Find Senior Living & Care in Pleasant Hill, IA

Number Icon

11,136

Population of Pleasant Hill

65+ Icon

2,222

Residents aged 65 and older in Pleasant Hill

House Icon

240

Senior Living & Care Options in Pleasant Hill

Dollar Icon

$5,950/Month

Average cost of Senior Living & Care in the area.

Pleasant Hill, with a population of 11,136, is home to 2,222 residents aged 65 and older. The city offers 240 senior living and care options. The average monthly cost of senior living & care in the area is $5,950.

In Pleasant Hill, IA, a walk out the front door can lead to the next town. The City calls itself the hub of the Gay Lea Wilson Trail, which reaches Des Moines, IA, and Altoona, IA. It has also improved trail access so residents can reach City services without a car. So if you're weighing senior living in Pleasant Hill, IA, an errand can double as the day's walk.

The Gay Lea Wilson Trail covers over 13 miles. Its 7.5-mile west section links the city with Des Moines, IA, and Ankeny, IA. A 5.9-mile spur heads east to Altoona, IA, and the trail also joins the Chichaqua Valley Trail in Berwick, IA. Closer to home, the Youngstown Trail runs nearly 4 miles past neighborhoods and shops, with parking at the Scott St. trailhead.

The parks add more ways to stay active. Hickory Glen Park, the City's newest and largest, has a 1.2-mile woodland trail, eight lighted pickleball courts, a pavilion, and a pollinator area. Doanes Park, the oldest, spreads across 43 acres. The City lists it as ADA accessible, with tennis and pickleball courts and a woodland nature trail.

The City and its library share a Story Walk at Copper Creek Lake Park. It's 0.4 miles long, and the City calls it accessible. A new story goes up each month. Drake University occupational therapy students helped design prompts at each sign that invite walkers to move, notice how they feel, and use their senses.

For weather, NOAA's climate normals from 1991 to 2020 use a station at the airport in Des Moines, IA. Their January average low is 13.8°F, and their July average high is 85.6°F. So winter mornings sit well below freezing, and summer afternoons run warm. It helps to picture both seasons when you look at a community's paths and indoor spaces.

Pleasant Hill, IA, has no hospital of its own in Medicare's data. In Des Moines, IA, Medicare lists three acute care hospitals that have emergency services: MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center, Broadlawns Medical Center, and UnityPoint Health's Iowa Methodist Medical Center. Acute care means short hospital stays for things like surgery, an injury, or a sudden illness. So a hospital stay means a trip out of town.

Each care type below has its own section, from in-home help through nursing homes, and each ends with questions to bring along. You can contact any provider that fits directly, with no login required.

Read More Show Less

Pleasant Hill, IA at a Glance

Park trail icon
The Gay Lea Wilson Trail runs over 13 miles, out to Des Moines, IA, and Altoona, IA.
Library books icon
The Pleasant Hill Public Library offers free Book-a-Librarian help with technology.
Hospital icon
Medicare lists three Des Moines, IA, hospitals with emergency services.
Weather icon
NOAA normals: 13.8°F January low, 85.6°F July high.

Independent Living & Active Adult Living in Pleasant Hill, Iowa

View All Providers
Independent living in Pleasant Hill, IA, means trading a house and its chores for an apartment, while still handling your own personal care. Upkeep such as mowing and repairs is usually handled by independent living communities and retirement communities, so weekends stay free. Plenty of them add a dining room, an activity calendar, and a shuttle. The details vary from one community to the next, so compare them closely. What's nearby matters as much as the apartment. Meacham Place Park, a neighborhood park on E Oakwood Dr., has paved walking trails close to home. A Pleasant Hill Public Library card opens another door. Adults can borrow an Iowa Adventure Pass for admission to places like the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden and the Science Center of Iowa. Only residents of the city and rural Four Mile Township can check those passes out. So it's good to know whether a community's address falls inside the city. The library also teaches adult classes on everyday topics, such as how to spot scams and keep devices secure. When touring, make sure to get the monthly fee in writing. A list of separate charges helps, too. It's good to know whether a van runs to stores and doctor visits, and how far ahead to book a seat. You may also want to learn if residents can get more care later without moving off the property. Ask for last month's activity calendar to see how busy an ordinary week turns out to be. Sharing a meal with residents gives a feel for the mood. It helps to ask how newcomers meet people, whether residents may keep a pet, and if there's a guest room for visiting family. It's fair to ask how maintenance requests work and how soon someone comes to fix things. You might also ask who on staff helps residents start a club or plan a trip. Two or three visits, with notes kept the same way each time, will show which independent living community in Pleasant Hill, IA, has a routine you'd enjoy.
Read More Show Less
View All Providers

