Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) continued to outperform non-CCRC senior housing properties in occupancy rates across all care segments in the first quarter of 2026, according to a recent analysis by Karan Shah of the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC).

The analysis examined 1,038 CCRCs and 13,708 non-CCRCs in 99 NIC MAP primary and secondary markets. The largest occupancy gap between CCRCs and non-CCRCs was in the independent living segment (3.7 percentage points), with independent living also recording the highest occupancy rate among both CCRCs (93.7%) and non-CCRCs (89.9%). The smallest gap was in nursing care (1.5 percentage points).

While CCRCs held higher overall occupancy, non-CCRCs recorded stronger year-over-year occupancy growth in all care segments except nursing care, with independent living posting the largest year-over-year gain (2.5 percentage points).

On the regional level, every region posted year-over-year occupancy gains in both entrance fee and rental CCRCs compared with the first quarter of 2025. Entrance fee CCRCs led occupancy, with the Mid-Atlantic region highest at 94.3%, followed by the Northeast (94.0%) and Pacific (93.9%). The West North Central region posted the largest year-over-year gain among entrance fee CCRCs, rising 3.5 percentage points to 92.3%.

For rental CCRCs, the Northeast recorded the highest occupancy at 93.1%, while the East North Central region posted the strongest year-over-year improvement, up 1.8 percentage points to 89.8%.

To read the full blog and access more data, click here