How big is the average U.S. hospital?

If you want to understand the size and reach of a hospital, there are a few key metrics to consider: how many beds it staffs, the annual patient discharges, the number of operating rooms, and average daily census, for example. But just how large are these facilities in terms of physical space?

Using data from more than 5,800 hospitals in the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product, this Healthcare Insight reviews the average hospital facility square footage and compares results by bed size and hospital location. The figure is aggregated from the most recent 12-month interval tracked in our database.

Real estate and construction companies use this type of data from HospitalView to understand geographical demographics, analyze clinical trends, and target healthcare systems planning to build new facilities.

How is total hospital square footage calculated?

Total hospital facility area is sourced from the Medicare Cost Report (MCR) and includes the total square footage of buildings and fixtures on which depreciation was taken.

What is the average hospital size in square feet?

Based on hospital facility area for 5,808 hospitals across the United States, the average hospital square footage as of September 2024 is 358,061 square feet.

Average hospital square feet by bed size

Fig. 1 Data is from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product and is aggregated from the most recent 12-month interval tracked in our database. Accessed September 2024.

How does hospital facility size relate to bed count?

Hospitals with 100 or fewer beds average under 200,000 square feet. Hospitals with 101 to 250 beds average 446,000 square feet—just over the national average. Hospitals with more than 250 beds have an average size of 1.2 million square feet.

Average hospital square feet by region

Fig. 2 Data is from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product and is aggregated from the most recent 12-month interval tracked in our database. Accessed April 2023.

How does hospital size differ by location?

Hospitals in the northeastern U.S. are nearly twice as large as hospitals in other regions. For example, five of the top 10 largest hospitals by total facility area are in the northeast region. In comparison, California’s largest hospitals are only about half the size of those in the top 10.

Learn more

Want even more insights? Read about where healthcare construction projects are taking place and learn about how that type of information is tracked. Then, see how our clients use healthcare commercial intelligence from Definitive Healthcare to expand and optimize facility footprints or watch our webinar about using contextualized data from HospitalView to make more intelligent real estate investments and win more business.

Start a free trial with Definitive Healthcare now and get access to the latest healthcare commercial intelligence on hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers.