Nursing Homes in the US: Facts and StatisticsSkip to content

Nursing Homes in the US

  • 16,155
    Nursing Homes
  • 1,527,828
    Total Medicaid Beds
  • 7.87%
    Patients with pressure ulcers
  • 2.94/5
    Average CMS Rating

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How To Choose the Right Nursing Home?

Choosing the right nursing home for your loved one is a daunting task. At Elder Guide, we try to streamline this process by giving you the tools necessary to begin your search. The best place to start when sizing up any nursing home is its overall grade. Ideally you want to target nursing homes that received an overall grade of B- or higher. The highest quality nursing homes typically receive overall grades of A- or higher. On the other end of the spectrum, we generally recommend avoiding facilities that received D’s or F’s no matter what.

Search 16,155 Nursing Homes Nationwide

We also rate each nursing home in four specific categories: inspections, long-term care, short- term care and nursing. For most people, the most important category is inspections. A nursing home’s grade in this category reflects the data we pulled from government inspections conducted at the facility. Poor grades in this category generally indicate that the nursing home was flagged for major deficiencies. More specifically, you want to avoid facilities that have been flagged for abuse or neglect or labeled as special focus facilities by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”). You also want to be careful with facilities that received category G through L deficiencies as these deficiencies are associated with conditions that threatened the health or safety of residents. Category L deficiencies actually jeopardized residents’ lives or in some cases resulted in a death.

Depending on the level of care you are looking for, you also want to focus on our short-term and long-term care ratings. For prospective residents that recently suffered an injury or had a major surgery and are looking for rehabilitation, our short-term care grades are critical. Rehabilitation services rely on the performance of highly skilled nurses and therapists. Conversely, many of these skilled professionals are not critical for residents in a long-term care setting.

Long-term care residents are more likely to be in a nursing home for a chronic condition, often simply brought on by old age. These individuals tend to be more dependent on nurse’s aides for activities of daily living. As a result, they benefit more from sheer quantity of nursing care. If sufficient care is not provided on a 24/7 basis, these folks could be at risk for a variety of issues including pressure ulcers, falls, urinary tract infections and general neglect. Nursing performance is also measured more directly by our nursing category which is an important category for all prospective residents.

Finally, once you have zeroed in on the services your loved one requires, we highly recommend that you try out our nursing home staffing tool, which is available at the top of each nursing home’s page. This allows you to determine the levels of both medical and therapy staffing provided by the nursing home per resident over the past three years. This is a great way to determine whether a nursing home is truly the right fit based on your loved one’s specific needs. We truly hope you find a nursing home that cares for your loved one as thoroughly as you would care for them yourself.

States by Nursing Home Population Density

State . Ascending orderPopulation per Nursing Home . No order set# of Nursing Homes . No order setAverage Nursing Home Rating . No order set
Alabama27,789172
Grade: A-minus
Alaska37,38019
Grade: A-minus
Arizona48,060133
Grade: B-plus
Arkansas13,625214
Grade: B-minus
California32,7651,137
Grade: B
Colorado24,774203
Grade: B
Connecticut132,37327
Grade: B-plus
Delaware20,40744
Grade: A-minus
Florida27,853675
Grade: B-plus
Georgia27,600351
Grade: B-minus
Hawaii34,00740
Grade: A-minus
Idaho19,84279
Grade: B-plus
Illinois19,093672
Grade: C
Indiana12,738509
Grade: B-minus
Iowa7,731394
Grade: B
Kansas9,574298
Grade: B
Kentucky15,953272
Grade: B
Louisiana17,237263
Grade: C
Maine16,00483
Grade: A-minus
Maryland26,124221
Grade: B
Massachusetts19,145342
Grade: B-plus
Michigan23,758416
Grade: B
Minnesota15,285347
Grade: A-minus
Mississippi15,216195
Grade: B-plus
Missouri12,123494
Grade: B-minus
Montana17,05858
Grade: B
Nebraska9,872185
Grade: B-plus
Nevada43,55762
Grade: B
New Hampshire17,79074
Grade: A-minus
New Jersey26,011338
Grade: B-plus
New Mexico30,73467
Grade: B-minus
New York32,404598
Grade: B-minus
North Carolina23,898399
Grade: B-minus
North Dakota8,96775
Grade: A-minus
Ohio12,512922
Grade: B-minus
Oklahoma13,641275
Grade: B-minus
Oregon30,405126
Grade: B
Pennsylvania19,158663
Grade: B
Rhode Island14,22374
Grade: B
South Carolina25,001185
Grade: B-plus
South Dakota8,75493
Grade: B-plus
Tennessee20,944303
Grade: B
Texas22,2131,132
Grade: B-minus
Utah28,49397
Grade: B-plus
Vermont19,55432
Grade: B-plus
Virginia29,307273
Grade: B-minus
Washington35,023192
Grade: B
West Virginia15,441120
Grade: B-minus
Wisconsin17,827319
Grade: B-plus
Wyoming16,57734
Grade: B