San Diego County
Assisted living near me: all 380 the state licenses
Not the five that advertise. Every residential care home California licenses in San Diego County, split by city so you can start with yours, with the licence number, the bed count and what the state’s own inspectors wrote about each one. Read 21 October 2026, and free to use whether or not you ever call us.
The county has 380 licensed homes and 13,670 licensed beds across 42 ZIP codes. The split is what changes a search: 285 are houses of six beds or fewer and only 71 are communities of 25 beds or more.
That first group is most of the market and almost none of the advertising. No website, no sign, nothing to find — and in California exactly the same state licence as the building with the chandelier in the lobby. For somebody who needs real supervision rather than an activities calendar, one of those houses is very often the better answer, and searching will never surface it.
Start with your city
Where they are, city by city
Each city has its own complete list, with every home's name, licence number and inspection record.
San Diego
195
licensed homes · 7,340 beds · 158 of six beds or fewer
Escondido
90
licensed homes · 2,637 beds · 61 of six beds or fewer
El Cajon
35
licensed homes · 803 beds · 25 of six beds or fewer
Chula Vista
30
licensed homes · 1,487 beds · 22 of six beds or fewer
La Mesa
21
licensed homes · 1,018 beds · 14 of six beds or fewer
National City
9
licensed homes · 385 beds · 5 of six beds or fewer
Searching in another county? Senior Placement Anaheim covers Orange County and Senior Placement Riverside covers Riverside County and the Inland Empire.
The question that decides whether you move her twice
A licence is not permission for everything
Each home is approved for particular things and each approval has a number attached. Across the county the state records a non-ambulatory approval at 367 of the 380, and 336 hold a hospice waiver — the approval that lets somebody stay through the end of life instead of moving again.
Where the record does not state something, that is absence from the record and nothing more. It is not a refusal and it is not a zero: it is the question to put to the home, in writing, before anybody signs. Approvals change, so this narrows a shortlist; it never clears a home.
Tell us what she actually needs and we will tell you which of these 380 can accept it, what they are charging this month, and who has a room.
Questions
What almost every family asks
- How do I find assisted living near me?
- Start from the licence register rather than from an advert. California publishes every home it licenses, where it is, how many beds it holds and what its inspectors found inside. San Diego County has 380 licensed homes across 42 ZIP codes. This page splits them by city so you can start with yours, and each city has its own full list with names, licence numbers and inspection history.
- Why do the same four or five places keep coming up when I search?
- Because 285 of the 380 are houses of six beds or fewer — ordinary homes on ordinary streets with no website, no sign and no advertising budget. In California they hold exactly the same licence as a 500-bed community: Residential Care Facility for the Elderly. What you see advertised is the large minority. Most of the market is invisible from a search box, which is the whole reason this register exists.
- What is the difference between assisted living, board and care, and a nursing home?
- Assisted living and board and care are the same licence in California and differ only in size — a community of 25 beds or more versus a house with six. A nursing home is a different licence entirely, with nurses on duty around the clock, and it is regulated separately. If someone needs skilled nursing rather than help with dressing, meals and medication, a licensed care home is the wrong category and no amount of comparing will fix that.
- How do I check a home before I visit?
- Every licensed home has a public record and it is on these pages: licence status, licensed beds, how many times the state visited, the citations it issued and how many complaints were substantiated. Read citation counts next to the visit count beside them — a home the state has visited forty times will show more findings than one it has visited four, and that alone does not make it worse.
- What if she cannot walk unaided, or is on hospice?
- Then the question stops being which home you like and becomes which homes are permitted to accept her. A licence is not general permission: each approval carries a number. Across the county the state records a non-ambulatory approval for 367 of the 380, and 336 hold a hospice waiver. Where the record says nothing, that is absence from the record and nothing more — not a refusal. Ask the home to confirm its current approvals in writing before anyone signs.
- Does Medicare pay for assisted living?
- No. Medicare's own long-term care page opens with the sentence “Medicare doesn’t pay for long-term care”, marks it not covered and says you pay all costs. Medicare does pay for a limited rehabilitation stay in a skilled nursing facility after a qualifying hospital admission, and it pays for hospice, but neither is a way to pay for a care home. That comes from private funds, a long-term care policy, Medi-Cal and its waivers, or VA benefits.
- Do you charge families to help?
- You never get an invoice. A home pays us a commission when someone we introduce moves in. Almost nobody in this industry bills families, so “free” does not distinguish anyone — we would rather tell you who does pay, and have you ask us about that relationship whenever we recommend something.
Last reviewed . Figures are re-checked against their sources whenever this page is revised.
Three hundred and eighty is too many to call
Tell us what you need and we will cut it to the two or three worth your afternoon, including the six-bed houses you will not find anywhere else. It costs your family nothing.
Who are we helping?
Start with your family member. You can discuss the details with us by phone.
Prefer to talk now? (619) 340-1539, open every day until 6pm.