Looking Ahead: What 2026 Means for Senior Living

Aging Services Insurance & Risk Landscape

The senior living industry is heading into 2026 at a moment where long‑anticipated trends are finally colliding. While population aging has long been on the horizon, today’s reality is different: demand is accelerating faster than the industry’s ability to respond. Today, more than 61 million Americans are over the age of 65, and the group most likely to need senior housing and care, those 85 and older, is growing faster than ever.

At the same time, new senior housing construction has slowed to a crawl. Occupancy continues to rise, yet supply growth is at its lowest point in over a decade. In fact, most markets don’t have any active senior housing development underway at all. The result? A widening gap between demand and capacity that the industry can no longer afford to ignore.

Senior living organizations are responding by rethinking almost everything, from staffing and operations to capital strategy and growth planning. Add a shifting insurance landscape that’s creating opportunities for savings and reinvestment, and 2026 becomes a pivotal year for smart, protected growth.

Of course, growth doesn’t come without potential risk. Expanding teams, pursuing acquisitions, building new communities, or rolling out new technologies all introduce new exposures that need to be carefully managed. That’s why, in 2026, four forces are shaping the path forward: staffing, M&A, construction, and technology.

Our 2026 Senior Living Outlook takes a deeper look at how these trends are reshaping the industry, and how organizations can close the demand gap while protecting themselves along the way.

Download the full 2026 Outlook to see what’s coming and how to prepare for a strong, sustainable future.