Every year, Caring celebrates senior living communities and senior care agencies who have a high volume of great reviews — and who respond to any 1-star or 2-star reviews — on their Caring.com listing. Any senior living community or senior care agency listed on Caring.com can qualify for the Caring Stars award — there’s no application process or fee. It’s based on consumer reviews.
Have a question about Caring Stars? Please contact our team: reviews@caring.com or (650) 762-8190.
The Caring Stars criteria can shift from year to year, but some themes have remained constant for winners over the years. Caring Stars have a high overall average rating, many published reviews, some 5-star reviews, recent reviews, and responses on all negative reviews. Learn how Caring helps businesses get reviews.
While you don't have to be a Caring partner to earn the Caring Stars award, we've found that winning partners have averaged more than twice as many prospective customer inquiries and nearly four times more move-ins as Caring's community partners without the honor. Learn how 2024’s winners are making the most of this distinction in their sales and marketing.
In addition to a special badge on the Caring.com listing that's also shown in search results, Caring Stars receive free publicity materials, get featured in local and business press, realize benefits for recruiting and retention, and truly stand out as the best in their county and state.
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Partner with us to discover how we'll help you amplify your online presence, leverage feedback to your advantage, and work toward winning the Caring Stars award!
Already a partner and need help with reviews? Contact reviews@caring.com or 650-762-8190.
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2024's Top in the Nation: Senior Living
375
Communities
156
Super Stars
36
States
In addition to a special badge on the Caring.com listing that's also shown in search results, Caring Stars receive free publicity materials, get featured in local and business press, realize benefits for recruiting and retention, and truly stand out as the best in their county and state.
2024's Top 5 in the Nation: Senior Care
432
Home Care Agencies
326
Super Stars
47
States
In addition to a special badge on the Caring.com listing that's also shown in search results, Caring Stars receive free publicity materials, get featured in local and business press, realize benefits for recruiting and retention, and truly stand out as the best in their county and state.
Frequently Asked Questions
Caring Stars
In The News
Caring Stars
In The News
A Digital Marketing Academy presentation on Thursday, January 18, 2024 for Caring Stars 2024 award winners, recognizing service excellence in senior living and senior care. In the presentation, Denise Graab — Caring's reviews program director and Caring Stars manager — provided an overview of the award and why it matters; explained the criteria and benefits of winning; and provided promotional examples for sales, marketing, PR, social media and recruiting. Any Caring Stars of 2024 who didn't yet receive their promotional materials and winner gifts should contact reviews@caring.com for assistance.
More information about Caring Stars 2024 is available in the Caring Stars info center. This includes all winners nationwide, per state and county, as well as Caring's news media releases about 2024 winners — senior living release (November 2023) and senior care release (December 2023) - with quotes from our CEO, Jim Rosenthal.
This webinar, co-hosted by Emily A Hay and Alison Spitzer of Hay There Social Media, outlines three key strategies for growth on social media. You will learn how to use social media to engage with your local community and specific tactics to achieve specific goals.
Join us as Evan Friedkin and Craig Simons from Roobrik share some of the results from their newly launched Roobrik Afford Survey! In this webinar, you'll learn key insights on how older adults and adult children are thinking about finances as they relate to senior living, their top concerns and how you can address them in your sales process.
Sep 29, 2025
Caring Star Spotlight: StoryPoint MedinaKaren Z. is an adult daughter whose mom has lived at StoryPoint Medina for the past 5 years. In her 5-star review on Caring.com in August 2025, she describes this community (with both independent living and assisted living) as being “like extended family” and noted, “Before my mom was living there, she was always lonely and hungry. Now, she is so busy with activities. It is so nice to see elderly people actually having fun and living. Not just existing.”
Executive Director Laurel Pitsinger (who also sees her role as “Ambassador of Happiness”) shared similar sentiments in a recent interview with Caring: “From my team to our residents, the very first thing I say is that we are a family and we look after and take care of each other. You’re coming to this community to continue living, and we live by ‘1440’; that’s our mantra every day. There are 1,440 minutes in every day, each giving us an opportunity to make someone’s life better, to serve them, to put a smile on their face.”
Karen Z. isn’t alone in taking notice of this approach at StoryPoint Medina. Since 2021, about 40 family members and friends of the community’s residents have likewise shared positive ratings, leading to the community being a Caring Stars service excellence award winner every year since 2022 — and a Caring Super Star (3-year or more winner) since 2024.
