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Nursing Home Staffing Data: State-by-State Benchmarks (2026)

Across the 14,696 Medicare-certified nursing homes we score, the average staffing rating is 55.5 out of 100. HI currently leads the nation for nurse coverage. Staffing varies widely from state to state, so the tables below show where it is strongest and

Published May 14, 2026 · CMS data as of Apr 23, 2026

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Search 14,000+ Medicare-certified facilities by name, city, or ZIP — see violations, staffing, and safety signals.

Key Takeaways

  • Facilities Scored: 14696
  • National Avg Staffing Score: 55.5
  • Pct Below The Midpoint: 45.9
  • Best Staffed State: HI

Overview

Across the 14,696 Medicare-certified nursing homes we score, the average staffing rating is 55.5 out of 100. HI currently leads the nation for nurse coverage. Staffing varies widely from state to state, so the tables below show where it is strongest and where families should ask the most questions.

Data reflects CMS records as of 2026-04-23.

States With The Strongest Staffing

State Facilities Avg Staffing Score
HI 42 88.2
ME 78 77.8
ND 72 75.8
MN 338 75.7
WI 323 75.2
WA 194 73.5
AK 20 72.6
OR 128 72.5
DE 44 71.7
UT 97 71

States With The Lowest Staffing

State Facilities Avg Staffing Score
TX 1176 37.9
MO 488 40.3
LA 266 40.4
OK 283 42.2
GA 356 44.2
NC 420 48.8
AR 221 49.3
NM 68 49.5
VA 289 51.2
SC 187 52

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good staffing level for a nursing home?
Staffing is the most consistent predictor of nursing-home care quality. On our 0–100 staffing scale, built from CMS payroll-based staffing data, facilities near or above the national average of 55.5 are stronger bets, while scores well below the midpoint are a cue to ask directly about daily nurse-to-resident ratios on every shift, including nights and weekends.
Which states have the best-staffed nursing homes?
HI leads our staffing rankings this period. The "states with the strongest staffing" table above lists the current top ten by average staffing score.
How is the staffing score calculated?
We translate each facility's CMS-reported staffing into a 0–100 sub-score and average it by state, so you can compare states and individual facilities on one consistent scale. It reflects reported nurse coverage relative to the number of residents.
Which states have nursing home staffing shortages?
The "states with the lowest staffing" table above shows the ten states where average nurse staffing scores trail the rest of the country this period. Lower staffing does not mean every home there is unsafe, but it is a strong cue to compare individual facilities and ask each one about its daily nurse-to-resident ratios.
How can I check the staffing at a specific nursing home?
Search any of the 14,000+ certified facilities by name, city, or ZIP on Senior Care Report Card to see its staffing rating alongside inspection, penalty, and complaint history.

How to Read This

Care Safety score
A 0–100 score we calculate from CMS inspection history, staffing data, citation patterns, and complaint summaries. Higher is better. We group facilities into bands: Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor.

Data source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Data as of 2026-04-23.

How we built this: Every Senior Care Report Card insight is generated from the federal CMS Care Compare dataset and reviewed by our editorial team before publishing. We do not invent numbers, and we always tell you the date the data was collected. Read our methodology →