What is the average number of beds in a U.S. hospital?

There are more than 7,400 hospitals in the U.S., ranging in size from facilities with just a few total staffed beds to the largest hospitals with thousands of beds.

In this Healthcare Insight, we review data from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product to learn the average number of beds in a hospital and how hospitals compare by location and type. Staffed bed data is sourced from the Medicare Cost Report and aggregated from the most recent 12-month interval tracked in our database.

What is the average number of beds in a hospital?

The average number of total staffed beds for hospitals is 130 beds, according to HospitalView. For reference, the average hospital size in the U.S. is 355,000 square feet.

The chart below shows the distribution of hospitals by their bed size range. About 15% of hospitals have 25 or fewer beds, including more than 1,000 critical access hospitals. About 44% of hospitals have between 26 and 100 beds. One-quarter of hospitals have 101 to 250 beds, while another 15% have more than 250 beds.

U.S. hospitals by bed size range

Fig. 1 Analysis of data from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product. Data is sourced from the Medicare Cost Report. Accessed January 2026.

How does hospital bed size differ by location?

Hospitals in the northeastern U.S. have the highest average number of beds at 176 beds. Cities such as New York and Boston tend to have larger hospitals. Even across the state of Massachusetts, hospitals average 176 beds.

In comparison, critical access hospitals, which have to have 25 or fewer inpatient beds, are concentrated in the Midwest and likely contributed to the region’s lower average hospital bed size.

Average bed size by U.S. region

Fig. 2 Analysis of data from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product. Data is sourced from the Medicare Cost Report. Accessed January 2026.

How does hospital bed size differ by hospital type?

Short-term acute care hospitals have the highest average number of beds at 189. They are the most common type of hospital in the U.S. and make up more than 50% of U.S. hospitals. Children’s hospitals have 179 beds on average and VA hospitals average 175 beds.

Average bed size by hospital type

Fig. 3 Analysis of data from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product. Data is sourced from the Medicare Cost Report. Accessed January 2026.

How to use this data

Understanding hospital bed size can help Definitive Healthcare clients identify the right facilities to market to, as well as better segment and target their key hospital accounts.

For instance, sales teams can use the number of staffed beds in a hospital to prioritize the highest-value or most relevant accounts, identify facilities with unique needs, or prepare for conversations with stakeholders.

Likewise, marketing teams might use staffed bed counts to inform engagement campaign targeting or personalize messaging.

For provider organizations, bed count can help business and operations leaders identify facilities suited for service line expansion, spot capacity issues, or compare performance with competitors.

Learn more

Stay up to speed with the market by reading about 7 healthcare trends we’re following in 2026. Or watch our webinars with tips on how to use data to fuel your healthcare growth strategy and how to optimize your campaigns.

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