So, Guess Who's Living Next Door...

Residents in assisted living housing are overwhelmingly white—99 percent—and female—79 percent—according to a new AARP report with the latest facts on these facilities.

The brief, "Assisted Living in the United States," by the Public Policy Institute, finds that 75 percent of all assisted living bills are privately paid by residents and their families, even though the monthly costs average $2,100 to $2,900. While Medicaid coverage is increasing gradually, the latest figures show the federal/state program pays for only 11 percent of the residents.

Residents, the study shows, stay in these facilities an average of 2.5 to three years, until they need more nursing care or until they die. To read more about assisted living, go to AARP’s Public Policy Institute’s Research Center.