Assisted Living in Pleasant Hill, Iowa

View All Providers
Assisted living in Pleasant Hill, IA, is a home base for people who'd like their own apartment and a hand with the day's routines. Staff can help with showers, getting dressed, walking to meals, and keeping medicines on schedule. That hands-on support is what independent living doesn't include. Each resident has a personal care plan, and staff revise it as health changes. Nursing homes are a step further along. They're designed for residents whose conditions require skilled nursing daily, which assisted living doesn't provide. Iowa also puts a clock on complaints. When someone files a complaint about an Iowa assisted living program, a state agency called DIAL must start monitoring by a set deadline. Its full name is the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing. The deadlines count working days. It's two days when there may be immediate danger. It's 20 days when a tenant's well-being may be harmed and a quick response is warranted, and 45 days for any other complaint. DIAL then sends its final report to the program and, if known, to the person who complained. It's reassuring to know that a concern raised with the state gets a timed response. During each tour, it helps to ask how the staff decide what a new resident needs, and when they revisit that plan. You may want to learn who hands out medications and how many people are working after dark. Make sure to ask how long a typical wait is after someone presses the call button. Another good question is what the starting rate includes and what gets added as more care is needed. Ask, too, what staff do after a resident falls or comes home from the hospital, and at what point they phone family. Sitting in on lunch or dinner gives a sense of how staff and residents relate. You could also ask whether residents needing extra help still join outings. Lay those answers out together for each assisted living community in Pleasant Hill, IA, below, and you'll see how each would handle the care you need. The average price of care for Assisted Living in the area is $5,044 - $5,356 per month.
Read More Show Less
View All Providers

Memory Care in Pleasant Hill, Iowa

View All Providers
Memory care in Pleasant Hill, IA, gives adults with Alzheimer's or a related dementia a protected setting and staff with dementia training. The daily help of assisted living is still there. Memory care communities add secured doors, a calm, predictable routine, and activities that work with memory loss. Iowa has a rule that's handy to know before touring. Any assisted living program in Iowa serving a resident with dementia must keep written procedures for two situations. That's true whether or not it holds dementia-specific certification. One covers a resident who may wander. The other covers a resident who goes missing. It's fair to ask to read them, and to ask how often the team practices them. Anyone arranging dementia care in Pleasant Hill, IA, has local support, too. Through its Family Caregiver Program, Aging Resources of Central Iowa backs people caring for an adult with dementia or an adult 60 and older. Caregiver specialists there field questions, find services, and offer emotional support. The program can also provide respite, which is a short break from caregiving. On each visit, it's good to find out which dementia courses staff take, and how often they brush up on them. You may want to know how the team calms a resident who's restless in the evening or awake at night. It helps to ask how residents get outside, and how staff make sure people eat and drink enough. Make sure to ask how and when family hears about changes. Spend a few minutes watching how staff talk with someone who's confused. It's also good to ask what the first month after a move looks like, and what would lead to a different level of care. Some families like to ask whether familiar furniture, photos, or music can come along, since those may ease the change. With one list of dementia questions in hand, a visit to each memory care community around Pleasant Hill, IA, below becomes a fair comparison.
Read More Show Less
View All Providers

