Analysts working through campaign figures and reports

How we measure

Every number on this site, and what it actually means.

A figure without a stated method is decoration. This page gives the definition, the calculation, and the caveat for each claim we make, plus the sources behind the industry benchmarks quoted on the care-type pages.

Our claims

The five numbers we quote.

Each one includes what it is measured against and where it is weakest. If a figure looks too good, the caveat is usually the reason.

Up to

60%

Up to 60% below the national average cost per move-in

What it is: Blended cost per move-in across our senior living engagements, compared against published 2026 national medians for the same care type.
How it is calculated: Marketing spend attributed to a move-in, divided by move-ins, taken from the client CRM rather than from ad platform conversions. Compared care type for care type, because memory care and independent living are not the same denominator.
Where it is weakest: Blended across channels. Organic and email pull the figure down; referral aggregators, where a client still uses them, push it up.

Prior baseline

41%

41% lower cost per lead

What it is: Cost per qualified inquiry after the first full quarter of management, against the client's own prior-period baseline.
How it is calculated: Measured against what the community was paying before we started, not against an industry average. A qualified inquiry means one that reached the sales team with contact details and a stated care need.
Where it is weakest: Requires a prior baseline. Communities with no previous tracked spend are compared to national medians instead, and we say so.

Up to

65%

Up to 65% below the national average cost per lead

What it is: Cost per qualified inquiry against published national medians for the same care type.
How it is calculated: Best case across engagements, which is what the ‘up to’ does. Typical results sit below the ceiling; the range depends on market competition, care type, and how much of the mix is organic.
Where it is weakest: A best-case figure, not an average. We will tell you what the median engagement looks like on a call, and it is lower than 65%.

Peak

28×

28× return on ad spend

What it is: Annualised contract value of resident move-ins attributed to paid media, divided by paid media spend.
How it is calculated: Annualised contract value means twelve months of the resident's rate, not lifetime value and not first month. Attribution is CRM-sourced, last non-direct touch, on a 90-day window.
Where it is weakest: Senior living has unusually high contract values, so a high ROAS multiple is normal for the category. It should be read against other senior living campaigns, not against e-commerce.

Since 2016

100+

100+ communities

What it is: Distinct senior living communities we have run marketing for since 2016.
How it is calculated: Counted as individual buildings rather than operators, since a single operator relationship often covers many communities.
Where it is weakest: Cumulative over the period, not a current client count.

The benchmarks

What the industry medians actually are.

These are the published 2026 figures the care-type pages compare against. They are not our numbers; they are the yardstick.

Care type	Cost per lead	Cost per move-in	Sales cycle
Independent Living	$75 $40-120	$2,400 $1,800-3,200	6 to 18 months
Assisted Living	$95 $60-150	$3,400 $2,600-4,500	1 to 6 months
Memory Care	$130 $80-200	$4,600 $3,500-6,000	Days to weeks
CCRC / Life Plan	$110 $70-180	$3,000 $2,400-4,000	12 to 36 months

Bold figures are medians; the range beside each is the typical spread. Bars are proportional within each column, so memory care reads as roughly twice independent living on cost per move-in. That spread is why we never blend care types into a single average.

Sources

Where the benchmarks come from.

01 NIC: senior housing occupancy Sector occupancy: 89.5% in the first half of 2026, after nineteen consecutive quarters of gains from the 78.7% pandemic low
02 Genworth / CareScout Cost of Care Survey Annual cost of care by type: $70,800 for a private one-bedroom in assisted living
03 KFF, with AHCA and NCAL Payer mix: roughly 82% of assisted living residents fund care privately
04 MediaRadar 360: category ad spend Category ad spend, channel mix, and the largest advertisers in senior living
05 US Census Bureau and AARP Population ageing and migration
06 SHRM Benchmarking Report Cost per hire, all industries and healthcare
07 NSI National Health Care Retention Report RN turnover rate and replacement cost
08 Unbounce Conversion Benchmark Report Median landing page conversion rate across industries

If a number here is wrong, tell us.

Benchmarks move, and our own figures change as engagements end and begin. If something on this site does not match what you are seeing in your own market, we would genuinely rather hear it than not.

Get in touch

Operator FAQ

The questions we actually get asked.

Where do your benchmark numbers come from?

Named third-party sources, none of them competitors: NIC for occupancy, Genworth and CareScout for cost of care, KFF with AHCA and NCAL for staffing, MediaRadar 360 for category ad spend, and the Census Bureau with AARP for demographics. Competitor-published benchmarks are excluded on purpose, because an agency quoting another agency's numbers is quoting marketing.

What does 'up to 65% below the national average' actually compare?

Cost per lead achieved on client campaigns against published national cost-per-lead benchmarks for the same care type in the same period. It is a best case across engagements, not a median, and it is stated as a range rather than a single figure because the spread between care types is wider than the spread between agencies.

What are the weaknesses in your measurement?

Attribution windows, self-selection, and small samples. Communities that hire an agency are not a random sample of communities, best-case figures are drawn from the top of a range, and some engagements are too short for a full sales cycle. Each claim on this page names its own limitation rather than hiding it in a footnote.

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