Top 10 Cheapest States for Long-Term Care Costs: 2012

With the release of its 2012 Cost of Long-Term Care Survey, Genworth Financial provides a glimpse into the escalating costs of LTC of various levels throughout the country. The survey, conducted by CareScout, covers almost 15,300 LTC providers in all 50 states as well as Washington and is broken down into 437 regions across the country.

Genworth also provides an interactive map and a mobile app, so that advisors and their clients can check out the data anywhere, any time. With costs for care rising at a five-year annual rate of 5.71% for assisted living facilities and 4.28% for private rooms in nursing homes, but only 1.09% for licensed home care aides, it's more important than ever to know which states are the most affordable when planning retirement.

The following are the Top 10 Cheapest States for LTC Costs after costs have been averaged for the categories of licensed home care, assisted living and nursing home private rooms. Adult day care was omitted from the average (but provided separately for your information) because variation in that category is so wide from state to state, and from other LTC expenses within each state, that it results in an inaccurate picture of overall LTC expenses.