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Open data · staffing-standards tracker
State minimum staffing standards for nursing homes
The federal hour floors were repealed before they took effect, so state law is the only numeric floor there is. 35 of 51 jurisdictions set one. Each entry restates the statute or regulation, links to it, and gives the date we checked it.
- 35 of 51 jurisdictions set a numeric minimum
- 29 state total hours per resident day
- Checked against the legal text · updated 17 September 2026
How to read this table
What is listed
The minimum nursing staff that each state and the District of Columbia require of nursing homes by statute or regulation, as hours per resident day, staff-to-resident ratios, or both. Requirements that only repeat the federal rule (a registered nurse 8 consecutive hours a day, licensed nurse coverage around the clock, sufficient staff) are not counted as a numeric minimum.
How it was checked
Each entry restates the legal text and links to its official publisher. The figures were read from the text itself, and the phrases that carry them are stored with the entry and re-checked against the text by a script on the date shown; where the official site refuses automated requests the check runs on another complete copy of the same text, which the entry links. A figure the law does not state is left blank, and nothing is derived from a ratio. We do not characterize whether a standard is adequate or how it is enforced.
Not interchangeable
States count different staff, average over different periods and allow different waivers. A state minimum of 3.5 hours is not the same test as the repealed federal 3.48, and two states with the same number may not require the same thing.
Reported hours are not compliance
The two right-hand columns come from the staffing study: what facilities report to CMS, averaged over a quarter. A state enforces its own rule with its own records, so these columns describe the state and do not measure compliance with its law.
The headline numbers
- Numeric minimum in law35 of 51hours per resident day, ratios, or both
- State a total in hours29the rest use ratios or a category minimum only
- At or above 3.48 total hours7the repealed federal total floor
- Highest total minimum4.10District of Columbia
The table
Hours are per resident per day as the law states them. A dash means the law states no figure of that kind. Sort any column; the detail for each state is below the table.
State by state
Alabama —
Alabama's nursing facility licensure rule sets no hours-per-resident-day figure and no staff-to-resident ratio. It requires sufficient licensed nurses and other nursing personnel around the clock, an RN at least 8 consecutive hours a day, 7 days a week, and a full-time RN director of nursing.
The whole of Chapter 420-5-10 was read and contains no hours-per-resident or ratio language. The official page is a JavaScript application, so the text was checked through the interface behind it.
Alaska —
Alaska sets no hours-per-resident-day figure and no staff-to-resident ratio. Its rule sets registered-nurse coverage by facility size: an RN on the day shift every day and on the evening shift 5 days a week, with an LPN on duty when no RN is present, and in facilities with more than 60 occupied beds two RNs on the day shift and one RN on every other shift.
Recorded as no per-resident minimum because the rule fixes RN coverage by a bed-count threshold rather than by the number of residents. The history note (effective 1983, amended 1992) does not say which action set the figures.
Arizona Ratios
Arizona sets no hours-per-resident-day figure. A nursing care institution must have at least one nurse on the premises for every 64 residents receiving direct care; otherwise the director of nursing sets staffing through a documented method based on resident assessments and care plans.
Ratios: At least 1 nurse (RN or LPN) present on the premises for every 64 residents receiving direct care.
The Secretary of State's copy refuses scripted requests, so the text was checked on the Cornell LII copy, whose history note shows the section new in 2013 and amended in 2014 and 2019. We could not confirm on the official site that nothing changed after LII's last update.
Arkansas 3.36 hours
Each nursing facility must provide, as a calendar-month average, at least 3.36 direct care hours per resident day. The count covers all direct care staff (licensed nurses, nurse aides, medication assistants, physicians, physician assistants, therapists and other licensed or certified professionals), not nursing staff alone.
Act 715 of 2021 repealed the former per-shift ratios and replaced them with the 3.36 monthly average, so the figure is not comparable with a nursing-only minimum. Hours must be consistent with the facility's federal payroll-based journal submission, and the department may waive the requirement in an emergency or severe labor shortage. The link is to the implementing rule in the official Code of Arkansas Rules, which restates the statutory figure.