“We’re proud of our reviews and we show off our Caring Stars award to everybody,” Laurel said. She’s worked in senior living for over 20 years, and says, “We always use the reviews as an opportunity. If we’re not striving to be better every day, then we’re giving up.”
Reviews help seniors and their families research and select the best-fit communities for their unique situations. “I had a family last week who I toured,” said Laurel. “They signed their lease yesterday and said that our reviews are what helped drive them here.”
Just a few of the many positive comments in those reviews on Caring.com:
“The staff is consistent, they know the residents and their families. The staff provides wonderful services with a smile. It truly is an atmosphere of nurturing, a supportive home environment.”
“My mom’s stay there in assisted living was full of kindness and genuine caring from everyone.
“The caregivers are always kind and thoughtful. Our dad is very happy here.”
StoryPoint Medina is part of StoryPoint Group, a collection of senior housing properties across nine states. They highlight they’re “leading the industry by leading with our hearts” and for over 40 years have “been committed to providing residents with a sense of community and the absolute best experiences they deserve.” With more winning communities than any other housing organization nationwide, StoryPoint Group was #1 in the nation for Caring Stars in 2024 and 2025.
Customer Insights & Reputation Marketing Manager Erin Kessler shared, “Caring.com has been an invaluable partner to StoryPoint Group, helping amplify the voices of residents and families through authentic feedback. The Caring Stars award is especially meaningful to us because it reflects the trust we’ve earned and allows us to connect with even more families searching for a place where their loved ones will feel at home.”
Laurel at StoryPoint Medina agrees. “We talk about the feel of a community. This community feels so good. It feels like you’re at home as soon as you walk in the door. And that’s what’s truly, super important to me.”
“Every single resident who moves in here is unique. And their stories are what makes them who they are,” she adds. “Moving into a StoryPoint community is just the next chapter of their story. We ask, ‘What do you want this chapter to look like? Because we’re going to help you write it.”
Their reviews and the Caring Stars award also help tell the community’s story. In a 5-star review, Alison, whose parents moved into StoryPoint Medina in 2020, detailed some of the community features that her family most appreciated — from the cleanliness of the community (“Everything is spic and span and my parents love their housekeeping services”), to the many activities (“holiday craft-making, live piano showtunes, and exercise/yoga classes”), the dining options (“truly impressed by the number of choices offered and the quality, freshness, and appeal of every meal”), and transportation flexibility (“being driven to doctor appts. or the store while maintaining their own car on site as needed”). She also wrote: “My parents have bonded with their ‘family’ of staff members and love the perks…From across the country, I can rest easier knowing they are in good hands. Honestly, my parents have gotten quite spoiled in their new home!”
Having staff who love what they do has a domino effect. “One of my favorite sayings is, if you do the right thing for the right reason, you’re going to get the right results,” Laurel said. “When the employees are happy, then the residents are happy. When the residents are happy, then their families are happy.”
She added, “And we just have so much fun. We laugh, and sometimes cry, and laugh some more. It’s just a wonderful feeling every day.”
“Earning the Caring Stars award is a mark of excellence that sets these communities apart,” said Caring’s CEO Tracey Zhen in announcing the 2025 winning communities. “This achievement underscores their commitment to creating high-quality, customer-centric experiences and to delighting those they serve.”
As their reviews and Caring Stars performance have shown, StoryPoint Medina is a shining example of senior living service excellence — for the many reasons and stories shared in their customers’ reviews on Caring.com.
Executive Director Laurel Pitsinger
Photo source: StoryPoint Group
Photo source: StoryPoint Group
Learn more about Caring Stars by contacting reviews@caring.com, and learn more about StoryPoint Medina via their community’s profile.
Sep 29, 2025
Caring Star Spotlight: The Waterford at Thousand OaksJean — a senior in her early 80s — reached out to Caring a few years ago for help finding a new home closer to friends. She chose The Waterford at Thousand Oaks, a community serving seniors in San Antonio, Texas for over 20 years. In October 2024, Jean shared a 5-star review via Caring’s award-winning review call-in line, detailing how much she loves the community and her experiences serving as a resident “ambassador” to help others considering or living at the community.
