Best Nursing Homes in the United States (2026)

Facilities are ranked by their CMS overall star rating first. Ties are broken by fewer penalties, then health inspection rating, then staffing rating. Every input is public federal data published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — no facility can pay to rank higher, and no ranking position is ever sold.

We publish a list of the best-rated nursing homes for each state rather than one national winner, because CMS scores health inspections on a curve within each state — the top 10% of facilities in a state earn 5 inspection stars, the next 23.5% earn 4, and so on. A 5-star rating in one state is therefore not directly comparable to a 5-star rating in another. Ranking within a state compares facilities that were graded against the same peer group.

2,981 of the 14,690 CMS-certified nursing homes in our database hold the highest possible overall rating of 5 stars — about 20% of all facilities nationally.

The national average CMS overall rating is 3.0 out of 5. Among nursing homes that have been penalized, the average fine is $70,119. Each state ranking page shows how that state compares with these national figures.

CMS republishes provider ratings, inspection results, staffing data, and penalties on a rolling schedule. Rankings use our latest imported provider data. CMS data: August 2026. The standard health inspection date is separate from the release date and can be older. Listings absent from the latest imported CMS release remain available on the platform but are excluded from current rankings.

No. Rankings are never paid placement. Nursing homes with a public CMS overall rating and a public profile are eligible unless they are absent from the latest imported CMS provider release. Position is determined only by public federal data, and a facility claiming its listing cannot change where it ranks.

No. Use the rankings to build a shortlist, then read each facility profile, review its inspection history, confirm payment options and availability directly with the provider, tour in person, and get guidance from a licensed professional before making a care decision.