The short answer: Miami has 576 licensed assisted living facilities in our directory, and 471 of them are small homes with six or fewer beds. Touring even a fraction is impossible, so narrow the list on paper first. Use five filters: location, size, license type, inspection record and language. Then make phone calls, and tour only the best three. Doing it in that order takes about one evening of desk work, and the state's free records do most of the job.
Why is Miami so hard to compare?
Miami's market looks nothing like the rest of Florida. In our directory:
| Facility size | City of Miami | Miami-Dade County |
|---|---|---|
| 6 beds or fewer | 471 | 640 |
| 7 to 16 beds | 88 | 100 |
| 17 to 49 beds | 4 | 32 |
| 50 beds or more | 13 | 33 |
| Total | 576 | 805 |
More than 4 in 5 Miami facilities are six-bed homes, usually ordinary houses in residential neighborhoods. Only 17 in the city are licensed for 17 or more beds. Miami-Dade had 2.8 million residents in 2025, 18.3% of them 65 or older (Census Bureau county estimates). With that much demand and so many small operators, quality varies widely, and the facility names tell you very little.
Filter 1: Where does the facility need to be?
Start with the people who will visit, and the doctors your parent sees. Pick two or three ZIP codes, not the whole county. The ZIP codes with the most facilities in our directory are 33165 (62), 33175 (52), 33155 and 33177 (32 each), 33185 (31) and 33186 (27). Search by ZIP on our Miami directory or the state's proximity search. Our near-me guide shows how.
Then check the nearest hospital. Major ones include Jackson Memorial Hospital and UHealth Tower in the medical district (Jackson Health; UHealth), Baptist Health South Florida's hospitals across Miami-Dade (Baptist Health), Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, and the Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center for veterans (VA).
Filter 2: Small home or larger community?
This is the biggest decision in Miami, because Florida's rules change with size:
- 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." Every facility must have a staff member on site whenever residents are there (rule 59A-36.010).
- Defibrillators. Facilities with 17 or more beds "shall have on the premises at all times a functioning automated external defibrillator" (s. 429.255).
- Building standards. Facilities with 16 or fewer beds follow separate standards that "must be appropriate for a noninstitutional residential environment" (s. 429.41).
- Shared management. One administrator may oversee up to three facilities, with a manager appointed for each. Three homes of 16 or fewer beds within 15 miles of each other can share two managers (rule 59A-36.010), so ask who is actually in charge day to day.
A six-bed home can be warm and attentive, with the same faces every day. A larger community offers more activities and staff awake overnight. If your parent wanders or gets up at night, ask every small home: Who is awake at 3 a.m.? Our comparison of large and small facilities goes deeper.
Filter 3: Can the facility handle where your parent is heading?
Check specialty licenses. Statewide, only 171 of 2,989 facilities held an Extended Congregate Care license in early 2026, 396 held Limited Nursing Services and 703 held Limited Mental Health (Senate bill analysis, SB 1404). If your parent's needs are likely to grow, a facility with ECC or LNS may save a second move. Our license types guide explains each one.
For dementia, be careful with marketing. Florida's new memory care services license will be required for any facility that serves memory care residents or advertises "memory care," "dementia care" or "Alzheimer's care." Rules are due by June 1, 2027, and they must require "at least one awake staff member to be on duty at all hours" (s. 429.076). Until then, ask what dementia training staff have and how doors are secured. See our memory care guide.
Filter 4: What does the inspection record say?
FloridaHealthFinder lets you "compare Assisted Living Facilities by bed size, special services, number of complaints, sanction history and final orders" (FloridaHealthFinder FAQ). Deficiencies are graded by class (s. 408.813; fines from s. 429.19):
| Class | What it means | Fine per violation |
|---|---|---|
| I | "Imminent danger" or a substantial probability of death or serious harm | $5,000–$10,000 |
| II | Directly threatens residents' health, safety or security | $1,000–$5,000 |
| III | Indirectly or potentially threatens residents | $500–$1,000 |
| IV | Paperwork issues with no potential to harm residents | $100–$200 |
Cross off any facility with recent class I or repeated class II deficiencies, unless it can show you what changed. A few class III or IV items are common. Our license check guide shows how to open the reports.
Filter 5: Will your parent be understood?
Three in four Miami-Dade residents speak a language other than English at home, and two in three speak Spanish (ACS 2020–2024; languages). Florida doesn't require assisted living staff to speak a resident's language. The rules only say admission documents "must be in English." 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). FloridaHealthFinder lists "languages spoken" for each facility (FloridaHealthFinder). On the phone, ask how many caregivers on each shift, including nights, speak Spanish, Haitian Creole or whatever your parent is most comfortable in.
Then make five phone calls
With your shortlist down to about five, call each one and ask:
- Do you have an opening, and what is the all-in monthly price, including care fees?
- Do you accept Florida Medicaid long-term care? Miami-Dade is in Region I (s. 409.966). Our Medicaid guide explains the program.
- What is your hurricane plan? Miami-Dade's evacuation assistance program says residents of "assisted living facilities or group homes are not eligible for this program as these facilities are required by law to develop an emergency plan" (Miami-Dade County). Check the address against the county's storm surge zones. Our hurricane guide lists what to ask.
- Who is awake overnight, and who gives medications?
- What were your last three years of rate increases? Our rate increases guide explains why it matters.
Tour the best three at mealtime, with our tour checklist. Have the power of attorney and health care surrogate paperwork ready before you sign.
Free help in Miami
- Alliance for Aging, the Area Agency on Aging for Miami-Dade and Monroe: Elder Helpline 305-670-HELP (4357) or 1-800-963-5337, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Alliance for Aging).
- Special Transportation Service (STS): paratransit for residents whose disability prevents them from using public transit on their own, at $3.50 a trip (Miami-Dade County).
- Complaints: AHCA at 1-888-419-3456 or the Long-Term Care Ombudsman at 1-888-831-0404.
For neighborhoods, VA options and costs, see our Miami family guide. If a placement agency offers to do the shortlisting for you, read our guide to referral services first.
