home fees have risen well above inflation for at least a decade. Annual increases of 5 to 8% are common. National Minimum Wage rises and a tight labour market for care workers are the biggest drivers. A family that funds a parent at £1,300 a week today should budget for £1,500 a week within three years.
How to pay
If you are funding care yourself, the main routes are:
- Income from pensions and savings interest
- Drawing down savings
- Selling the property if it is no longer occupied by a spouse or dependent
- A Deferred Payment Agreement with the local authority, which loans the fees against the property and recovers when the property is sold
- Equity release lifetime mortgage if the property has a continuing occupant who needs to stay
- An immediate-needs annuity bought from a specialist insurer, which converts a lump sum into a guaranteed income covering the fees for life
Independent financial advice is worth getting before committing to an annuity or equity release. The numbers are large and the products are complex. The who pays for care page sets out the wider picture.
What CHC covers if granted
NHS Continuing Healthcare pays the full weekly fee in an appropriate placement. It does not pay above what the ICB agrees to commission, so if you want a more expensive home than the ICB has approved, the difference comes from the family as a top-up. See the CHC explainer for the full picture.
Updated 3 June 2026. Ranges from LaingBuisson Care of Older People market report and carehome.co.uk averages. Figures are typical for self-funders in each region.