Is There Enough Assisted Living Around Little Rock? What the State's Bed Book Says

How does Arkansas decide how many beds to allow?

Unlike most states, Arkansas requires a permit of approval from the Health Services Permit Commission before new assisted living beds can be built. Each year the Permit Agency publishes a Bed Need Book with every county's licensed and approved beds and a projected need figure, and the commission uses it to decide where new beds are justified.

For families, the book is useful in a different way. It shows how much supply exists near a parent and how tight the market is likely to be.

What does the 2026 book show for the Little Rock metro?

Across the six counties, current supply covers about 63% of the projected 2031 need. Lonoke and Faulkner counties have the widest gaps relative to their size, and Perry County's 72-bed projected need has no licensed beds at all to meet it.

What does a shortfall mean for a family today?

A projected gap does not mean every building is full. It does mean that the most popular buildings, especially newer Level II buildings and those with Living Choices apartments, are more likely to have waiting lists, and that families in short-supply counties often end up looking across county lines.

Ask each building about current openings, how its waiting list works, whether a deposit holds a place, and how often residents on the list actually get called.

Are new buildings coming?

Some. The book records beds approved but not yet licensed, such as a 70-bed Level II project in Maumelle and additional beds at Mira at Maumelle and at Lake Forest Senior Living at Hot Springs Village. It also records closures, including Anthem Little Rock Management's 59-bed building in September 2025 and Retirement Centers of Arkansas in Sherwood in April 2025.

New buildings can bring modern apartments and introductory pricing, but also staff who are still settling in. Ask how long the director and lead caregivers have worked together.

Where are most of the beds?

In Pulaski County, which holds 1,354 assisted living beds across 18 buildings, concentrated in west Little Rock, Maumelle and North Little Rock. Saline County's beds cluster along Interstate 30 in Bryant and Benton, and Faulkner County's in Conway. Lonoke County has two buildings, Grant County one, and Perry County none.

That geography means many Perry and Grant County families choose between a nursing home close to home, help at home, or a move to Conway, Maumelle, Benton or Little Rock.

How should families plan around a tight market?

Start touring before a crisis, keep two or three acceptable buildings on the list rather than one, and ask about respite stays, which can become permanent if an apartment opens. If Medicaid may be needed, prioritize Level II buildings that participate in Living Choices, since those apartments are the scarcest of all.

Why do residential care beds count toward the need?

The Permit Agency's projection covers assisted living and residential care together, because both serve adults who need supervision and personal care but not nursing home care. Residential care beds have been frozen since 2005, and several have closed in recent years, including 40 beds at Presbyterian Village in Little Rock in 2024 and Retirement Centers of Arkansas in Sherwood in 2025. As RCF beds shrink, more of the demand falls on assisted living.

For families, the practical point is that the cheaper shared-living option is getting scarcer, not more common.

How do Medicaid apartments fit into the picture?

Living Choices residents can live only in participating Level II buildings, and each building decides how many apartments to offer. Because the waiver pays for services while residents pay room and board from their income, participation varies widely. In a tight market, Living Choices apartments are often the first to fill. If Medicaid is in your parent's future, ask about it at the very first visit, and ask whether private-pay residents can convert later.

What does supply look like per older resident?

Dividing each county's assisted living and residential care beds by its residents 65 and older gives a rough sense of competition for a bed. Pulaski County has the most beds per older resident in the metro, while Lonoke and Grant counties have far fewer and Perry County has none. These ratios ignore the many older adults who never need assisted living, so they are a comparison between counties rather than a measure of who will find a bed, but they explain why families in the outer counties so often tour in Pulaski, Saline and Faulkner.