Healthcare Facilities in the US: A Comprehensive Overview (2020)

U.S. Healthcare Facility Counts (2020 Data)

As of 2020, the United States had:

• 6,146 hospitals (community, federal, psychiatric, specialty, critical access)
• 15,306 nursing homes (skilled nursing facilities certified by CMS)

These figures include public, private non-profit, for-profit, and federal (VA, IHS, DoD) facilities.

Trends & Context

• Hospital count has declined slowly since 1975 peak (~7,100) due to consolidation, closures, and outpatient shift.
• Nursing home beds have stabilized ~1.6M; occupancy dropped during COVID-19.
• Ambulatory surgery centers (>5,800), FQHCs (~1,400), and retail clinics are growing rapidly.

Data Sources

• AHA Annual Survey
• CMS Provider of Services File
• CDC National Center for Health Statistics

For current-year data, consult the AHA Hospital Statistics or CMS Nursing Home Compare datasets.