Top Four Operators Hold their positions As argentum releases Largest Operator List  

Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD), Discovery Senior Living, LCS and Erickson Senior Living have maintained their respective positions as the four largest senior living operators in the industry, according to Argentum’s latest operator list.

The new report also includes a breakdown of ownership and operating models within the senior living sector, revealing majority-ownership and management-only styles are the two dominant models, while private equity only represents 7,195 units, or 1.5% of the total.

“One of the clearest takeaways is that senior living remains an industry in motion, even as its overall scale remained relatively stable year over year,” Stephanie Robert, vice president of marketing and communications for Argentum told Senior Housing News. “Across the providers included in the report, total units increased only slightly, but we saw meaningful changes in portfolio composition, provider rankings, ownership and management structures and development activity.”

Brentwood, Tennessee-based Brookdale remains the largest operator in the industry, with 47,085 total units across 584 communities. That reflects a decrease compared to 2025, when the operator had 53,794 units across 647 communities.

Bonita Springs, Florida-based Discovery Senior Living followed as the second largest provider with 46,074 units across 414 communities. Last year, the operator had 33,692 units and 336 communities.

Des Moines, Iowa-based LCS followed in third, with a total of 30,957 units and 119 communities. According to the 2025 report, that represents a slight decrease compared to the 33,174 units it had the previous year.

Catonsville, Maryland-based Erickson Senior Living maintained its position as the fourth largest operator with 26,425 units across 23 communities. Last year, the operator had 25,300 units and 22 communities.

Rounding out the top five largest operators is McLean, Virginia-based Sunrise Senior Living, which ranked seventh in 2025. The operator went up to 22,082 units from 18,898 last year.

A notable addition to the top 10 largest operators list is Vancouver, Washington-based Sinceri Senior Living, which moved up to eighth rank from 37th. Meanwhile, Scottsdale, Arizona-based Cogir Senior Living dropped one rank to settle at nine and Irvine, California-based Oakmont Senior Living jumped to 10 from 11.

Among the operators that saw the largest rank changes compared to 2025 were Experience Senior Living, which jumped from 107 up to 52; Allegro Living, which moved from 83 to 29; and Tutera Senior Living and Health Care, who moved up to 71 from 31.

Also, Discovery Senior Living saw the largest increase in total units across its portfolio, adding 12,382 units to reach a total of 46,074. It was followed by Sinceri Senior Living, which added 10,695 units, bringing its total up to 15,333.

“Many of these changes reflect acquisitions, mergers, divestitures and new management agreements, not simply new construction. That illustrates how providers are using a range of strategies to build scale and enter new markets,” Robert said.

The new list reveals that the senior living industry is “not simply growing, but actively rethinking how it serves older adults and their families,” James Balda, president and CEO of Argentum, said in a press release.

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