“All the options, all the positive things that happen in this building, I'm one of the ones that share the information,” she said in her review. She’s particularly fond of community activities like dance, art, crafts, sewing, bingo, and more, and compliments the staff: “All of them are very excellent people. They learn everybody's name. They care about everybody…They do ‘above and beyond’ work here.”
It’s reviews like Jean’s that have led to The Waterford at Thousand Oaks being a Caring Stars service excellence award winner in six years since 2017 — including in the last five consecutive years, and a Caring Super Star (3-year or more winner) every year since 2022.
Executive Director Dennise Acosta said in a recent interview with Caring, “Feedback is a great gift. We always reach for the moon, and get to the stars!”
She displays their Caring Stars awards in the community lobby. “There are so many people that have agreed this is somewhere that your loved one is going to be cared for, be loved, and be happy. We’re going to create new memories together. And I think that’s what Caring Stars helps us to display.”
In their reviews on Caring.com that led to their stellar status:
Residents (like Jean) praise the camaraderie in the community, the genuine attention and caring from the staff, flexible dining options, and the activities.
Family and friends of residents comment about how accommodating and helpful their team is, and notice how clean and well-maintained the community is (something the residents have also mentioned).
Tour-takers likewise give positive feedback about how welcoming, homey and family-oriented the community is — The Waterford at Thousand Oaks is making a great first impression for these visitors.
Dennise shares the published reviews with her staff and says, “This is how great you are. This is the impact you’re making.” And when residents ask her how they can help the community they love, she asks them to share a review too, “to help us change more lives.”
The Waterford at Thousand Oaks is a community within the Sonida Senior Living portfolio of properties, focused on “comfort, connection and fun — helping seniors live their best lives.” Their mission is “to create a safe and caring environment where team members thrive, and residents find their joy in new experiences and friendships.” The reviews on Caring.com help demonstrate how well they’re delivering on their mission.
“Reputation management has become an important focus for Sonida Senior Living and for the families we support,” says Kari Wilson, director of sales operations. “Being recognized by Caring.com with the Caring Stars award is certainly an additional bonus as we achieve and maintain a strong reputation for each of our communities. An award like Caring Stars shows that as a company, Sonida is dedicated to ensuring that we not only measure up in our markets, but also shines a spotlight on the fact that we exceed, by offering the best services possible for the families that choose a Sonida Senior Living community.”
Kari adds, “The Caring Stars award helps families that are at the beginning of their senior living journey navigate offerings and identify great options regarding communities to consider and commit to. It sets Sonida apart and helps to guide families to the best solutions for them.”
Since June 2014, over a dozen such family members of residents have given a positive review about The Waterford of Thousand Oaks’ independent living services. A few samples:
“I'm glad she's safe & enjoying her senior years,” said Allenton, whose mother is a resident.
“People were very friendly, and the staff was friendly and helpful. Anytime I needed something from them, they were very accommodating,” said Sherry, whose sister was a resident.
“I am very impressed…all the staff interact and care about the clients, and treat the seniors like family!” said Olivia, whose aunt lives there.
Dennise agrees and adds, “We have amazing residents, family members and staff. We do have a beautiful community, but it’s the people who make us who we are, and they’re among my biggest blessings.”
Caring’s CEO Tracey Zhen also highlights the importance of customer reviews and the Caring Stars award. In announcing the 2025 winning communities, she said, “Earning the Caring Stars award is a mark of excellence that sets these communities apart. This achievement underscores their commitment to creating high-quality, customer-centric experiences and to delighting those they serve.”
As their Caring Stars performance has demonstrated, The Waterford at Thousand Oaks has been a shining example of service excellence in senior living, and their reviews on Caring.com help illuminate, detail and celebrate how so.
Photo Source: The Waterford at Thousand Oaks
Photo Source: The Waterford at Thousand Oaks
Learn more about Caring Stars by contacting reviews@caring.com, and learn more about The Waterford at Thousand Oaks via their community’s profile.
Aug 26, 2025
Time to Shine: How to Qualify for Caring Stars 2026Each year, Caring recognizes the top-rated senior living communities and in-home care agencies with the Caring Stars award, based on consumer reviews from seniors and their families on Caring.com.
