The short answer: North Miami-Dade has 51 licensed assisted living facilities in our directory across Aventura, Miami Gardens, Miami Lakes, North Miami, North Miami Beach and Opa-locka. The area splits in two. Aventura has the oldest population and a handful of large communities, while Miami Gardens and Miami Lakes are almost all six-bed homes. Language matters a great deal here: in North Miami, more residents speak French or Haitian Creole at home than Spanish. This guide covers facilities, hospitals, hurricanes, local help and getting around.

How many assisted living facilities are in North Miami-Dade?

AssistedLivingFacility.com lists these licensed, active facilities:

City Facilities Licensed beds 6 beds or fewer 50 beds or more
Miami Gardens 22 198 20 1
Miami Lakes 13 80 12 0
Aventura 5 524 1 3
North Miami 5 38 4 0
North Miami Beach 5 146 3 1
Opa-locka 1 6 1 0
North Miami-Dade 51 992 41 5

Aventura's five facilities hold more than half the area's beds, because three of them are large communities. In Miami Gardens and Miami Lakes, 32 of 35 facilities are small homes. So the first decision is the same one families face across Miami-Dade: a small residential home or a larger community. Our comparison of large and small facilities covers the trade-offs. Hialeah, to the southwest, has another 95 facilities if you widen the search.

Browse listings on our Aventura, Miami Gardens, Miami Lakes, North Miami and North Miami Beach pages, or the whole of Miami-Dade County.

Who lives in North Miami-Dade?

Miami Gardens is the biggest city here, with 113,579 residents in July 2025, followed by North Miami (60,884), North Miami Beach (46,236), Aventura (39,880) and Miami Lakes (33,067) (Census Bureau population estimates).

Aventura stands out for age. Census survey data for 2020–2024 puts 25.8% of its residents at 65 or older, against 16.9% for Miami-Dade as a whole. The other cities are close to the county average: 16.9% in North Miami Beach, 16.6% in Miami Gardens, 15.2% in North Miami and 15.1% in Miami Lakes (ACS 2020–2024).

Will staff speak your parent's language?

This is the question to ask first in North Miami-Dade. Languages spoken at home among residents aged 5 and older (ACS 2020–2024):

City Spanish French, Haitian Creole or Cajun Other notable
North Miami 32.9% 39.5%
North Miami Beach 36.6% 27.5%
Miami Gardens 32.9% 7.4%
Aventura 47.0% 1.5% Russian, Polish or other Slavic, 5.6%

In Miami Lakes, 85.9% of residents speak a language other than English at home (ACS 2020–2024). Florida doesn't require assisted living staff to speak a resident's language. If a resident doesn't understand English, the facility must explain its policies through a family member or someone else who can communicate with them (rule 59A-36.006). So on the phone, ask how many caregivers on each shift, including nights, speak Haitian Creole, Spanish, Russian or whatever your parent is most comfortable in. FloridaHealthFinder lists the languages spoken at each facility.

What should we know about small homes?

Most facilities in Miami Gardens, Miami Lakes and North Miami are six-bed homes, and Florida's rules change with size (rule 59A-36.010):

  • Night staff. Only facilities with 17 or more residents must have "at least one staff member awake at all hours of the day and night."
  • Minimum staff hours. A home with 6 to 15 residents must provide at least 212 staff hours a week. That's a little more than one person on duty around the clock, which is 168 hours.
  • Shared management. One administrator may oversee up to three facilities, with a manager appointed for each. Three small homes within 15 miles of each other can share two managers.

A small home can be warm and attentive. If your parent wanders or gets up at night, ask: Who is awake at 3 a.m.? Our guide to levels of care explains how homes price extra help, and our dementia care guide explains Florida's new memory care license.

Which hospitals serve Aventura and North Miami-Dade?

  • HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, 20900 Biscayne Boulevard, "an accredited 493-bed acute care facility" with a Level II trauma center and a comprehensive stroke center (HCA Florida).
  • Jackson North Medical Center, 160 NW 170th Street, North Miami Beach. Its "382-bed hospital... serves the regions of North Miami-Dade and South Broward" (Jackson Health).
  • Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, just over the Broward line, a Level I trauma center (Memorial Healthcare System).

For veterans, the main hospital is the Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center in Miami (VA). The nearest VA clinic for primary care is in Broward: the Hollywood VA Clinic at 3702 Washington Street, open weekdays (VA). Ask facilities whether they help residents get to VA appointments, and see our VA Aid and Attendance guide.

What about hurricanes?

Miami-Dade's storm surge planning zones run from A to E. A zone is an area "that could potentially be affected by a storm surge of 1 1/2 feet or higher during a hurricane" (Miami-Dade County). County maps show how much the risk varies within a few miles. Sunny Isles Beach's city hall, on the barrier island, is in Zone B. North Miami Beach's city hall is in Zone C. HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, Aventura Mall and North Miami's city hall are in Zone D. Miami Gardens' city hall and Jackson North sit outside the surge zones. Check each facility's exact address on the county's Know Your Zone map.

Assisted living residents don't use the county's evacuation assistance program. The county says residents of "nursing homes, assisted living facilities or group homes must follow their own facilities' emergency plans" (Miami-Dade hurricane guide). For facilities east of the Intracoastal, note the guide's warning: "once evacuations off the barrier islands have started, Intracoastal Waterway bridges open very infrequently."

Every facility must keep temperatures "at or below 81 degrees Fahrenheit for a minimum of ninety-six (96) hours" during a power cut, with 48 hours of fuel on site for 16 beds or fewer and 72 hours for larger facilities (rule 59A-36.025). Our hurricane questions guide lists what to ask.

Who can help locally?

  • Alliance for Aging, the Area Agency on Aging for Miami-Dade and Monroe: Elder Helpline 305-670-4357, or 1-800-963-5337, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Alliance for Aging). It screens for Florida Medicaid's long-term care program. Miami-Dade is in Medicaid Region I (s. 409.966), so ask whether a facility works with a Region I plan if your parent may need Medicaid. Our Medicaid guide explains the program.
  • Miami Gardens Senior Family Center, 18330 NW 12th Avenue, 305-622-5780, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (City of Miami Gardens).
  • North Miami's Joe Celestin Center offers a $70 membership for residents 65 and older (City of North Miami).

Getting around and visiting

  • Brightline stops at Aventura, 19796 West Dixie Highway, with service to Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Orlando (Brightline). That helps relatives visiting from up the coast.
  • Aventura Express shuttle buses are "free and open to the public," on three routes, weekdays 6:45 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. and Saturdays 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 p.m., with no service on Sundays (City of Aventura).
  • Special Transportation Service (STS) offers paratransit for residents whose disability prevents them from using public transit on their own, at $3.50 a trip (Miami-Dade County).

How do we shortlist?

  1. Start with language and size. Ask about caregivers who speak your parent's language on every shift, then decide between a small home and a larger community.
  2. Check the license and inspection record with our 10-minute license check.
  3. Check the storm surge zone and ask about the evacuation plan and generator.
  4. Get the full price in writing, including care fees and the last three years of increases.
  5. Tour at mealtime with our tour checklist.

Comparing nearby areas? See our guides to Miami, narrowing down Miami's 576 facilities, and Fort Lauderdale to the north.