Fort Myers Senior AdvisorLee County stretches from Bonita Springs on the Collier County line north to the Charlotte County line, and from Sanibel, Captiva and Pine Island inland to Lehigh Acres and Alva. It had about 875,607 residents on July 1, 2025, 29.2% of them 65 or older, with a median age of 48.0.
The county's health care is anchored by Lee Health, a public health system, with HCA Florida Lehigh Hospital in the east. Its Area Agency on Aging, the Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida, is headquartered in Fort Myers and serves six other counties as well.
How many older adults and licensed care options are in Lee County, Florida?
Lee County had about 255,635 residents aged 65 and older (29.2% of 875,607) and 29,755 aged 85 and older on July 1, 2025, and AHCA lists 84 licensed assisted living facilities and 18 nursing homes in the county.
| Found in Lee County | Not found in Lee County | |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed at local addresses (AHCA) | Assisted living facilities: 84, Nursing homes: 18, Home health agencies: 112, Hospices: 3, Adult day care centers: 14, Adult family care homes: 16 | — |
| No local license of this type | — | Every type is present |
| ALFs reporting memory care | 32 | — |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 county population estimates by age (July 1, 2025).
How fast is Lee County's 65-and-older population growing?
Census estimates put the county's 65-and-older population at 220,600 in April 2020 and 255,635 in July 2025, a gain of 35,035 (16%), while total population grew 15%.
About 126,230 residents were 75 or older in 2025. Lee County's 4,769 licensed assisted living beds work out to roughly one for every 26 residents aged 75 and older.
Where is licensed senior care located in Lee County?
By mailing address, licensed care is concentrated in Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres, with smaller numbers in Bonita Springs and Estero and none on Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Captiva or Pine Island.
| City or community | Licensed ALFs | ALF beds | Nursing homes | Home health / hospice offices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Myers | 22 | 2512 | 11 | 76 |
| Cape Coral | 40 | 1252 | 3 | 22 |
| Lehigh Acres | 13 | 134 | 1 | 2 |
| Bonita Springs | 5 | 640 | 1 | 11 |
| Estero | 1 | 56 | 1 | 1 |
| North Fort Myers | 2 | 159 | 1 | 3 |
| Fort Myers Beach | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sanibel & Captiva | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pine Island | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alva | 1 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
Which specialty licenses do Lee County ALFs hold?
21 Lee County ALFs hold a limited nursing services license, 6 extended congregate care and 1 limited mental health, and 32 report a memory care program on their AHCA profiles.
3 report beds designated for Optional State Supplementation residents and 38 report Medicaid services.
Which life plan communities are in Lee County?
OIR's October 2025 map lists 4 continuing care retirement communities in Lee County: Shell Point Retirement Community (Fort Myers), Cypress Cove at HealthPark Florida (Fort Myers), Gulf Coast Village (Cape Coral), The Terraces at Bonita Springs (Bonita Springs).
OIR regulates their contracts and finances; AHCA licenses their assisted living and nursing units.
Which agency serves older adults in Lee County?
Lee County's Aging and Disability Resource Center is the Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida (Planning and Service Area 8), at (239) 652-6900 or toll-free 1-866-413-5337; it screens for Medicaid long-term care, manages the home and community-based services waitlist and refers families to meals, transportation and caregiver programs.
2830 Winkler Ave, Ste. 112, Fort Myers, FL 33916. The agency serves Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Sarasota counties. AHCA's PACE monthly report for August 2026 shows Hope PACE's Lee County program, operating since January 22, 2008, approved for 580 enrollment slots with 475 members enrolled (488 people served that month); its separate Charlotte and Collier programs had 80 and 94 members.
Which hospitals serve Lee County?
CMS's hospital data lists 4 acute-care hospitals in Lee County: Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers (CMS rating 5 of 5); HCA Florida Lehigh Hospital in Lehigh Acres (CMS rating 2 of 5); Gulf Coast Medical Center Lee Health in Fort Myers (CMS rating 4 of 5); Cape Coral Hospital in Cape Coral (CMS rating 3 of 5).
Lee Health operates HealthPark Medical Center and Golisano Children's Hospital as well; CMS reports HealthPark together with Lee Memorial. Hospital stars measure different things from nursing home stars.