California 3.50 hours
Skilled nursing facilities must provide at least 3.5 direct care service hours per patient day, of which at least 2.4 hours must come from certified nurse assistants. Direct caregivers are RNs, LVNs, psychiatric technicians, CNAs and nursing assistants in approved training programs.
Two waivers exist: a workforce-shortage waiver reviewed annually and a patient-needs waiver that cannot go below 3.5 hours. Distinct-part facilities of hospitals stay on the older 3.2 nursing hours standard of § 1276.5. Per-shift ratios in 22 CCR § 72329.1 depend on an appropriation and are not recorded here.
Colorado 2.00 hours
Nursing care facilities must provide nurse staffing of no less than two hours of nursing time per resident per day and must have at least one RN on duty on the premises at all times. In facilities with 60 or more residents, time of the director of nursing and other supervisors not giving direct care does not count.
The text checked is the version effective July 1, 2025; the two-hour provision is older and the rule does not date it. A rural skilled nursing care facility need not staff beyond federal certification requirements.
Connecticut 3.00 hours
Nursing homes must provide at least 3.0 hours of direct care per resident per day by nurses and nurse's aides: 2.17 hours per resident between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. and 0.83 hours between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. Within that, licensed nurses must provide at least 0.57 hours (7 a.m. to 9 p.m.) and 0.27 hours (9 p.m. to 7 a.m.) per resident.
The statute states three hours; the rule states the two period minimums, and the daily figures here are their sums (2.17 + 0.83 and 0.57 + 0.27). There is no separate aide-only minimum, and the director and assistant director of nurses do not count. The previous standard was 1.90 hours. The Cornell LII copy still shows the old figures, so the check runs on the official approved-regulation document.
Delaware 3.28 hours
Nursing facilities must provide at least 3.28 hours of direct care per resident per day from nursing services direct caregivers (CNAs, LPNs, RNs, advanced practice nurses and nursing supervisors while giving direct care) and must also meet per-shift ratios of licensed nurses and of CNAs to residents.
Ratios: Licensed nurses (RN or LPN) per residents: 1 to 15 day, 1 to 23 evening, 1 to 40 night. CNAs per residents: 1 to 8 day, 1 to 10 evening, 1 to 20 night. A facility that meets 3.28 hours may be approved for alternative ratios no lower than 1 to 20, 25 and 40 for licensed nurses and 1 to 9, 10 and 22 for CNAs.
The statute also prints a 3.67-hour tier that depends on a commission recommendation and an appropriation; the state's Division of Health Care Quality describes 3.28 hours plus the shift ratios as the operative requirement, so 3.67 is not recorded. The shift ratios were suspended by budget language after the pandemic and reinstated January 1, 2025, with waivers available.
District of Columbia 4.10 hours
Each nursing facility must provide a minimum daily average of 4.1 hours of direct nursing care per resident per day, of which at least 0.6 hours must come from a registered nurse or advanced practice registered nurse.
The Department of Health may adjust the requirement for an individual facility, but never below 3.5 hours, and may require more after repeated staffing citations or resident harm. The 2024 and 2025 amendments to the section left this subsection unchanged.
Florida 3.60 hours
Each facility must provide a weekly average of at least 3.6 hours of care per resident per day by direct care staff. Within that, it must provide at least 2.0 hours per resident per day by certified nursing assistants and 1.0 hour by licensed nurses, and may never staff below 1 CNA per 20 residents or 1 licensed nurse per 40 residents.
Ratios: Never fewer than 1 certified nursing assistant per 20 residents and never fewer than 1 licensed nurse per 40 residents.
The current figures come from ch. 2022-61, Laws of Florida (approved April 6, 2022), which cut the CNA minimum from 2.5 to 2.0 hours and changed the 3.6-hour average from CNA plus licensed-nurse time to all direct care staff, a category that includes nursing, dietary, therapeutic and mental health staff. There is no separate RN minimum.
Georgia 2.00 hours
Nursing homes must provide at least 2.0 hours of direct nursing care per patient in each 24-hour period, and at least one of every seven required nursing personnel must be an RN or LPN. Dining assistants do not count toward the hours.
