Assisted living tour and comparison worksheet for families

When you tour several communities within a short window, the details start to blur together fast — which one included transportation in the quoted fee, which one described a different staffing approach, which one had availability sooner. This worksheet gives each tour a consistent shape, then pulls what was said into one side-by-side grid so communities can be compared on the same terms.

This worksheet captures what a community tells you and what you observe on the visit — it does not judge care quality or make any claim about a community's regulatory standing. If you're still deciding whether assisted living is the right next step at all, start with aging in place vs assisted living or when families start considering assisted living for a parent. Once a community is chosen, the assisted living move-in checklist picks up from there.

This article is educational and is not medical, legal, or financial advice. Every community's fees, staffing, and policies are its own — ask each community directly and confirm anything that matters to your decision in writing before you rely on it.

On this page:

• Per-visit tour worksheet (one sheet per community)
• Side-by-side comparison grid
• Follow-up tracker

At a glance: what you'll get

• A per-visit tour worksheet with the same questions for every community, so answers can be compared later instead of relying on memory.
• A side-by-side comparison grid with columns for up to four communities — use what you need — normalizing what each community said about fees, staffing, meals, transport, and move-in.
• A follow-up tracker for open questions after each visit.

Per-visit tour worksheet

Use one copy of this sheet per community, filled in during or right after the visit while details are fresh.

ASSISTED LIVING TOUR WORKSHEET

Community name: _______________________  Date of visit: _______________
Who attended: _________________________________________________________

AVAILABILITY
Room types available now: _____________________________________________
Expected wait, if any (as stated by the community): ___________________

FEES
Quoted monthly fee: ___________________________________________________
What's included in that fee (as stated): ______________________________
What costs extra (as stated): _________________________________________
Community's own explanation of how fees can change over time: _________

STAFFING (as the community describes it)
How the community describes staff-to-resident ratios or coverage: _____
How the community describes responding to a resident's changing needs: _
Who to contact for day-to-day questions, per the community: ___________

MEALS
Dining schedule and format (as described): ____________________________
How dietary needs or preferences are handled (as described): __________

TRANSPORT
What transportation the community provides (as described): ____________
Scheduling process (as described): ____________________________________

MOVE-IN PROCESS
What the community says their intake process involves: ________________
Paperwork the community says it requires: ______________________________
Earliest move-in date the community can offer: ________________________

WHAT WE SAW/HEARD (our notes — not a rating)
What stood out during the visit: ______________________________________
Questions that came up during the visit: ______________________________

FOLLOW-UP
Open question: _____________________  Who's asking: _____________________
Open question: _____________________  Who's asking: _____________________

Side-by-side comparison grid

After more than one tour is complete, pull the answers from each worksheet into one grid so they sit next to each other.

ASSISTED LIVING COMPARISON GRID

                        Community A    Community B    Community C    Community D
Date of visit
Availability now
  (as stated by the community, on the visit date above)
Quoted monthly fee
  (as stated by the community, on the visit date above)
What's included
  (as stated by the community, on the visit date above)
What costs extra
  (as stated by the community, on the visit date above)
Staffing approach
  (as stated by the community, on the visit date above)
Meals
  (as stated by the community, on the visit date above)
Transport
  (as stated by the community, on the visit date above)
Move-in process
  (as stated by the community, on the visit date above)
Earliest move-in date
  (as stated by the community, on the visit date above)
What we saw/heard (our notes)
Follow-up owner/date

Fill in each column from that community's completed tour worksheet — the grid is only as accurate as what was captured on the visit, so leave a cell blank and follow up rather than guessing at what a community offers.

Follow-up tracker

FOLLOW-UP TRACKER

Community: __________  Open question: _______________________________
  Owner: __________________  Target date: _________  Status: [ ] Open  [ ] Resolved

Community: __________  Open question: _______________________________
  Owner: __________________  Target date: _________  Status: [ ] Open  [ ] Resolved

Community: __________  Open question: _______________________________
  Owner: __________________  Target date: _________  Status: [ ] Open  [ ] Resolved

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this worksheet tell us which community is "best"?

No. It's built to capture what each community says and what you observe — availability, quoted fees, stated staffing approach, meals, transport, and move-in process — side by side, not to score or rank care quality. Judging care quality is outside what this worksheet does. Licensing status and inspection history come from your state's assisted-living licensing agency (search "[your state] assisted living licensing lookup"), not from the community's own materials.

What questions should we actually ask on a tour?

The per-visit sheet above is organized around the questions families ask to compare communities on equal footing — availability, what the quoted fee includes, how staffing works day to day as the community describes it, meals, transport, and the move-in process. Add any questions specific to your parent's own situation.

How many communities should we tour before comparing?

That's a family decision, not something this worksheet sets a number for. The comparison grid prints columns for up to four communities — add a column per community you tour.

What happens after we've compared communities and picked one?

Once a community is chosen and a move-in date is set, hand off to our assisted living move-in checklist for that community's own intake paperwork and a first-week settling-in checklist.

Is this worksheet for deciding whether assisted living is right at all?

No — this worksheet assumes you're already touring communities. If you're still weighing whether assisted living is the right next step, see our guides on aging in place vs. assisted living and when families start considering assisted living for a parent.

Related Planning Steps

• Aging in place vs assisted living — for deciding whether a move is the right next step.
• When families start considering assisted living for a parent — for recognizing the signals before a decision is made.
• Senior downsizing and moving checklist for families — for sorting the home and executing the move once a decision is made.
• Assisted living move-in checklist for families — for the community's own intake paperwork and first-week settling-in once a community is chosen.