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A place in a German care home has never been this expensive. Nursing home costs paid by residents themselves have climbed to a national average of 3,364 euros per month in the first year of a stay, according to a new analysis by the vdek, the umbrella association of Germany’s substitute health insurers such as Techniker Krankenkasse and Barmer. The figure, published on July 14 and based on data from July 1, 2026, is 256 euros higher than a year earlier, a jump of more than eight percent.
Why nursing home costs keep rising
The vdek points to one main driver: staff. The part of the bill that covers care personnel and their training, known as the einrichtungseinheitlicher Eigenanteil or EEE, rose by more than twelve percent within a year, from 1,583 to 1,775 euros per month. Cash Online reported that this component grew far faster than any other part of the bill, reflecting higher wages and binding pay agreements in the care sector.
Higher pay for care workers is widely seen as necessary to keep people in a profession with severe shortages. But because Germany’s long-term care insurance only pays a fixed amount toward care, every wage increase flows almost directly into the bills of residents and their families. Training costs alone now add 128 euros per month to the average bill, up from 114 euros a year earlier.
How the Eigenanteil works
Unlike health insurance, the Pflegeversicherung, Germany’s statutory long-term care insurance, was designed as a partial-coverage system. It contributes a set sum toward nursing care, and everything above that is the resident’s own contribution, the Eigenanteil. “Care costs are rising unchecked, and in a partial-coverage system like long-term care insurance this comes at the expense of those affected,” said vdek chairwoman Ulrike Elsner in the association’s statement.
The monthly bill has three building blocks. The largest is the EEE of 1,775 euros for care and training. On top of that come 1,068 euros on average for accommodation and meals, called Unterkunft und Verpflegung, and 521 euros in investment costs, the share of building and maintenance expenses that homes pass on to residents. If you are comparing homes for a relative, our guide to care services for the elderly in Germany explains how these facilities are organized and how to find one.
Nursing home costs vary widely by state
Where the home stands matters enormously. The vdek data shows first-year nursing home costs ranging from 2,891 euros per month on average in Saxony-Anhalt to 3,761 euros in Bremen, a difference of 870 euros every month for a comparable place.
These gaps stem from regional differences in wages, staffing levels and how each state finances investment costs. Some states subsidize building costs directly, which lowers the share passed on to residents, while others leave homes to recover almost everything through the monthly bill. For families, this means the choice of region can change the yearly burden by more than 10,000 euros.
Relief that grows with time
The headline figure applies to the first year of residence, because Germany softens the burden the longer someone stays. Since 2022, the care funds pay a Leistungszuschlag, a surcharge that covers part of the care-related EEE: 15 percent in the first year, 30 percent in the second, 50 percent in the third and 75 percent from the fourth year onward. Accommodation, meals and investment costs are not reduced by these surcharges.
When income and savings are not enough, the social welfare system steps in. Hilfe zur Pflege, a means-tested benefit paid by the local Sozialamt, covers the remaining costs once a resident’s assets fall below the protected threshold. A large and growing share of care home residents already depends on this support, and insurers warn that the number will keep rising as costs outpace pensions.
What this means for expat families
If a parent or partner in Germany may need residential care, plan with realistic numbers: even after the first-year surcharge, a typical place currently costs a resident around 3,100 euros per month, far above an average pension even after the recent 4.24 percent pension increase. Ask any home for its full cost breakdown, check whether your state subsidizes investment costs, and factor in that bills have been rising by hundreds of euros per year.
It is also worth knowing that children are only obliged to contribute to a parent’s care costs if they earn more than 100,000 euros gross per year. Below that line, the Sozialamt cannot claim money back from you when Hilfe zur Pflege is paid. A reform of care financing is under discussion in Berlin, but until it arrives, the record nursing home costs documented by the vdek are the reality families must budget for.
