U.S. hospital bed occupancy rate 1960-2022

In 2022, the occupancy rate of hospitals in the U.S. stood at 66 percent. In the recorded time period, the highest occupancy rate was 78.8 percent back in 1969. Hospital occupancy rate has mostly decreased since then, even though the number of hospital beds has also decreased. In 2020, during the COVID pandemic, occupancy rate reached a historical low of 61.5 percent. The last time this occurred was in 1996.

Number of hospitals

In 2022, there were around 6,120 hospitals in operation in the U.S., compared to 6,291 hospitals in the year 1995. There has been a decline in the number of hospitals in the U.S. starting as far back as the 1970s, despite a growing overall population and increasing elderly population. Most hospitals in the U.S. are non-profit, while a smaller proportion are for-profit or state/government hospitals. 

Economic impact

Hospitals contribute to an economy in many ways. In 2020, this total contribution in the U.S. was around 3.6 trillion dollars. At that time, hospitals contributed over 1.2 trillion dollars in wages and salaries. As of 2022, there were an estimated 7.32 million people employed in hospitals across the United States.