National reference · CMS Care Compare + CareScout 2025

U.S. Elder Care Statistics

A reference snapshot of the U.S. elder-care landscape, facility capacity, CMS quality ratings, and the cost of care across five settings, compiled from federal data and the CareScout 2025 survey.

At a glance

The U.S. has 14,710 CMS-certified nursing homes operating 1,570,845 licensed beds, plus 12,251 home health agencies. The facility-weighted average quality rating is 3.0 of 5, and 39% of rated homes earn 4 stars or more.

14,710 Nursing homes
12,251 Home health
3.0/5 Avg CMS rating
39% 4★ or higher

The United States has 14,710 CMS-certified nursing homes averaging 3.0 of 5 stars, and a semi-private room costs a national median of about $11,029/month.

The United States has 14,710 CMS-certified nursing homes operating 1,570,845 licensed beds, plus 12,251 Medicare-certified home health agencies across all 51 states. The facility-weighted average CMS quality rating is 3.0 of 5 stars, and 39% of rated homes earn 4 stars or higher. A semi-private nursing-home room runs a national median of $11,029 per month, ranging from $5,627 in Texas to $27,831 in Alaska.

According to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, its Nursing Home Compare and Home Health Compare programs covered 14,710 Medicare-certified nursing homes and 12,251 home health agencies as of the snapshot compiled in June 2026; cost medians are from the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey. See our methodology for source vintage.

Facilities & capacity

14,710
CMS-certified nursing homes
1,570,845
Licensed nursing-home beds
12,251
Home health agencies
2,851
Counties covered, all 51 states

National monthly cost by care type

Median U.S. cost across the five care settings. Source: CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey.

Adult Day Health Care $2,557/mo
Assisted Living Facility $6,528/mo
Home Care (Homemaker/Home Health Aide) $6,848/mo
Nursing Home (Semi-Private Room) $11,029/mo
Nursing Home (Private Room) $11,983/mo

Costs vary several-fold by state: a semi-private nursing-home room runs a median of $27,831/mo in Alaska versus $5,627/mo in Texas - about a 4.9× spread. See the full 50-state cost ranking.

CMS quality-rating distribution

How the 14,574 rated nursing homes spread across the CMS 1-to-5 overall star scale. Source: CMS Nursing Home Compare.

1 star 2,937 · 20%
2 stars 3,069 · 21%
3 stars 2,835 · 19%
4 stars 2,784 · 19%
5 stars 2,949 · 20%

Ownership mix

About 74% of U.S. nursing homes are for-profit. Source: CMS Nursing Home Compare.

Ownership type Facilities Share
For profit - Corporation 4,939 34%
For profit - Limited Liability company 4,832 33%
Non profit - Corporation 2,305 16%
For profit - Individual 669 5%
For profit - Partnership 408 3%
Government - County 358 2%

Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Nursing Home Compare & Home Health Compare; CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey CMS Five-Star Quality Ratings + CareScout state cost medians · 2025

All figures are compiled directly from the cited federal datasets and the CareScout survey, with no adjustment. See our methodology for source vintage and processing steps. Free to cite with attribution to PlainElderCare.

Download the state cost & quality dataset (CSV)