The Secretary of State's site refuses scripted requests, so the text was checked on the Cornell LII copy. The history note (adopted 2013, amended effective January 18, 2022) does not say when the 2.0-hour figure was first adopted.
Hawaii —
Hawaii sets no hours-per-resident-day figure or staff-to-resident ratio. Facilities must have nursing staff sufficient in number and qualifications, an RN full-time on the day shift for 8 consecutive hours, 7 days a week, and a licensed nurse on the evening and night shifts.
Chapter 11-94.2 replaced chapter 11-94.1 on September 16, 2022. The department's own copy is a scanned image with no readable text, so the rule was checked on the Cornell LII copy.
Idaho —
Idaho has no state numeric nurse staffing minimum. Since July 1, 2025, state licensure requires a nursing facility to have and maintain CMS certification, and the former skilled nursing facility rule chapter is void.
Older compilations miss this change. The former rule, IDAPA 16.03.02.200.02.d, required 2.4 nursing hours per resident per day as a 7-day average; the chapter was rewritten without staffing figures effective July 1, 2024, and S.B. 1015 of 2025 declared it void from July 1, 2025. The Cornell LII copy still displays the old chapter.
Illinois 3.80 hours
Facilities must provide at least 3.8 hours of nursing and personal care per day for each resident needing skilled care and 2.5 hours for each resident needing intermediate care. At least 25% of that time must come from licensed nurses and at least 10% from RNs. Compliance is measured quarterly from CMS payroll-based journal data and the facility's census by care level.
The total shown is the skilled-care figure; a facility's own requirement blends 3.8 and 2.5 by resident classification. The licensed-nurse and RN minimums are shares of required time, not hours figures, so none is recorded. Countable staff go beyond nurses and aides and include therapy, activities and social work staff. No penalty applies where the shortfall is 10% or less.
Indiana —
Facilities must provide at least 0.5 licensed nurse hour per resident per day, averaged over one week; the director of nursing's hours do not count. Indiana sets no total nursing hours or nurse aide minimum.
In force since April 1, 1997 and readopted without change, most recently in 2019. The Indiana Register site is a JavaScript application, so the text was checked on the Cornell LII copy and matches the Department of Health's own copy of the article.
Iowa —
Iowa sets no hours-per-resident-day or ratio minimum for nursing facilities. The rule lets the department set staffing facility by facility, requires a qualified nurse on duty 24 hours a day in facilities of 75 or more beds, and requires at least two people capable of rendering nursing service awake and on duty at all times.
Older compilations miss this change. The former rule required 2.0 hours of resident care personnel per resident day for residents needing intermediate nursing care; rulemaking ARC 7033C struck it effective July 5, 2023.
Kansas 2.00 hours
Each facility must provide a weekly average of at least 2.0 hours of direct care staff time per resident, with a daily average of not fewer than 1.85 hours in any 24-hour period, and must have at least one nursing staff member per 30 residents on each nursing unit.
Ratios: At least 1 nursing staff member per 30 residents, or fraction of 30, on each nursing unit; at least 2 nursing personnel on duty at all times.
The history note (effective November 1, 1993; amended February 21, 1997) does not say which action set the figures. The director of nursing is excluded from the hours in facilities with more than 60 beds. The Secretary of State's site refused both scripted requests and an ordinary browser from our network, so the text was checked on the Cornell LII copy only; open the official link to confirm.
Kentucky —
Kentucky sets no hours-per-resident-day or ratio minimum. Nursing homes must have staffing sufficient in number and qualifications around the clock, a full-time RN director of nursing, and at least one RN or LPN on duty at all times, with an RN on call when an LPN is on duty. Licensed nursing facilities must comply with the federal requirements in 42 CFR Part 483.
902 KAR 20:048 was last amended effective June 18, 2024. A 2025 bill that would have created staff-to-resident ratios (HB 810) did not leave committee.
Louisiana 2.35 hours
Every licensed nursing facility must provide at least 2.35 hours of care per patient per day from nursing service personnel (RNs, LPNs, certified medication attendants and certified nurse aides). The DON, ADON and nursing department directors count only for time spent giving direct hands-on care, and up to eight ward clerk hours per day may be counted.
No separate RN, licensed-nurse or aide minimum in the licensing rule; licensed nurse coverage is required 24 hours a day. The text matches the official LAC Title 48 Book 2 compilation dated April 2026. Promulgated LR 42:1917 (November 2016), no later amendment shown; the exact effective day is not given. A separate Medicaid Standards for Payment rule, LAC 50:II.10155(G)(3), requires 2.6 nursing hours per skilled resident and 2.35 hours per intermediate-care resident per 24 hours, with higher figures for special units.
Maine Ratios
Nursing facilities must keep at least one direct-care provider on duty for every 5 residents on the day shift, every 10 on the evening shift and every 15 on the night shift, measured against occupied beds. Direct-care providers are RNs, LPNs, CNAs and personal support specialists giving hands-on care; nursing assistants in training do not count.
Ratios: 1 direct-care provider per 5 residents (day shift), per 10 residents (evening shift), per 15 residents (night shift), measured against occupied beds
No hours-per-resident-day standard. Section 9.A.3 sets separate licensed-nurse coverage by bed count, and an RN must be on duty or on call at all times. The chapter history reads: effective February 1, 2001; amended April 28, 2020 and August 1, 2020; non-substantive corrections April 8, 2026. The date the ratios themselves took effect is not stated.
Maryland 3.00 hours
Nursing homes must provide at least 3 hours of bedside care per occupied bed per day, seven days a week, counting care by RNs, LPNs and support personnel (the DON counts only for documented bedside time). At no time may the ratio of nursing service personnel providing bedside care to residents fall below 1 to 15.
Ratios: nursing service personnel on duty providing bedside care to residents may never be fewer than 1 to 15
Also requires at least one RN on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The date given is the chapter revision date (46:12 Md. R. 536); the text does not say whether the 3-hour and 1:15 figures were new in that revision.
Massachusetts 3.58 hours
Nursing homes (Level I, II and III facilities) must provide at least 3.580 hours of care per resident per day, of which at least 0.508 hours must be care by a registered nurse. Hours of care count RNs, LPNs and nursing assistants with direct care responsibilities in each 24-hour period, divided by that day's census.
mass.gov refused our requests, so the figures were checked on the Cornell LII copy, whose history note shows the last amendment effective April 2, 2021. The Department of Public Health proposed amendments to 105 CMR 150.000 in January 2026; we could not confirm whether they are final, and the summary we read lists no change to the hours.
Michigan 2.25 hours
Licensed nursing homes must provide at least 2.25 hours of nursing care per patient per day by employed nursing care personnel. Patient-to-nursing-personnel ratios may not exceed 8 to 1 on the morning shift, 12 to 1 on the afternoon shift and 15 to 1 on the nighttime shift. In homes with 30 or more beds the director of nursing is excluded from the ratios.
Ratios: no more than 8 patients per nursing care staff member on the morning shift, 12 on the afternoon shift, 15 on the nighttime shift
Unchanged since enactment (1978 PA 493, effective March 30, 1979). Also requires at least one licensed nurse on duty at all times.
Minnesota 2.00 hours
Nursing homes must provide at least two hours of nursing personnel time per resident per 24 hours, counting the paid, on-duty, productive hours of all nurses and nursing assistants. The statute covers Medicaid-certified homes, and the licensing rule applies the same two-hour minimum to other homes.
The statute still prints a case-mix alternative of 0.95 hours per standardized resident day beside a clause saying it no longer applies. Vacation, holiday, sick leave, classroom time and lunches are excluded; in homes with more than 60 licensed beds the director of nursing's hours are excluded. The date the two-hour figure took effect is not stated.
Mississippi 2.80 hours
Nursing facilities must staff at a ratio of at least 2.80 hours of direct nursing care per resident per 24 hours, based on resident census; licensed and non-licensed nursing staff are added together to meet the figure. The licensing agency may raise the requirement for a facility because of its physical layout.
No separate RN, LPN or aide hour minimums. The Department of Health lists this edition of the rules as effective January 2023; the date the 2.80 figure itself took effect is not stated.
Missouri —
Missouri sets no hours-per-resident-day figure and no nurse-specific ratio: its nursing rule requires nursing personnel in sufficient numbers. The only numeric floor is in the fire safety rule, which counts any staff person, not nursing staff: at least one on duty per 10 residents on the day shift, per 15 on the evening shift and per 20 on the night shift.
Recorded as no numeric nursing minimum because the ratio in 19 CSR 30-85.022(41) is for safety and protective oversight and counts all personnel. The night figure is 1 per 15 in buildings that are not fire-resistant or have a sprinkler exemption.
Montana —
Montana no longer sets a numeric nurse staffing minimum for nursing homes. Its former staffing rule (ARM 37.106.605) was repealed effective September 24, 2022, and ARM 37.106.601 requires skilled nursing facilities to comply with the federal conditions of participation in 42 CFR Part 483.
Compilations from 2021 and earlier still list the repealed staffing table. The official rules site refuses scripted requests, so the repeal was checked on the department's own copy of ARM 37.106 subchapter 6.
Nebraska —
Nebraska sets no hours-per-resident-day or ratio minimum. The regulation and statutes require sufficient nursing staff on a 24-hour basis, a full-time RN director of nursing, an RN at least eight consecutive hours a day, seven days a week, and a licensed nurse 24 hours a day serving as charge nurse on each tour of duty.
The current chapter took effect May 29, 2024. The official site is a JavaScript application, so the text was checked through the interface behind it; waivers of the RN and 24-hour licensed nurse requirements are available under the statutes.
Nevada —
Nevada sets no numeric hours or ratio minimum for facilities for skilled nursing: NAC 449.74517 requires a sufficient number of nursing staff on duty at all times, a full-time RN chief administrative nurse, a nurse in charge on each shift and an RN on duty at least 8 consecutive hours a day, 7 days a week.
A separate, older rule for facilities licensed as intermediate care facilities (NAC 449.719(6)) requires nursing-care hours of at least 0.25 per resident (category I) and 1.25 per resident (category II). Those figures are not recorded as the nursing home minimum because they apply only to that license category.
New Hampshire —
New Hampshire sets no numeric hours or ratio minimum. He-P 803 requires sufficient numbers of qualified personnel during all hours of operation, a full-time RN director of nursing, at least one licensed nurse in the facility 24 hours a day and at least one RN for 8 consecutive hours a day, 7 days a week.
The whole of He-P 803 was read on the official compilation and contains no hours-per-resident or staff-ratio language. The official page is a single 22-megabyte file, so the routine check runs on the Cornell LII copy of He-P 803.17.
New Jersey 2.50 hours
By statute, every nursing home must keep one certified nurse aide per 8 residents on the day shift, one direct care staff member (RN, LPN or CNA) per 10 residents on the evening shift and one per 14 on the night shift. Separately, N.J.A.C. 8:39-25.2 requires RN, LPN and nurse aide hours of at least 2.5 hours per resident per day, plus add-on hours for specified treatments, with at least 20 percent of the required hours from RNs or LPNs.
Ratios: Day shift: 1 certified nurse aide per 8 residents. Evening shift: 1 direct care staff member (RN, LPN or CNA) per 10 residents, at least half of them CNAs. Night shift: 1 direct care staff member per 14 residents.
The phrases checked are from the statute as enacted; the legislature's statutes database shows no later amendment to 30:13-18. The 2.5-hour figure is in the regulation, checked on the Cornell LII copy (https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-jersey/N-J-A-C-8-39-25-2) because the official code is hosted by a commercial publisher. The regulation states a 20 percent licensed share, not an hours figure, so none is recorded.
New Mexico 2.50 hours
A skilled nursing facility, or a facility offering both intermediate and skilled nursing, must maintain nursing department staffing of at least 2.5 hours per patient day, and an intermediate care facility at least 2.3, both calculated on a seven-day average. Licensed nurses, certified and oriented nursing assistants and restorative nursing assistants count; the director of nursing counts only for time spent in direct care.
Rule 8.370.16 NMAC replaced 7.9.2 NMAC on July 1, 2024; older compilations cite 7.9.2.51 NMAC. The shift figures in the rule are labelled an example of what staffing might approximate, not binding ratios.
New York 3.50 hours
Every nursing home must maintain daily average staffing of 3.5 hours of care per resident per day by certified nurse aides and licensed nurses, with at least 2.2 of those hours from certified nurse aides and at least 1.1 from licensed nurses. Compliance is determined quarterly from CMS payroll-based journal hours and the average daily census.
In force from January 1, 2022; from January 1, 2023 only certified nurse aides count toward the 2.2 hours. There is no separate RN-only minimum. Penalties take account of mitigating factors, including an acute regional labor shortage. The Senate's site sometimes answers a script with a challenge page, so the routine check runs on the Cornell LII copy of the implementing regulation, which repeats the same figures.
North Carolina —
North Carolina's nursing home licensure rule sets no numeric hours-per-patient-day or ratio minimum for general nursing beds. It requires sufficient nursing staff, at least one licensed nurse on duty for direct patient care at all times, an RN at least eight consecutive hours a day, seven days a week, and at least one nurse aide on each patient care floor of a multi-storied facility.
Many secondary sources still report a minimum of 2.1 nursing hours per patient day; that sentence was removed by the amendment effective January 1, 2013 and is not in the current rule. The only numeric standard left is 5.5 direct care nursing hours per patient day in special care units for patients on invasive mechanical ventilation (10A NCAC 13D .3003(e)).
North Dakota —
North Dakota sets no numeric hours or ratio minimum. The licensing rule requires sufficient qualified nursing personnel on duty at all times, including at least one RN on duty eight consecutive hours a day, seven days a week, and at least one licensed nurse designated as charge nurse around the clock.
The section history shows an effective date of July 1, 1996 with no later amendment; the full chapter contains no hours-per-resident or staff-ratio language.
Ohio 2.50 hours
Each nursing home must provide a daily average of at least 2.5 hours of direct care and services per resident per day. The hours of nurse aides, RNs and LPNs count, including RNs and LPNs doing administrative or supervisory work. There is no separate RN, licensed-nurse or aide minimum and no fixed staff-to-resident ratio.
The statute, R.C. 3721.04(D)(2), requires the same 2.5-hour daily average. The current version of the rule is effective July 17, 2025; neither text says when the 2.5 figure first applied. Staffing may be adjusted for acuity but never below the rule.
Oklahoma 2.90 hours
Facilities must keep at least 1 direct-care staff member per 6 residents on the day shift, 1 per 8 on the evening shift and 1 per 15 overnight. A facility in good standing may instead use 24-hour scheduling and average at least 2.9 direct-care hours per resident per day. Direct-care staff means nursing or therapy staff giving hands-on care.
Ratios: Default: 1 direct-care staff per 6 residents (7 a.m. to 3 p.m.), 1 per 8 (3 p.m. to 11 p.m.), 1 per 15 (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.). A facility in good standing may instead average at least 2.9 direct-care hours per resident per day, never fewer than 1 direct-care staff per 15 residents, with at least 2 direct-care staff awake at all times.
The 2.9-hour figure is the floor only for facilities that choose 24-hour scheduling (available from January 1, 2020); the default standard is the shift ratios, in force from October 1, 2019. The statute lists higher hour levels that apply only if Medicaid rates reach stated amounts; they are not recorded here as in force. Amended by Laws 2026, HB 2749, effective July 1, 2026, with the staffing numbers unchanged.
Oregon Ratios
A facility may not exceed 7 residents per nursing assistant on the day shift, 9.5 on the evening shift and 17 on the night shift, and licensed nurse hours must include at least one RN hour per resident per week. Charge nurses, medication aides administering medications and restorative aides do not count toward the nursing-assistant ratio.
Ratios: No more than 7 residents per nursing assistant on the day shift, 9.5 on the evening shift and 17 on the night shift; at least one RN hour per resident per week; at least 2 nursing staff on duty at all times; a licensed charge nurse on every shift, not counted toward the nursing-assistant ratio.
The rule states no total or aide hours per resident day. The ratios are stated as effective March 31, 2014; the rule was last amended effective November 1, 2023. The Secretary of State page refuses scripted requests, so the text was checked on the agency's own compilation.
Pennsylvania 3.20 hours
A facility must provide at least 3.2 hours of direct resident care per resident in each 24-hour period, counting only nursing services personnel, and must also meet per-shift minimums: 1 nurse aide per 10, 11 and 15 residents (day, evening, overnight), 1 LPN per 25, 30 and 40 residents, and 1 RN per 250 residents on every shift.
Ratios: Nurse aides: 1 per 10 residents (day), 1 per 11 (evening), 1 per 15 (overnight). LPNs: 1 per 25 (day), 1 per 30 (evening), 1 per 40 (overnight). RNs: 1 per 250 residents on all shifts.
Phased in by 52 Pa.B. 8098 (adopted December 23, 2022): 2.87 hours from July 1, 2023, and 3.2 hours with the current aide ratios from July 1, 2024. An RN or LPN may substitute for an aide and an RN for an LPN.
Rhode Island 3.58 hours
Facilities must provide a quarterly average of at least 3.58 hours of direct nursing care per resident per day. Hours of direct caregivers count: RNs, LPNs, CNAs, medication technicians, licensed therapists and therapy assistants, social workers and similar staff; director-of-nursing hours and administrative time do not. An RN must be on the premises 24 hours a day.
The section was rewritten by P.L. 2025, ch. 278, art. 10: a single 3.58-hour standard starts January 1, 2026, with no separate RN, licensed-nurse or CNA minimum. Compliance is measured quarterly from CMS payroll-based journal data. The penalty is waived for some facilities, including one that complies on at least 75 percent of days.
South Carolina Ratios
For fiscal year 2026-27 the Appropriations Act requires at least 1.63 hours of direct care per resident per day from non-licensed nursing staff, plus at least one licensed nurse per shift for each staff work area. The permanent licensing regulation instead sets nonlicensed-staff ratios of 9, 13 and 22 residents per staff member on shifts one, two and three.
Ratios: Permanent regulation (S.C. Code Regs. 60-17 § 605): no more than 9 residents per nonlicensed nursing staff member on shift one, 13 on shift two and 22 on shift three, with at least 1 licensed nurse per shift for each staff work area. For fiscal year 2026-27 the budget proviso sets the 1.63-hour floor for non-licensed staff and one licensed nurse per shift per work area.
The 1.63-hour figure rests on a budget proviso that must be re-enacted each year; the same text was in the fiscal year 2025-26 act. The reading that the proviso stands in place of the shift ratios for the year comes from a Department of Public Health memo written for fiscal year 2025-26. Re-check every July.
South Dakota —
South Dakota sets no numeric hours-per-resident or staff-to-resident minimum. The rule requires a licensed nurse in charge on each tour of duty, adequate staff to meet residents' total care needs at all times, and a mix of licensed nurses and aides sufficient for supervision.
All of ARSD chapter 44:73:06 was read and contains no hours or ratio figure. A fire safety rule requires at least two healthcare personnel on duty at all times. The official page is JavaScript-only, so the text was checked through the legislature's own rules interface.
Tennessee 2.00 hours
Nursing homes must provide at least 2 hours of direct care to each resident every day, of which at least 0.4 hours must be licensed nursing personnel (RN or LPN) time. A licensed nurse must be on duty at all times, with at least two nursing personnel on each shift.
Designated Alzheimer's units have a separate standard of 3.5 direct-care hours per resident per day, including 0.75 hours of licensed nursing time (0720-18-.07(9)). The text checked is the March 2026 revision of the chapter; the date the 2.0 and 0.4 figures first applied is not stated.
Texas Ratios
In every 24-hour period a nursing facility must have at least one licensed nurse per 20 residents, or alternatively at least 0.4 licensed-nurse care hours per resident day. Texas sets no state minimum for total nursing hours or nurse aide hours.
Ratios: 1 licensed nurse per 20 residents in every 24-hour period, stated in the rule as an alternative to the 0.4 licensed-care hours per resident day.
The history note (adopted 1995, amended 2011, transferred to Title 26 in 2021) does not say which action set the figures. The Secretary of State's site lists the section under this number but serves its text only inside an application we could not read by script, so the text was checked on the Cornell LII copy.
Utah —
Utah's nursing care facility licensing rule sets no hours-per-resident-day figure and no staff-to-resident ratio. It requires 24-hour licensed nursing services, a licensed charge nurse on each shift and, for skilled facilities, an RN at least eight consecutive hours a day, seven days a week.
Older compilations list a Utah table of 2.5 hours (skilled) and 2.0 hours (intermediate); that table is not in the current rule, last changed February 18, 2025. The official page is a JavaScript application, so the text was checked through the document interface behind it.
Vermont 3.00 hours
Nursing homes must provide at least 3 hours of direct care per resident per day, calculated as a weekly average, of which at least 2 hours per resident per day must be licensed nursing assistant care delivered by LNAs or equivalent staff. Direct care excludes administration and supervision of staff.
The current edition of the rules is effective June 1, 2018; the 3-hour and 2-hour minimums are older and the rule does not date them. Variances are possible.
Virginia —
No numeric minimum is in force in Virginia. The licensure regulation requires qualified nurses and certified nurse aides on all shifts, seven days a week, in sufficient number to meet residents' assessed nursing care needs.
A 2023 act added a requirement of 3.08 case mix-adjusted total nurse staffing hours per resident per day for certified nursing facilities from July 1, 2025, with a clause repealing it if a federal staffing mandate was established. The official text of Va. Code § 32.1-127 no longer contains that provision, and a 2026 act directs a workforce study due December 1, 2026. Re-check after that study.
Washington 3.40 hours
Nursing homes must provide at least 3.4 hours per resident day of direct care, measured quarterly from CMS payroll-based journal data. Facilities with more than 60 licensed beds must also have an RN on duty 24 hours a day; smaller facilities and essential community providers need an RN 16 hours a day and an RN or LPN for the remaining 8.
Director-of-nursing hours are excluded for facilities with 61 or more licensed beds. The statute states an intent to raise the floor to 4.1 hours only if it is funded; no higher standard is in effect. Last amended by 2021 c 203.
West Virginia 2.25 hours
Except during short unforeseeable emergencies, staffing may not fall below an average of 2.25 hours of nursing personnel time per resident per day; the facility chooses the mix of licensed nurse and nurse aide time. A table fixes the required total hours by census, with higher hours for homes with fewer than 51 beds.
The rule is now 71 CSR 15, in the version effective May 1, 2026; secondary sites still cite the superseded 64 CSR 13, which had the same 2.25 figure. The rule does not state the averaging period.
Wisconsin 2.50 hours
Minimum RN, LPN and nurse aide hours are set per resident per day by care level: 3.25 hours for intensive skilled nursing care, 2.5 for skilled nursing care and 2.0 for intermediate or limited nursing care, of which at least 0.65, 0.5 and 0.4 hour respectively must come from an RN or LPN. Feeding assistant hours do not count.
A tiered standard: the figures recorded are the skilled nursing care tier. The section history does not date the figures.
Wyoming 2.25 hours
Nursing care hours must be at least 2.25 hours for each skilled resident and 1.50 hours for each resident who is not skilled, in each 24-hour period, seven days a week. Each nursing station must also have an RN or LPN in charge on every tour of duty.
A tiered standard: the figure recorded is for skilled residents. The chapter is listed as effective July 1, 2020 to the present; the figures may be older, and the rule does not define which staff count.
Sources, corrections and reuse
The table is one JSON file in the public repository, with the phrases each figure was checked against, so anyone can re-run the check. Laws change: if an entry is out of date or wrong, tell us through the contact page and the fix will be logged on the corrections page. The summaries restate the law and are not legal advice. Text and table are CC BY 4.0.
Cite as: The Care Ratings Open Nursing Home Data, state minimum staffing standards for nursing homes, https://thecareratings.com/data/staffing/state-standards/ (updated 17 September 2026). Prepared by the Care Ratings Team under the editorial standards.
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