Adult foster care vs assisted living in Minnesota: two houses on the same street, two different licenses

The building will not tell you — the license will

National guides compare adult foster care (a small home) with assisted living (a big building). Minnesota does not fit that picture. On 6 October 2026, 1,523 of the 2,524 assisted living licenses on MDH's register with a capacity on file were for six residents or fewer, and 983 were for exactly five. Source: MDH Health Care Provider Lookup — Assisted Living Facilities register, Licensed Resident Capacity column, retrieved 6 October 2026. A five-bed assisted living home and a four-bed adult foster care home can sit on the same street and look identical.

They are never the same thing. Minnesota's assisted living definition expressly "does not include … services and residential settings licensed under chapter 245A, including adult foster care and services and settings governed under the standards in chapter 245D." Source: Minn. Stat. § 144G.08 — assisted living definitions (subd. 7), subd. 7(5). A home holds one license or the other.

Side by side

Sources: Minn. Stat. § 245A.11 subd. 2a — adult foster care and community residential setting capacity, subd. 2a; Minn. Rules 9555.5050 to 9555.6265 — adult foster care licensing; MN House Research, "Regulation of Health and Human Services Residential Facilities" (Dec 2021); Minn. Stat. § 144G.08 — assisted living definitions (subd. 7); Minnesota Department of Health — Assisted Living Licensure.

Capacity: the clearest legal line

The commissioner "shall issue adult foster care and community residential setting licenses with a maximum licensed capacity of four beds, including nonstaff roomers and boarders." A fifth bed is allowed "if all persons in care are age 55 or over and do not have a serious and persistent mental illness or a developmental disability," and the statute lists variances — for example an additional bed, up to six, for emergency crisis services or respite. Source: Minn. Stat. § 245A.11 subd. 2a — adult foster care and community residential setting capacity, subd. 2a.

Assisted living has no equivalent cap: a facility is one providing housing and assisted living services "to one or more adults." Source: Minn. Stat. § 144G.08 — assisted living definitions (subd. 7), subd. 7. Either way, the number that governs a particular home is the licensed capacity on its own license — and both state lookups show it.

Rights and paperwork are different

This is the difference families most often miss. Chapter 144G gives assisted living residents a specific set of protections, and because adult foster care is excluded from the chapter 144G definition, those particular protections are assisted living law.

• The UDALSA — a uniform disclosure of services and amenities a Minnesota assisted living must hand over before a contract is signed.
• A written assisted living contract with required contents.
• The Assisted Living Bill of Rights.
• Notice periods, and an appeal, before an assisted living can terminate a contract.

Sources: Minn. Stat. § 144G.40 — assisted living disclosure requirements; Minn. Stat. § 144G.91 — Assisted Living Bill of Rights; Minn. Stat. § 144G.52 — termination of an assisted living contract. Adult foster care residents are not without protection — the home operates under DHS licensing rules, with the county involved — but the rules and the complaint route are different. Ask the home, or the county licensor, which rules govern admission, house rules and discharge before you agree to a placement. Our who-to-call guide covers where complaints go for each setting.

How each one is paid for

Both settings split the bill the same way: services on one side, room and board on the other. What differs is how often the services side is publicly funded.

Assisted living is often paid privately. Where the Elderly Waiver is used, DHS states that "the Elderly Waiver only pays for your services" and "you are responsible for paying the costs of room and board," with Housing Support available to some people. Not every facility accepts the waiver, and some cap waiver residents. Sources: Minnesota DHS, "Elderly Waiver services in assisted living" (DHS-7935-ENG, 7-2024); which assisted living facilities accept the Elderly Waiver.

Adult foster care is more often waiver-funded: the Elderly Waiver for people 65 and over, and CADI, DD or BI for younger adults. Foster care services are on the CADI service list. Source: DB101 Minnesota — Community Access for Disability Inclusion (CADI) Waiver. Room and board is still the resident's — "a waiver doesn't pay your rent or mortgage." Source: Disability Hub MN — Waivers: common questions. Housing Support is defined as "assistance that provides at a minimum room and board." Source: Minn. Stat. § 256I.03 — Housing Support: definitions, subd. 10a.

For prices, our assisted living cost guide uses sourced Minnesota figures. There is no comparable published survey median for adult foster care, and we do not invent one.

Which one fits

Adult foster care tends to fit when

• The person is under 65 with a disability or mental illness and has, or can get, a CADI, DD or BI waiver.
• Continuity matters more than amenities — the same few caregivers, every day, in a household.
• A family setting, with the license holder living in the home, is what you want (family adult foster care).

Assisted living tends to fit when

• The person is older and paying privately, or is on the Elderly Waiver and you have found a facility that accepts it.
• You want the chapter 144G protections — the UDALSA, the contract and the termination appeal rights.
• Dementia care is needed: a setting that markets memory care must hold the assisted living facility with dementia care license.
• You want the state Report Card's ratings and inspection history to compare options.

Many families should look at both. A five-bed assisted living home and a four-bed foster home can offer very similar daily life; the license decides the paperwork, the funding and the rights around it.

How to tell which one you are looking at

The lookups: Minnesota DHS Licensing Information Lookup and MDH Health Care Provider Lookup. HB101 Minnesota has a plain-language overview of adult foster care: HB101 Minnesota — Adult Foster Care. If you have only ever heard the phrase "group home," read what "group home" actually means in Minnesota first.

Browse both side by side: adult foster care and assisted living across Minnesota, or by place — Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Saint Paul. For confirmed vacancies, see current openings.