Ranking King County Assisted Living Communities Objectively
We scored 249 assisted living facilities in King County (20+ licensed beds) on a 0-100 scale. The median score was 76, with the scoring range from 56 at the low end to 89 at the high end.
This post ties together everything from this exercise: inspection reports, aggregated reviews, and ownership data all feed into one composite number.
What goes into the score
The composite score draws from multiple data sources, with each contributing to a category given a weighting factor to calculate the overall facility score. Some of the categories include:
- Regulatory history is the heaviest factor. Inspection severity, response quality, and the type of finding (enforcement actions carry more weight than routine fire inspections) all play into this.
- Reviews from multiple platforms are aggregated with statistical adjustment for facilities that have very few ratings.
- Ownership data factors in -- how long the entity has been in business, where it's headquartered, and what type of organization it is.
- Location matters. Proximity to hospitals, pharmacies, grocery stores, and parks is an important factor.
- Property and portfolio performance round out the categories.
When data isn't available for a facility in a given area, its influence is redistributed to the areas that do have data. A facility is never penalized for missing data, but it also can't hide behind it.
How the math works: one facility
Holden of Bellevue (140 beds) scored 84. It has strong reviews and an excellent location in central Bellevue, close to hospitals, pharmacies, and parks. But its regulatory history pulls the score down -- 3 inspection reports including an enforcement letter and an investigation. The composite reflects the full picture: good reviews and location offset by regulatory findings.
A facility with identical reviews but no enforcement history would score higher. That's the point -- the composite reflects mulitple factors, not just the one area that might be presented to you.
The distribution
| Tier | Score Range | Facilities |
|---|---|---|
| Top tier | 85-89 | 22 |
| Above average | 75-84 | 138 |
| Average | 65-74 | 78 |
| Below average | 55-64 | 11 |
Most facilities cluster in the 75-84 range. Only 22 break into the top tier, and just 11 fall below 65.
Top and bottom
Highest scoring:
| Facility | Beds | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Foss Home and Village | 60 | 89 |
| Holden at Southcenter | 141 | 89 |
| Merrill Gardens at Tukwila | 80 | 89 |
| The Village at Broadview | 60 | 89 |
| Merrill Gardens at the University | 45 | 88 |
Lowest scoring:
| Facility | Beds | Score |
|---|---|---|
| The Cannon House | 91 | 56 |
| Keystone | 64 | 56 |
| Sunrise of Mercer Island | 64 | 60 |
| Bonaventure of Maple Valley | 101 | 60 |
| Keystone | 64 | 61 |
Merrill Gardens shows up repeatedly near the top. Their Tukwila and University locations both hit 89, driven by strong reviews and good locations. At the bottom, The Cannon House has below-average marks across both regulatory history and reviews. Keystone appears twice with different score versions, both pulled down by very low review ratings.
Foss Home and Village reaches 89 with limited data available -- which means the redistribution is working heavily in its favor. More data would either confirm or correct that score.
What the score doesn't tell you
The scoring composite is just a starting point. It can't measure staff warmth, food quality, or whether your parent will feel at home, although some of this is probably reflected in the reviews. A facility scoring 70 may be the best option for a specific situation or family member in need of memory care.
Our goal is to provide information in a transparent way that gives decision makers all the information that is available, rather than just the information that the community website wants to highlight. A facility with enforcement actions, low reviews across platforms, and an owner incorporated 6 months ago in another state looks different from one with clean inspections, consistent reviews, and a local nonprofit operating since 1948. The score reflects that difference.
Every number on SeniorAIQ traces back to a public data source. You can see the full breakdown for any facility on our facility pages. If the score surprises you, the audit trail will show you exactly why.