Labor already accounts for 22.4% of typical U.S. nursing facility operating costs, and 9.8% of nurse positions are vacant on an average day. Staffing pressure and care-quality constraints show up alongside facility supply shifts, with Medicare-certified nursing facilities down 3.8% from 2023 to 2024. In 2023, 1.8% of nursing facilities were flagged for infection control deficiencies, reinforcing how changes in capacity and compliance affect daily operations.
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)
Nursing homes face high demand and staffing strain, with millions served and persistent labor gaps.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size1 stats
01
4.7% of the U.S. population lived in a nursing home at some point in 2022
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
In 2022, nursing homes served about 4.7% of the U.S. population at some point, underscoring a sizable and measurable market size for the long term care industry.
02 · Category
Facility Supply2 stats
01
3.8% year-over-year decrease in the number of Medicare-certified nursing facilities between 2023 and 2024
02
24% of nursing home facilities are located in counties with fewer than 50,000 residents (rural share indicator)
Interpretation
Facility Supply Interpretation
From a facility supply perspective, Medicare-certified nursing facilities fell 3.8% from 2023 to 2024, while 24% of nursing home locations are in very small rural counties with fewer than 50,000 residents, suggesting tighter access alongside persistent rural concentration.
03 · Category
Resident Outcomes4 stats
01
About 70% of nursing home residents are age 65 or older
02
2.3 million antibiotic courses in nursing homes were measured during 2018 (antibiotic prescribing burden)
03
In U.S. nursing homes, 25% of residents experienced at least one fall with injury over a 12-month period (meta-analysis estimate)
04
1 in 4 nursing home residents has at least one episode of delirium (systematic review estimate)
Interpretation
Resident Outcomes Interpretation
Resident outcomes in U.S. nursing homes are dominated by age and preventable clinical risks, since about 70% of residents are 65 or older and roughly one in four experience delirium or a fall with injury over a 12 month period.
04 · Category
Industry Trends6 stats
01
1.8% of nursing facilities were flagged for infection control deficiencies in 2023 (CMS deficiency counts)
02
6.3% of nursing facilities reported being acquired by private equity-backed groups between 2020 and 2022 (industry analysis estimate)
03
2.4 million COVID-19 tests were reported from U.S. nursing homes in January 2022 (NHSN LTC reporting)
04
47% of nursing homes used electronic health records (EHR) by 2023 (HIMSS/industry survey estimate)
05
8.0% of nursing homes adopted remote patient monitoring (RPM) systems for chronic conditions by end of 2023 (vendor report figure)
06
30% of nursing homes reported having an antimicrobial stewardship program in place in 2022 (survey indicator)
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends show steady digital and care-quality momentum, with 47% of nursing homes using electronic health records by 2023 and 30% reporting antimicrobial stewardship programs in 2022, alongside only 1.8% flagged for infection control deficiencies in 2023.
05 · Category
Financials5 stats
01
$182.0 billion U.S. nursing home revenue in 2023
02
$51,300median annual earnings for nursing assistants in nursing care facilities in 2023
03
$93,000median annual wages for registered nurses in nursing care facilities in 2023
04
$132,700median annual wages for medical and health services managers in nursing care facilities/related settings (2023)
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)
Interpretation
Financials Interpretation
In the Long-Term Care Nursing Home Industry, 2023 revenue reached $182.0 billion while labor already accounts for 22.4% of typical operating costs, with median earnings of $51,300 for nursing assistants and $93,000 for registered nurses, underscoring how wages and benefits are a major financial driver.
More related reading
06 · Category
Staffing5 stats
01
2.2 million direct care workers are employed in U.S. nursing homes (long-term care workforce estimate)
02
Median turnover rate for nursing assistants in nursing homes was 64% in 2022 (survey estimate)
03
RN turnover in nursing homes was 34% in 2021 (workforce study estimate)
04
68% of nursing home workers reported being short-staffed at least weekly (worker survey)
05
25% of nursing facilities reduced staff overtime hours by 10% or more after CMS staffing rule proposals (survey response rate, 2023)
Interpretation
Staffing Interpretation
Staffing remains the industry’s most pressing pressure point as nursing homes employ 2.2 million direct care workers yet face extremely high churn, including 64% median turnover for nursing assistants in 2022 and 34% RN turnover in 2021, while 68% of workers report being short-staffed at least weekly.
07 · Category
Industry Footprint1 stats
01
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)
Interpretation
Industry Footprint Interpretation
Only 8.0% of nursing home residents are concentrated in Vermont and Wyoming combined, showing how the long term care industry footprint is relatively thin across this specific pair of states.
08 · Category
User Adoption1 stats
01
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 adoption
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
In the 2023 National Nursing Home Survey, 74% of nursing homes reported using a resident electronic health record system, showing strong user adoption of health information technology in long-term care.
09 · Category
Economics & Pricing1 stats
01
$145.2 billion total U.S. spending for long-term care services in 2023 (aggregate spending estimate across long-term care settings)
Interpretation
Economics & Pricing Interpretation
In 2023, total U.S. spending on long-term care services reached $145.2 billion, underscoring the massive scale of the Economics and Pricing landscape for nursing homes.
10 · 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)
02
4.6% of staff-hours in nursing homes were provided by staffing agencies in 2023 (agency hours share of total staff-hours)
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)
Interpretation
Workforce Interpretation
From a workforce perspective, staffing remains relatively lean with just 1.9 total staffing hours per resident per day, while a notable 4.6% of staff-hours come from staffing agencies and 9.8% of nurse positions are vacant on an average day, signaling pressure on the nursing home labor supply.
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 · attribution is report-level
+12 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)