Care Home Costs by Nation Across the UK: The Data

Care home costs differ across the UK in two ways: the weekly fee itself, and the means test that decides how much you contribute. Average self-funder fees run into four figures a week across all four nations, while the capital limit below which councils help ranges from £23,250 in England and Northern Ireland to £50,000 in Wales.

This page pulls the current figures together, nation by nation, with a named source and date beside each one. It is general information for England and Wales by default, with Scotland and Northern Ireland flagged where they differ, and it is not personal advice. For the wider picture of how care sits within a plan, see our estate planning guide. Every figure below is current as at July 2026 and subject to change.

Key figures at a glance

Across the UK, a residential care place for someone funding their own care averaged about £1,300 a week in early 2026, with nursing care higher, according to widely reported commercial data. The official means-test capital limits that decide who pays that in full are set separately by each nation. Each row below carries its own source and reference period.

Fee averages are self-funder figures from a commercial dataset used here as a clearly attributed secondary source; they vary widely by home, region and care needs. Capital limits are official figures set by each nation.

Average weekly care home fees

Self-funders typically paid around £1,300 a week for residential care and roughly £1,512 a week for nursing care across the UK in early 2026, on commercial figures reported by Which?. Averages hide a wide spread: within England alone, reported residential fees ranged from about £1,095 a week in the North East to £1,456 in London. These are secondary estimates, not official statistics, and individual homes vary.

Source: Lottie care-cost data reported by Which?, correct at January 2026, used here as a clearly attributed secondary source. Figures are self-funder averages and are rounded as published; they are not official statistics and vary by home, location and needs. For a fuller regional breakdown see our note on average care home costs.

What the numbers mean

Read together, the figures show that geography can matter as much as wealth. A person with £40,000 in savings would generally pay the full fee in England or Northern Ireland (£23,250 upper limit), contribute on a sliding scale in Scotland (£36,750 upper limit), and fall below the limit for help in Wales (£50,000 single limit). Sources: gov.uk (England and Northern Ireland), Care Information Scotland (Scotland) and gov.wales (Wales), as at July 2026, subject to change. Headline fees differ far less between the nations than these thresholds do.

In our experience the practical effect is that the same savings can last very different lengths of time depending on where someone lives, because the state steps in at different points. That is one reason many people find it worth understanding the local rules early rather than at the point of crisis. Weekly fees also tend to rise year on year, so a threshold that is frozen while fees climb can quietly widen the gap a family funds itself.

Across the UK the fee is broadly similar; what changes most between nations is how much of your own money you spend before help arrives.

None of this is a reason to assume any single nation is "better", because rules, waiting times and the way homes are funded all interact. The numbers here describe the position, not a recommendation, and it can be worth discussing your own circumstances with a qualified professional before drawing conclusions.

Giving away assets to reduce care fees

A common question is whether giving money or property away can keep an estate below these capital limits. It generally cannot be relied on. When a council or trust assesses care fees, it can look at whether someone has deliberately reduced their assets to avoid paying, known as deprivation of assets, and treat the gift as if the person still owned it (gov.uk, 2026 to 2027).

There is no fixed time limit that makes a gift automatically safe, and timing and intention both matter. This is why the honest framing is care fees planning, and limiting or mitigating the impact of care costs within the rules, rather than any structure that promises to avoid them. Because the deprivation rules are applied case by case, it is one option some consider only after taking advice from a suitably qualified professional.

How the nations differ

England and Northern Ireland share the £23,250 and £14,250 limits and a broadly similar means test. Scotland combines a higher capital band with flat free personal and nursing care payments. Wales uses a single £50,000 limit and its own charging code. Each nation sets and updates its own figures, so a rule that applies in one does not necessarily apply across the border, and cross-border families sometimes take advice in more than one jurisdiction.

Frequently asked questions