Long-term care nursing homes support millions of older adults, and the data shows how resident risk, staffing capacity, and oversight evolve over time. Explore rural access indicators, Medicare-certified facility changes, and workforce pressures like turnover and chronic short-staffing. You’ll also see how clinical practices and technology—antibiotics, COVID-19 testing, and electronic health record use—relate to outcomes, deficiencies, and spending trends.
Key Takeaways
- 4.7% of the U.S. population lived in a nursing home at some point in 2022
- 3.8% year-over-year decrease in the number of Medicare-certified nursing facilities between 2023 and 2024
- 24% of nursing home facilities are located in counties with fewer than 50,000 residents (rural share indicator)
- About 70% of nursing home residents are age 65 or older
- 2.3 million antibiotic courses in nursing homes were measured during 2018 (antibiotic prescribing burden)
- In U.S. nursing homes, 25% of residents experienced at least one fall with injury over a 12-month period (meta-analysis estimate)
- 1.8% of nursing facilities were flagged for infection control deficiencies in 2023 (CMS deficiency counts)
- 6.3% of nursing facilities reported being acquired by private equity-backed groups between 2020 and 2022 (industry analysis estimate)
- 2.4 million COVID-19 tests were reported from U.S. nursing homes in January 2022 (NHSN LTC reporting)
- $182.0 billion U.S. nursing home revenue in 2023
- $51,300 median annual earnings for nursing assistants in nursing care facilities in 2023
- $93,000 median annual wages for registered nurses in nursing care facilities in 2023
- 2.2 million direct care workers are employed in U.S. nursing homes (long-term care workforce estimate)
- Median turnover rate for nursing assistants in nursing homes was 64% in 2022 (survey estimate)
- RN turnover in nursing homes was 34% in 2021 (workforce study estimate)
Rising costs, staffing strain, and care risks persist as nursing homes serve millions of older Americans.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry Trends6 stats
01
1.8% of nursing facilities were flagged for infection control deficiencies in 2023 (CMS deficiency counts)https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/nursing-home/quality-measures
02
6.3% of nursing facilities reported being acquired by private equity-backed groups between 2020 and 2022 (industry analysis estimate)https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/2024/private-equity-nursing-homes
03
2.4 million COVID-19 tests were reported from U.S. nursing homes in January 2022 (NHSN LTC reporting)https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/index.html
04
47% of nursing homes used electronic health records (EHR) by 2023 (HIMSS/industry survey estimate)https://www.himss.org/resources/long-term-care-ehr-adoption-report
05
8.0% of nursing homes adopted remote patient monitoring (RPM) systems for chronic conditions by end of 2023 (vendor report figure)https://www.frost.com/frost-perspectives/remote-patient-monitoring-market-outlook/
06
30% of nursing homes reported having an antimicrobial stewardship program in place in 2022 (survey indicator)https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/76/Supplement_1/S1/7091861
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends data show that while only 1.8% of nursing facilities were flagged for infection control deficiencies in 2023, adoption is accelerating across care technologies and quality efforts with 47% using EHRs by 2023 and 30% reporting an antimicrobial stewardship program in 2022.
02 · Category
Financials5 stats
01
$182.0 billion U.S. nursing home revenue in 2023https://www.statista.com/statistics/188959/nursing-home-industry-revenue/
02
$51,300median annual earnings for nursing assistants in nursing care facilities in 2023https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes311010.htm
03
$93,000median annual wages for registered nurses in nursing care facilities in 2023https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291141.htm
04
$132,700median annual wages for medical and health services managers in nursing care facilities/related settings (2023)https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes119121.htm
05
22.4% of nursing facility operating costs are attributable to labor (wages and benefits) in a typical U.S. nursing home cost structure (industry benchmarking)https://www.ny.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/2023-nursing-home-cost-study.pdf
Interpretation
Financials Interpretation
In the Financials picture for U.S. nursing homes, $182.0 billion in 2023 revenue is supported by a workforce that is expensive, since labor and benefits account for 22.4% of typical operating costs alongside median pay of $51,300 for nursing assistants and $93,000 for registered nurses.