Long Term Care & Skilled Nursing in Pleasant Hill, Iowa

View All Providers
Nursing homes in Pleasant Hill, IA, and the area around it provide skilled nursing. Nursing staff are on duty every hour of the day, and rehabilitation therapy is part of the care. They're the choice when medical needs go beyond what staff in assisted living or memory care can manage. Think of recovery from surgery, or a long illness that calls for nursing care every day. Assisted living helps with daily tasks. Memory care adds dementia-focused support in a secured space. Neither one provides the medical care a nursing home does. Medicare's Care Compare lets you check each home's inspection results and staffing before you call. On calls to skilled nursing homes near Pleasant Hill, IA, below, you may want to ask about the weekly therapy schedule and how many nurses cover nights and weekends. The plan for going home after rehab is another good topic. Those answers help you match a home to the recovery ahead. The average price of care for Long Term Care in the area is $8,418 - $8,938 per month.
Read More Show Less
View All Providers

Home Care in Pleasant Hill, Iowa

View All Providers
Home care in Pleasant Hill, IA, sends a caregiver into the house to help with everyday tasks. Those can include bathing, dressing, cooking, laundry, and errands. Some people mostly want company on a long afternoon, and that counts, too. This is non-medical help, so it won't replace a nurse or a doctor. It often comes before any move. This kind of help makes sense while the house still works well and the needed help takes only part of the day. Hours add up, though, and care around the clock at home can cost more than moving to a community. Public programs can fill some gaps. Aging Resources of Central Iowa lists a home-delivered meals provider for Polk County. The program serves older adults who are homebound by illness or disability, or who are otherwise isolated. The staff and volunteers who drop off the meals also check on each person's welfare. That gives the household another set of eyes. When phoning the agencies below, start by asking how each one decides which caregiver to send. You may want to know whether the same caregiver comes every time. It helps to learn the shortest visit they'll book, and who steps in if the regular caregiver is out. Make sure to ask how a supervisor checks on the care, and how often. Find out what training caregivers finish before their first visit, too. Some agencies let caregivers give rides to medical visits or the pharmacy, so that's a good question to raise. Another smart one is what changes if a fall or a hospital stay brings new needs, and how quickly the agency can add hours. If relatives cover some days, ask whether the agency can fill in around them. Language, pets in the home, and holiday coverage can matter as well, so bring those up if they apply. Before calling, write the most important tasks on one page, with the days each comes up. That way each home care agency near Pleasant Hill, IA, answers the same list, and the one that fits your week is easier to spot. The average price of Home Health services in the area is $37 - $39 per hour.
Read More Show Less
View All Providers

Compare Assisted Living Costs in Iowa

The chart compares what assisted living averages per month across Iowa with the U.S. average.

For costs in Iowa and the ways families cover them, our Iowa page has a section each on nursing homes, home care, and assisted living, plus one on independent living.

Questions about memory care in Pleasant Hill, IA, don't have a section there yet. In the meantime, a good first call for them is Aging Resources of Central Iowa, which covers Polk County.

Iowa -
$5,200
National Average -
$5,350

Local Resources for Older Adults in Pleasant Hill, IA

These City and county programs serve older adults in Pleasant Hill, IA. Follow any link to confirm current hours, details, and who qualifies.

  • Pleasant Hill Public Library. A City department with free Book-a-Librarian appointments, adult classes, and monthly gatherings. Pleasant Hill Public Library
  • Gay Lea Wilson Trail and City trails. The regional trail and the Youngstown Trail, with parks and trailheads along the way. City trails
  • Pleasant Hill Parks and Recreation. Classes and programs, with sign-up online or in person at City Hall. Recreation registration
  • Aging Resources of Central Iowa. Information specialists, caregiver support, and meal programs for Polk County and seven other counties, by appointment. Information & Assistance
  • Pleasant Hill Fire Department. Fire and ambulance service for the city, staffed around the clock. Fire and EMS
  • Hickory Glen Park. Woodland trail, lighted pickleball courts, and five shade structures at SE 6th Ave and SE 68th St. Hickory Glen Park
  • Medicare Care Compare. Inspection and staffing details for each nursing home. Care Compare

Frequently Asked Questions

The Pleasant Hill Public Library, a City department at 5151 Maple Drive, Suite 2, offers free Book-a-Librarian appointments for longer help with technology or research. A librarian can help set up and use an email account, or show how to borrow eBooks and eAudiobooks through the Libby and Hoopla apps.

