LTCCC finds 88% of nursing homes below expected staffing

LTCCC’s analysis of Q1 2026 federal payroll-based staffing data found that 88% of U.S. nursing homes provided less staffing than expected to meet residents’ clinical needs, virtually unchanged from the previous quarter. On average, nursing homes provided 3.75 total nurse staff hours per resident day, compared with 4.97 hours expected based on resident needs, a 24.6% shortfall. Approximately 1.15 million residents lived in facilities below expected staffing levels during the quarter. Only Alaska and Oregon met or exceeded expected staffing levels, according to the analysis. For families considering nursing-home care, the figures describe a continuing gap between reported staffing and the staffing LTCCC’s methodology expects for resident needs. The next checkpoint is CMS’s next payroll-based staffing data and whether it shows nursing homes meeting those expected levels.