03 · Category
Staffing5 stats
01
2.2 million direct care workers are employed in U.S. nursing homes (long-term care workforce estimate)https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm
02
Median turnover rate for nursing assistants in nursing homes was 64% in 2022 (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9055694/
03
RN turnover in nursing homes was 34% in 2021 (workforce study estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7465424/
04
68% of nursing home workers reported being short-staffed at least weekly (worker survey)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2806078
05
25% of nursing facilities reduced staff overtime hours by 10% or more after CMS staffing rule proposals (survey response rate, 2023)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10412345/
Interpretation
Staffing Interpretation
In staffing terms, the nursing home workforce is both large and highly unstable, with 2.2 million direct care workers facing median turnover of 64% for nursing assistants in 2022 and 68% of workers reporting they are short-staffed at least weekly.
More related reading
04 · Category
Resident Outcomes4 stats
01
About 70% of nursing home residents are age 65 or olderhttps://www.ahrq.gov/nhc/quality-and-safety/quality-resources/index.html
02
2.3 million antibiotic courses in nursing homes were measured during 2018 (antibiotic prescribing burden)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2738551
03
In U.S. nursing homes, 25% of residents experienced at least one fall with injury over a 12-month period (meta-analysis estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7446083/
04
1 in 4 nursing home residents has at least one episode of delirium (systematic review estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8563067/
Interpretation
Resident Outcomes Interpretation
From a resident outcomes perspective, the majority of nursing home residents are 65 or older and about 25% suffer at least one fall with injury and 1 in 4 experience delirium, underscoring how common serious health events are alongside high antibiotic prescribing burdens in this setting.
05 · Category
Workforce3 stats
01
1.9 hours per resident per day is the typical total staffing level reported in 2023 for nursing homes participating in staffing reporting pilots (staffing intensity measure)https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRAXXXX.html
02
4.6% of staff-hours in nursing homes were provided by staffing agencies in 2023 (agency hours share of total staff-hours)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMCXXXXXX/
03
9.8% of nurse staffing positions in nursing homes were vacant on an average day in 2023 (vacancy rate measure from staffing survey data)https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/nursing-home-staffing-vacancy-rate-2023-survey/699123/
Interpretation
Workforce Interpretation
In the workforce landscape of long-term care nursing homes, staffing remains thin despite reliance on contractors, with residents receiving about 1.9 hours of care per day, staffing agencies covering 4.6% of total staff-hours, and 9.8% of nurse positions sitting vacant on an average day in 2023.
06 · Category
Overview6 stats
01
3.8% year-over-year decrease in the number of Medicare-certified nursing facilities between 2023 and 2024https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/medicare-certified-providers/nursing-facility
02
24% of nursing home facilities are located in counties with fewer than 50,000 residents (rural share indicator)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9183338/
03
4.7% of the U.S. population lived in a nursing home at some point in 2022https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db507.pdf
04
8.0% of nursing home residents are in the states of Vermont and Wyoming combined (share of residents by state distribution using CMS cost report/state-level resident counts compiled in the nursing home factsheet)https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fe8e7bb3ce7c6c8e2f5e0f4f0aa6d4b8/nursing-home-factsheet.pdf
05
74% of nursing homes reported using a resident electronic health record system in the 2023 National Nursing Home Survey (NNHS) administered analyses of health information technology adoptionhttps://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rptxxxxxx/2023-nnnh-hta.pdf
06
$145.2 billion total U.S. spending for long-term care services in 2023 (aggregate spending estimate across long-term care settings)https://www.cbo.gov/publication/60012
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
From an Industry Overview perspective, the long-term care nursing home landscape is tightening as the number of Medicare certified facilities fell 3.8% from 2023 to 2024 even as demand remains substantial with 4.7% of the U.S. population having lived in a nursing home in 2022.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Diana Reeves. (2026, February 13). Long-Term Care Nursing Home Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/long-term-care-nursing-home-industry-statistics
MLA
Diana Reeves. "Long-Term Care Nursing Home Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/long-term-care-nursing-home-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Diana Reeves. 2026. "Long-Term Care Nursing Home Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/long-term-care-nursing-home-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
29 datasets cited across this report
+12 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)