Palo Alto County, Iowa
County inventory for Palo Alto County, Iowa is drawn from U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Nursing Home Compare / Home Health Compare (14,710 Medicare-certified nursing homes nationwide) with cost context from the private CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey - see our methodology. Nursing-home inventory signature
5 nursing homes put Palo Alto County in the upper nursing-home inventory tercile among U.S. counties (≥5 homes) - 214 licensed beds, CareScout 2025 Iowa cost medians, CMS Five-Star averages.
County care plate
Sheet IA-PALO-ALTO-IOWA · Palo Alto, IA
NH-SMALL · BEDS-SMALL · STAR-MID · HH-SMALL · RANK-HIGH · PHOTO-TIE · AL-MID · BOOK-FULL
- NH-SMALL 5 homes
- BEDS-SMALL 214 beds
- STAR-MID 3.0★ avg
- HH-SMALL 1 HH
- RANK-HIGH #705/2,851
- PHOTO-TIE Marshall
- AL-MID $5,381/mo
- BOOK-FULL 5/5 NH · 1/1 HH
Photo-finish peer: Marshall County, AL (0 NH count).
Stamps lead with nursing-home inventory tercile (high) plus licensed beds, Five-Star county average, Home Health Compare agencies, corpus NH-count rank, photo-finish peer, and CareScout assisted-living medians, not a generic peer board.
What a dense nursing-home book shows for Palo Alto County
Palo Alto County, Iowa sits in the upper nursing-home inventory tercile with 5 nursing homes and 214 licensed beds. Across 5 rated facilities, the CMS overall average is 3.0/5 (2 at 4★+, 2 at 1–2★). Home Health Compare also maps 1 Medicare-certified agency into this county book.
Dense inventory counties still price against CareScout 2025 Iowa medians: assisted living $5,381/mo, semi-private nursing $9,277/mo, private nursing $10,038/mo, home health aide $7,836/mo, adult day $1,614/mo. Local Palo Alto providers may sit above or below those state medians, compare facilities, not just the headline count.
Star counts across Palo Alto County break as 1 at 1★, 1 at 2★, 1 at 3★, 1 at 4★, 1 at 5★. Ownership leans Non profit - Corporation (40% of 5 homes). Named 4★+ examples include Palo Alto County Hospital, Ruthven Community Care Center. Families typically weigh the ladder alongside bed size, ownership, distance, and specialty units before visiting.
Sources: CMS Nursing Home Compare + CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey. See methodology.
Top facilities in Palo Alto, IA
Ranked by CMS overall star rating, not an editorial "best of" pick. Visit in person and consult a care professional before choosing.
- 1 5★
- 2 4★
- 3 3★
- 4 2★
- 5 1★
Nursing Homes in Palo Alto County
5 CMS-certified homes in this county book, ordered by overall star rating.
| Facility | City | Rating | Beds | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto County Hospital | Emmetsburg | 5/5 | 22 | Government - County |
| Ruthven Community Care Center | Ruthven | 4/5 | 46 | Non profit - Corporation |
| West Bend Health and Rehabilitation | West Bend | 3/5 | 45 | For profit - Corporation |
| Emmetsburg Care Center | Emmetsburg | 2/5 | 46 | For profit - Corporation |
| Lakeside Lutheran Home | Emmetsburg | 1/5 | 55 | Non profit - Corporation |
Home Health Agencies in Palo Alto County
Medicare-certified agencies from CMS Home Health Compare, zip-joined into this county inventory.
| Agency | City | Quality Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto Community Health | Emmetsburg | 3.0 |
Read next for a dense Palo Alto inventory
Nationwide counties with similar care inventories
Two CMS peer sets for Palo Alto County, IA, both outside IA so the neighborhoods are not state containment (the Iowa overview below stays the geo path).
Similar nursing-home inventory
Nearest other-state counties by certified nursing-home count (5 here).
Continue on the Iowa elder-care overview or the highest-rated states ranking. Costs shown are Iowa state-level medians from CareScout 2025 (county-level cost data is not available).
Read our methodology - how CMS Care Compare and CareScout 2025 are joined for Palo Alto County.