The library's calendar tags two regular gatherings for seniors. Craft & Chat is a monthly craft session with supplies provided, and registration is required. The Morning Book Club meets on Tuesday mornings. There's also a free Movie Matinee on the library's big screen each month, an easy outing to put on the calendar with a friend.

Aging Resources of Central Iowa counts 22 congregate meal sites across the eight counties it serves. Congregate meals are hot, nutritious meals eaten together at senior centers and other community spots. The agency says transportation to a meal site is usually available for anyone who needs it, which matters for people who no longer drive.

Its meal site list for September 2026 shows 15 sites in Polk County, and none is named for Pleasant Hill, IA. Most Polk County sites serve the meal around midday. It's good to ask Aging Resources which site is the closest fit and how a ride there would work.

Begin by listing the daily help needed, a comfortable budget, and how near family would like to live. Next, choose a short list of the assisted living communities shown here and arrange tours. Aging Resources of Central Iowa, which the State of Iowa lists as Polk County's Area Agency on Aging, can answer questions as you go.

Its Information & Assistance specialists help adults 60 and older, as well as people 18 or older who have a disability, with questions about housing, transportation, and staying at home. Appointments are required. Bring the same written questions to every tour, then compare the answers once you're home.

Pleasant Hill, IA, started out as Youngstown. The City of Pleasant Hill says the town took its current name when it was officially incorporated in 1956. That's why one local path is called the Youngstown Trail: it keeps the original name alive, so a walk there carries a small piece of local history.

The City also describes where it sits today, at the crossing of the U.S. 65 bypass and Iowa Highway 163. For family coming from out of town, those two highways make simple landmarks when planning a visit to a community.

Pleasant Hill Parks and Recreation takes registrations two ways. You can create an account and sign up online, or register in person at City Hall during weekday office hours. City Hall sits across the street from the building that holds the Fire Station and the library.

The City also leases plots in its Community Garden for produce, herbs, and flowers, with raised beds, a water source, and a storage shed. The season runs from spring into mid-fall, and there's a waiting list when plots fill. The department itself manages over 132 acres of prairies, woodlands, greenways, and other natural areas.

Yes. The Pleasant Hill Fire Department provides both fire and ambulance services to residents. The department is staffed 24/7, and Polk County Dispatch sends its crews out when someone dials 9-1-1, so a call for help goes to the City's own crews.

For anyone settling into a senior living community here, it's good to know the ambulance crew is part of the City's own fire department. During a tour, it's reasonable to ask how staff coordinate with emergency responders, and how family hears the news when a resident goes to the hospital.

Senior Living Near Pleasant Hill, IA

Senior Living in Des Moines, IA
Senior Living in Altoona, IA
Senior Living in Ankeny, IA
Senior Living in Indianola, IA
Senior Living in Iowa
Senior Living in Des Moines, IA Senior Living in Altoona, IA Senior Living in Ankeny, IA Senior Living in Indianola, IA Senior Living in Iowa

Helpful Guides

Debunking 5 Myths of Independent Living
Best Questions to Ask During a Memory Care Tour
What is Non-Medical Home Care?
Debunking 5 Myths of Independent Living Best Questions to Ask During a Memory Care Tour What is Non-Medical Home Care?

Sources, checked Oct. 12, 2026: Story Walk in the Park, City of Pleasant Hill, City of Pleasant Hill, City of Pleasant Hill trails, Pleasant Hill Public Library, Pleasant Hill Fire Department, U.S. Census Bureau, Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Aging Resources of Central Iowa, CMS hospital data, NOAA climate normals, Iowa rules for assisted living programs, Iowa rules for dementia care in assisted living, and Medicare Care Compare.