Healthcare Insights

How many academic medical centers are in the U.S.?

Academic medical centers (AMCs) are hospitals that provide patient care as well as education for healthcare providers. The facility also usually partners with at least one medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).

As of May 2023, Definitive Healthcare currently tracks more than 220 active AMCs in the U.S. The number of AMCs located in each state varies greatly, as some states have almost 20 while others have zero. The overall average number of AMCs based in each state is five.

Using Definitive Healthcare’s HospitalView data, we ranked the U.S. states with the most academic medical centers as of May 2023. Data on these facilities is updated daily and based on proprietary research.

States with the most academic medical centers

RankStateNumber of academic medical centersExplore dataset
1Pennslyvania18Explore
2New York17Explore
3Ohio17Explore
4California16Explore
5Massachusetts 12Explore
6Texas11Explore
7New Jersey10Explore
8Florida9Explore
8Michigan 9Explore
8Missouri9Explore

Fig. 1. Data is from Definitive Healthcare’s HospitalView database. Data was accessed on May 3, 2023.

Which states have the most academic medical centers?

Pennsylvania has the most AMCs within its borders, with 18. Pennsylvania has a total population of nearly 13 million people and has two major metropolitan centers, Philadelphia and Pittsburg. Pennsylvania is also home to many top colleges and universities. Some notable Pennsylvania AMCs include The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, UPMC Presbyterian, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

New York and Ohio are tied for second place, with 17 each. New York is also one of the largest states in the country by population, with nearly 20 million people living there. It is also home to top-rated medical schools such as Columbia University, Weill Cornell Medicine, and New York University.  Some of the most notable AMCs located in the state are associated with these schools, including NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, Tisch Hospital, and NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

With a population of more than 11 million people, Ohio is also one of the most populous states in the nation. Some of the most notable AMCs there include Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Which states have the fewest AMCs?

Eight U.S. states have zero AMCs within their borders, largely because they are lacking academic medical centers. These states include Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

How are academic medical centers different from teaching hospitals?

In most cases, an academic medical center is also a teaching hospital, but at the same time, not every teaching hospital is an academic medical center. So, what’s the difference between the two?

An AMC is always affiliated with a medical school and confers medical degrees. On the other hand, teaching hospitals have medical students, residents, and other healthcare professionals there who are finishing or continuing medical education. Teaching hospitals are usually associated with a medical school but do not themselves confer medical degrees.

As of May 2023, our HospitalView database currently tracks over 220 hospitals that are classified as AMC and over 1,300 that are considered teaching hospitals. There are 192 hospitals that are considered both.

Learn more

Healthcare Insights are developed with healthcare commercial intelligence from the Definitive Healthcare platform. Want even more insights? Start a free trial now and get access to the latest healthcare commercial intelligence on hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers.