Best Nursing Homes by State — 2026 Rankings

Find the best nursing homes in every state, ranked using official CMS Health Deficiency data for more than 14,000 skilled nursing facilities nationwide. Each state ranking orders facilities by fewest survey deficiencies, highlights zero-deficiency facilities, and flags any Immediate Jeopardy history — so families and referral sources can compare with confidence.

How POCDesk Ranks Nursing Homes

Every ranking is built from official CMS inspection data — the public Health Deficiency records generated when state survey agencies inspect a facility on behalf of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. We do not accept payment for placement, and no facility can buy a higher position. The single most important measure is the number of deficiency citations on the most recent survey cycle: fewer deficiencies rank higher, and homes with zero deficiencies rank at the top. Because all facilities are held to the same federal Requirements of Participation, the comparison holds in every state and city. Rankings weigh both how many citations a facility received and how serious they were on the scope-and-severity grid (A–L), so a home with one Immediate Jeopardy finding is not treated the same as one with a handful of minor, quickly corrected issues.

Why Inspection History Beats Marketing

A facility controls its own website, brochures, and tour route — but not the CMS-2567. That report is written by independent state surveyors who visit roughly once a year (plus any time a complaint is filed), observe care, review medical records, and interview residents and staff. A home can have a polished lobby and still carry serious citations for infection control, insufficient staffing, medication errors, pressure ulcers, or resident abuse and neglect. The inspection record is the most objective public signal of the care actually delivered. Pair these rankings with Medicare's Care Compare (the successor to Nursing Home Compare) and its Five-Star Quality Rating System, and remember that a Plan of Correction is due within 10 calendar days of receiving the CMS-2567, so a pattern of late or repeated corrections is a meaningful red flag.

How to Shortlist a Nursing Home in Four Steps

  1. Start with the rankings to see which nearby homes have the fewest and least severe deficiencies.
  2. Read each candidate's scorecard to see the exact F-tags cited, scope and severity, and whether corrections were completed on time.
  3. Compare your finalists side by side on deficiencies, severity, and survey history before you visit.
  4. Tour in person and ask direct questions about the specific citations you found — a confident, corrective answer is a good sign.

Skilled Nursing vs. Long-Term Custodial Care

Skilled nursing is medically necessary, typically short-term care delivered by licensed nurses and therapists — rehabilitation after surgery or a stroke, complex wound care, IV medications, or physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Long-term custodial care is ongoing assistance with the activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, toileting, eating) and is not classified as "skilled." Many facilities offer both. Skilled care is usually covered by Medicare Part A for up to 100 days, while long-term custodial care is generally paid by Medicaid or private pay.

Paying for Nursing Home Care

Three main payers cover nursing home costs, and most families use more than one over a stay. Medicare Part A covers up to 100 days of skilled care per benefit period after a qualifying 3-day hospital stay (days 1–20 fully, days 21–100 with daily coinsurance) but does not pay for purely custodial long-term care. Medicaid is the largest payer of long-term custodial care for people who meet state income and asset limits; many residents spend down private savings before qualifying. Private pay — out-of-pocket savings or long-term care insurance — covers what Medicare and Medicaid do not.

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Official Sources

POCDesk analyzes official government data. Verify any facility's record or read the underlying regulations at these primary sources: