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And, if so, is the cost double?

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It depends. You should call several ALs that you are considering and ask for their prices. The cost of a private room, in my experience, is usually not double the price of a shared room.
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The differences in services vary quite a bit from area to area and from one provider to another. As Barb says above, you really do need to check out those in your vicinity. Make a list of things that are important to you and make a list of facilities near to you and start the calls. Don't be too surprised if you don't get much info on the phone, they really want you to stop by.
As a frame of reference, the ALs near me (that I visited for 3 different placements) had very few double rooms! Zero double rooms where I placed my Mom and 4 out of 60 where my aunt was placed.
Services vary as well. Some of the answers here take me aback as the situations described are not at all what is provided near me. Good luck,
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I couldn't tell what state you are in, but, I think it varies, as does the cost. I've never heard of the cost being double to that of a shared room though.

If it's private pay, I'd check to see what private rooms they have available. If she is receiving state funded aid for the costs of her AL, then, I don't think they pay for private rooms.

I'd also view the places and see if it's worth it. My cousin spends very little time in her room. She's normally in the tv room, activity room, dining room or just around the facility in her wheelchair. She only enters her room when they change her or put her to bed.

I'd consider how much your mom would really use the space in a private room. Plus, my cousin loved one of her roommates. I suppose it depends on her mental state as to whether she would get much pleasure from a private room. If she has a lot of furniture and personal items that she would want to keep with her, then a private room would be helpful.
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My mom Assisted Living were all single apartments. Some that we looked at were shared, either two bedrooms or just two beds in one room. It depended on the facility.
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My MIL has a private room, and it is nice sized.. no doubles that I have seen
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In AL you can get a 2 bedroom apartment $$$$ or a one bedroom $$$ or a studio $$, but we got mom a private room with NO kitchen because she was a fire hazard even at home. That was very economical and she was never in her room anyway, always out doing things. She did enjoy company at meals.
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Thank you all for your responses; I'm quite surprised that so many of you reported that single rooms are customarily more prevalent than shared rooms. My 89-yr-old mother has always been a homebody who has no hobbies and doesn't really like people (I'm not kidding). She is extremely regimented and VERY particular about everything and even becomes highly irritated if her afternoon soaps are interrupted. I'm sure she would NOT like to share a tv with a roommate or listen to chit-chat. And, yes, I am anxious to find the right place for her.
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myrealtygal, I noticed in some areas "assisted listing" is also used to refer to a "nursing home". Where I live, the two terms are very much different. So it depends on your area.

My Mom was in a skilled nursing home, and she shared a room, each person had their own TV and shared a bathroom.

My Dad was in Assisted Living and he had his very own room plus on-suite bathroom.... the facility also had it set up where two people would have their own room but shared a bathroom, and that was less expensive.
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FF that is the set up my dad had at his MC,, a small suite type thing with a shared bath and "kitchen" type area with mini fridge and sink and cupboards. Both men had their own bedroom, but Dad was normally out in the living areas reading or watching TV.
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I am so thankful I asked this question. Everyone has given me so much information that I feel I now know what to look for and what questions to ask as we visit facilities.
I feel mom is not ready for a nursing home as she is healthy but is having trouble lifting herself up from a chair and walks more cautiously now after a couple of falls. She still makes her own breakfast and lunch, bathes herself, etc and can be left home alone without concern at this point. She won't let me change her sheets or do her laundry but she complains about having to do those things.
I think she could live with a separate bedroom and bath and sharing a kitchenette. I'm more enthusiastic now about looking at facilities and hopeful that we'll find something she'll like. AgingCare.com is a wonderful community support system and I thank you all.
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My, you ,ight also want to check out " independent living" places. My mom did quite well in one after having a miserable experience in AL. At the time, AL was the wrong kind of help, not what she needed.

A good choice is a continuing care community that has several levels of assistance.
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Last year I called several places in California, and the price difference seem rather small... 10%-25% more for a private room.
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Around here all assisted living places I know about are for single persons or married couples. Only the nursing homes have double rooms. I imagine there are some double-occupancy ones out there. I just don't know of them.
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The NY AL facilities we were looking at for my mother were for medicaid recipients only and offered two-person rooms with a shared bathroom. We could pay an extra $400 for a private room for her, which of course they showed us when we toured the facility with her, but we can't afford that for her.

I think you can get single rooms with 'private pay' AF facilities in NY and CT, where my husband and I Iive. The place in our town that offers this is $7k/month...
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AL are usually private rooms unless ur on Medicaid then u have to share a room. Where I live in NJ you have to have two years of private pay and if u have exhausted ur assets they will help u get Medicaid but u go to a two per room, if available.
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The retirement home my Mom lives in, she has her own private room, but after a fall, she needed more assistance so they moved her up to the Demtenia/ALZ ward. There was a lady in her room already but within a couple months, the family moved her into one of her lady friends rooms so they could be together. Three cost changes with each change. Highest level now.
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We recently toured a few assisted living places and all offered shared rooms. They were sort of studio sized with a shared bathroom. As a couple people told us, think of it mainly for sleeping because they try to keep the residents busy. That can be true -- my mom never spent any time really in her 'bedroom' at home except to sleep at night. Pricing seemed to be about $500 less for shared. Good luck!
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As, I believe Mother can easily get a private room in assisted living room with some extra money. The services they offer can also be delivered in room. My client mother was indeed of private room, and she settled herself well.
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Speaking from personal experience, it depends entirely on the facility and what is available (plus what you can afford). I went into assisted living with a private room. A few years later, the place went bankrupt and was bought out. I found out then that they changed the single room into a double. Then I transferred to a new facility and that facility ONLY has private one room studio apartments or an apartment for ONE person with a bedroom (living room and bedroom). So the best advice I can give you is make calls until you find one whose facility, by the way it was built, can ONLy accommodate single parties.
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