Start Early to Find Affordable Senior Living Options
Cindy Moore, co-founder of the senior living online platform Senioridy, knows that it’s painful to even think about moving into senior housing.
Her own mother slowly came to realize that her quality of life would improve if she left her home of 35 years.
“She recognized that moving was the right thing to do to be more capable and able to get around,” Moore said of her mother. “Sometimes it’s hard for us, objectively, to look at our own needs.”
Moore, who is well-versed in real estate and Zillow searching, can still vividly recall the consuming ordeal of having to visit more than 20 low-income senior living sites before she found a suitable new home for her mother.
So Moore and her husband, Don Moore, co-founded Senioridy, a website that has evolved into a wealth of information about senior housing options available nationwide.
Cindy Moore’s number one tip is to start early if you know that you will need to move into senior housing. Don’t wait until you can no longer care for yourself.
For low-income seniors, expect a wait list. Moore said she has seen waits ranging from three months to two years or longer. This is largely because so many senior citizens live below the poverty line. In Cook County, 13 percent of senior citizens are below the poverty line — about 10 percent higher than the rate nationwide, according to the 2020 Census.
The names and details of senior housing options can be mind-boggling, but the main programs are the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Section 202 Low-Income Senior Housing and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. The latter is a tax credit that rewards housing developers for setting aside low-income housing units.
You can be 55 or older to live in LIHTC housing, but you must be 62 or older to live in Section 202 housing. Section 202 housing usually includes an on-site service coordinator who makes welfare checks on residents and provides information on senior services. Section 202 living units tend to be smaller — about 500 to 600 square feet — than LIHTC units, which tend to vary from 800 to 1,200 square feet, Moore said. You can start your search at the Low-Income Senior Living Options webpage at senioridy.com/low-income-senior-housing.
At the top of the website, click on the “Find Senior Living” tab and select the heading “Fixed Income Senior Living.”
You may view either the grid layout (which is the default) or the map search (click the “View on Map” button at the top right).
Click on “View Search Tools” in the upper left corner to search Cook County and surrounding areas. The map page lets you drag your mouse into position and zoom in and out. You will see about 375 low-income senior living options in the Chicago area (within a 50-mile radius).
To learn more about low-income senior living options and how to qualify, visit