Caring Stars
Each 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.
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Caring Stars
Each 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.
