Healthcare Insights
How many skilled nursing facilities are in the U.S.?
A skilled nursing facility (SNF) is a type of inpatient facility that performs both long- and short-term rehabilitation for patients of all ages. Definitive Healthcare tracks more than 18,400 active skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and nearly 1,900 SNF parent organizations across the United States.
For organizations selling into the post-acute care market—including medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare technology vendors, staffing firms, and consulting organizations—understanding where skilled nursing facilities are concentrated can help prioritize market opportunities and benchmark regional provider density.
Using data from Definitive Healthcare’s LongTermCareView product, we looked at active skilled nursing facilities across the country. While state-level counts provide a broad geographic overview, metropolitan statistical areas (CBSAs) offer a more granular look at healthcare markets where providers operate, compete, and refer patients.
Largest U.S. markets for skilled nursing facilities
The largest concentration of skilled nursing facilities is found in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, which includes 680 active SNFs tracked by Definitive Healthcare. The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA CBSA ranks second with 514 facilities, followed by the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area with 428.
| Rank | CBSA | Number of SNFs | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 680 | Explore |
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 514 | Explore |
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 428 | Explore |
| 4 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 305 | Explore |
| 5 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 280 | Explore |
| 6 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 250 | Explore |
| 7 | St. Louis, MO-IL | 208 | Explore |
| 8 | Cleveland, OH | 194 | Explore |
| 9 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 182 | Explore |
| 10 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 181 | Explore |
Fig. 1 - Largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (CBSAs) by number of active skilled nursing facilities. Note: Facilities without an assigned CBSA are excluded from the rankings. CBSA information is currently available for approximately 15,400 active SNFs tracked by Definitive Healthcare. Data is from LongTermCareView, accessed July 2026.
For commercial organizations, CBSA-level analysis can provide a more actionable view of provider markets than state-level rankings alone, helping organizations identify markets for planning sales coverage, market expansion, and customer outreach.
States with the most skilled nursing facilities
While metropolitan markets provide greater geographic precision, state-level counts remain useful for regional planning and benchmarking.
Texas has the largest number of skilled nursing facilities in the U.S., with 1,390 active SNFs, followed by California (1,364) and Ohio (1,103). Illinois and Florida round out the top five, each with more than 800 facilities.
| Rank | CBSA | Number of SNFs | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 1390 | Explore |
| 2 | California | 1364 | Explore |
| 3 | Ohio | 1103 | Explore |
| 4 | Illinois | 831 | Explore |
| 5 | Florida | 819 | Explore |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | 819 | Explore |
| 7 | New York | 732 | Explore |
| 8 | Missouri | 620 | Explore |
| 9 | Indiana | 582 | Explore |
| 10 | Iowa | 547 | Explore |
Fig. 2 - U.S. states with the highest number of active skilled nursing facilities. Data is from LongTermCareView. Data accessed July 2026.
States with the fewest skilled nursing facilities
At the other end of the ranking, the District of Columbia has the fewest skilled nursing facilities, with 19, followed by Alaska (30), Vermont (46), Delaware (48), and Wyoming (58).
| Rank | CBSA | Number of SNFs | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 19 | Explore |
| 2 | Alaska | 30 | Explore |
| 3 | Vermont | 46 | Explore |
| 4 | Delaware | 48 | Explore |
| 5 | Wyoming | 58 | Explore |
| 6 | Hawaii | 63 | Explore |
| 7 | Nevada | 79 | Explore |
| 8 | New Mexico | 85 | Explore |
| 9 | Rhode Island | 88 | Explore |
| 10 | New Hampshire | 106 | Explore |
Fig. 3 - U.S. states with the fewest active skilled nursing facilities. Data is from LongTermCareView. Data accessed July 2026.
Capturing growth across the skilled nursing market
The skilled nursing facility market remains highly fragmented, with independent operators coexisting alongside scaled multi-facility platforms. This structure creates multiple pathways for vendors to expand, including enterprise partnerships, facility-level adoption, and strategic channel relationships. As operators face increasing pressure to improve financial performance while maintaining quality outcomes, demand is shifting toward solutions that deliver measurable impact across clinical operations, administrative efficiency, and financial performance. Companies that understand the unique operational and market realities of SNFs and align their products with provider priorities can establish durable partnerships within a space undergoing steady expansion.
Number of skilled nursing facilities by state, 2026
Fig. 4 - U.S. states ranked by active skilled nursing facilities. Data is from LongTermCareView. Data accessed July 2026.
How large is the average skilled nursing facility?
Skilled nursing facilities vary widely in size, from small specialty facilities with fewer than 10 licensed beds to large campuses with several hundred beds. Across the United States, the average SNF tracked by Definitive Healthcare has approximately 115 beds.
Facility size can help organizations estimate market capacity, identify larger provider organizations, and prioritize outreach based on the scale of individual facilities or health systems.
How organizations use skilled nursing facility market data
Organizations across the healthcare industry use SNF data to better understand the post-acute care landscape and support commercial decision-making. Common use cases include:
- Prioritizing sales territories based on provider density
- Identifying high-opportunity metropolitan markets
- Building account lists for business development
- Analyzing competitive landscapes
- Supporting market access and commercialization strategies
- Mapping post-acute referral networks
- Benchmarking regional provider coverage
Because LongTermCareView data is updated routinely, organizations can monitor changes in the skilled nursing market and make decisions using current provider intelligence.
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