The first of its kind when originally launched and now a well-recognized signal of service excellence, Caring Stars 2026 marks two major milestones:
The 15th edition winner list for senior living (including all levels of community, from 55+ apartments, adult day care, and independent living, to assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, and CCRCs)
The 10th anniversary winner list for senior care (including in-home care, home health, hospice, and geriatric care management)
With added promotions to celebrate these milestones, it’s a particularly opportune time to be among the featured communities and agencies honored! We detailed how to earn the Caring Stars 2026 award in our recent “Time to Shine” webinar (slides and recording in our events archive), and the following summary provides an overview for you, too.
When researching and selecting the best fit service providers, seniors and their families turn to online reviews to narrow their options and make decisions. Caring Stars and the over 400,000 reviews on Caring.com help them make well-informed, confident choices during these life transitions.
Over the many years we’ve hosted online reviews, we’ve seen firsthand how this peer feedback not only shapes trust, but also drive inquiries, tours, and move-ins. Research from BrightLocal’s Consumer Reviews Survey and data from Caring’s referral partnerships show that:
96% of Americans read reviews when considering local services, including for senior living and in-home care, and 74% are looking at multiple review websites. When this online research happens, you want your online reviews to help tell a story about the quality of your services and positively influence their decision-making.
Caring community partners with 16+ reviews have averaged nearly 3x more leads, almost 4x more tours, and over 4x more move-ins than those with only 1-2 reviews.
Earning the Caring Stars award builds on this influence. In 2023-2024, Caring Stars communities attracted nearly twice as many inquiries and over five times more move-ins compared to non-winners on Caring.com.
Community and care seekers use Caring Stars as a shortcut to trust. They see the award or badge in search results, on profile pages, and even filter the Caring.com directory results to view Caring Stars from the past three years. The award helps them quickly identify those communities and agencies with a track record of excellence — attracting them to learn more about their services.
Caring Stars gives honored businesses this valuable increased visibility in search, social media, and local PR. The award brings free promotional materials, media coverage, and a powerful differentiator in a crowded marketplace.
As a high integrity reviews platform, Caring charges no fees for Caring Stars participation, and there is no application process. Any community or agency in the United States with a stellar reputation profile on Caring.com can be considered — if meeting the minimum eligibility criteria by the qualification deadline (for Caring Stars 2026, that is October 15, 2025).
2026 Award qualification deadline: October 15, 2025
Senior living winners announced: mid-November 2025
Home care agency winners announced: mid-December 2025
To be considered for the 2026 award, we suggest exceeding the following reviews metrics by the qualification deadline ...
FOR SENIOR CARE AGENCIES AND SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITIES (with resident capacity of 31+):
FOR CARE HOMES OR SMALL HOUSING:
After the October 15th deadline, Caring audits all finalist profiles to confirm integrity and compliance. The audit includes:
Checking that all published reviews meet guidelines (evaluating them as a collection for each profile, in addition to the individual screening each went through when published). Communities and agencies must avoid adding the reviews for their customers — Caring can help any seniors who need that assistance in participating.
Verifying state-based licensing information for care levels where required, and ensuring the license information on the profile matches
For regulated care levels of senior living: Analyzing two years of inspection reports and citations. Finalists can be excluded from the winner list for serious deficiencies, a high volume of minor citations, or repeated year-over-year citations.
Screening of public news reports
These steps help ensure the award maintains consumer trust and truly represents the best service providers nationwide.
One of the most common mistakes is asking the wrong people to give reviews on Caring.com.
Here’s who may participate in our high integrity program:
During the “Time to Shine” webinar for Caring Stars 2026, we discussed the many services Caring offers to get and respond to reviews.
HOW TO GET REVIEWS
Online Review Forms: Every Caring.com profile has a dedicated review link you can share directly with cognitively-healthy seniors and their families. -Caring’s senior living partners can use Partner Portal to email this link directly to potential reviewers and track how many reviews you generate.
Review Call-in Line: For Caring’s referral partners, we offer a free “Review Us on Caring” handout with the phone number for our award-winning review call in line. -This is an excellent option for seniors who aren’t yet comfortable online — and it frequently results in very detailed, authentic reviews. We also have other reviews-by-phone services for Caring partners too — for both senior living and senior care.
Activated Insights Integration: If your home care agency is using Activated Insights (formerly Home Care Pulse), be sure to opt into this program that takes some of the consumer feedback collected in their surveys and transmits reviews for Caring.com profiles.
Once you have reviews published on your profile, don’t miss the opportunity to respond to them:
As announced earlier this summer, we also now have a partnership with ResponseScribe to help craft your responses. It comes with a free 14-day trial for reviews on both Caring and Google.
The October 15th deadline will be here sooner than you think, so don't delay in building your Caring.com profile for Caring Stars 2026 consideration. Don't be outshined by your local competitors — be among those featured for excellence in Caring Stars 2026.
Here's what just some of the 2025 winners have had to say about this honor for their organizations:
Have questions? Please reach out to reviews@caring.com or (650) 762-8190 for support.
Sep 13, 2024
Caring Stars 2025: How to Qualify by DeadlineIn our half-hour Time to Shine: Caring Stars 2025 qualification webinar in August, we shared why the Caring Stars award is worth your attention; how this industry distinction helps communities and agencies in the "digital drive-by" (or online research by seniors and their families) and supports the success of your business; what a stellar reviews profile looks like; and how to get and respond to reviews on Caring.com.
The soon-approaching deadline for the Caring Stars 2025 award is Tuesday, October 15, 2024. There is no application process or fees, but you do need recent reviews, review responses, a high overall average rating, and a good volume of published reviews too. Does your community or agency have the reviews profile needed to be considered?
Earning the Caring Stars award isn't easy, but the effort is worth it. For 2025, we've increased focus on recent reviews and review responses, while maintaining the high integrity standards this program has been known for since launching as the first of its kind in 2012.
To be considered for the 2025 award, we suggest the following reviews metrics to achieve or exceed...
For senior care agencies and senior living communities with a resident capacity of 21 or higher:
For smaller senior living communities and residential care homes having 20 or fewer resident capacity:
We also have quality assurance measures in our Caring Stars winner determination:
A common mistake that can hold you back from Caring Stars status is asking the wrong people for reviews — this leads to those reviews being declined or removed.
Here's who to ask and who to avoid asking:
As you can see: We're focused on publishing authentic reviews from cognitively-healthy seniors and their families. We host their first-hand feedback about your eldercare services, and we don't publish reviews submitted by your employees, any industry insiders, or anyone else with a conflict of interest. This policy is covered in our reviews guidelines too.
The fastest, easiest way for your customers to add reviews is via online forms on Caring.com. You can point your customers directly to the form for your profile or give them the general form link. By giving them the link, you save them time and make it as convenient as possible for them to submit their review (they don't have to go searching for where to enter it). Not sure of your review form link? Contact our team to help.
Have seniors willing to give a review who aren't yet comfortable online? With our free review-by-phone services for Caring partners, tech-challenged seniors can participate too! This service also includes a free "Review Us on Caring" handout with the toll-free number for our review call0in line, and we have review collection agents now taking calls seven days a week during daytime hours. Contact our team for more info.
Those are the two most common ways that communities and agencies ask for reviews. A couple additional methods among those we discussed in the Time to Shine webinar include:
We've been integrated with Activated Insights (formerly Home Care Pulse) since 2017 to generate reviews for senior care agencies. Opt-in via their system.
Caring's community partners can use Partner Portal to request reviews from many people at once. Find out how here.
Tip: Reviewers do not have to use Caring’s referral services to provide a review (our program isn’t limited to reviews from Caring referrals).
To be considered for Caring Stars, you need to respond to the published reviews on your profile.
Since the beginning years of the program, we’ve required all 1-star or 2-star reviews on your Caring.com profile (reviews of all dates, not just recent reviews) to either have a published response or be contested and removed by the 10/15 deadline.
For 2025, if you have no negative reviews: you should have at least one response to any review on the profile page. This demonstrates that you’re actively monitoring customer feedback and taking the time to respond to it.
Here are the 3 main ways to respond to reviews on Caring.com:
FOR SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITIES > Starting in August 2024, Caring partner communities also have a 4th way to respond to reviews — via Caring Partner Portal.
For an in-depth understanding of how to effectively contest reviews to have them removed, or for tips on how to optimize your published review responses, please refer back to the tips we provided in March and June, summarized here.
Don’t be outshined by your local competitors! Take action now to ensure your community or agency is on the Caring Stars 2025 winner list.
To learn more, please revisit the Time to Shine: Caring Stars 2025 webinar recording or read through the slides. Or contact reviews@caring.com or (650) 762-8190 to reach our team.
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