Healthcare Insights
How many academic medical centers are in the U.S.?
Academic medical centers (AMCs) are hospitals that provide patient care as well as education for healthcare providers. These facilities also usually partner with at least one medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).
As of April 2024, Definitive Healthcare tracks 216 active AMCs in the U.S. The number of AMCs located in each state varies from zero to 17. The overall average number of AMCs based in each state is five.
Using the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product, we ranked U.S. states by number of academic medical centers.
| Rank | State | Number of academic medical centers | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NY | 17 | Explore |
| 1 | PA | 17 | Explore |
| 1 | OH | 17 | Explore |
| 4 | CA | 14 | Explore |
| 5 | MA | 12 | Explore |
| 6 | TX | 11 | Explore |
| 7 | NJ | 10 | Explore |
| 8 | FL | 9 | Explore |
| 8 | MO | 9 | Explore |
| 8 | MI | 9 | Explore |
Fig. 1 Analysis using data from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product. Data on these facilities is updated daily and based on proprietary research. Data accessed April 2024.
Which states have the most academic medical centers?
New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio are tied for first with 17 academic medical centers each. With relatively large populations, these states require more academic medical centers to train the doctors necessary to serve their respective patient bases.
New York is one of the largest states in the country by population, with nearly 20 million people living there. It is also home to top-rated medical schools such as Columbia University, Weill Cornell Medicine, and New York University. Some of the largest AMCs in the country are associated with these schools, including Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, Tisch Hospital, and Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
Pennsylvania has an estimated population of nearly 13 million people and has two major metropolitan centers, Philadelphia and Pittsburg. Pennsylvania is also home to many top colleges and universities. Some notable Pennsylvania AMCs include The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, UPMC Presbyterian, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital—all among the largest AMCs in the northeast.
With a population of about 11.7 million people, Ohio is one of the nation’s most populous states. Some of the most notable AMCs there include Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
Which states have the fewest academic medical centers?
Eight U.S. states have zero academic medical centers. These states include Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
How are academic medical centers different from teaching hospitals?
In most cases, an academic medical center is also a teaching hospital, but not every teaching hospital is an academic medical center.
An AMC is always affiliated with a medical school and confers medical degrees. On the other hand, teaching hospitals provide continuing medical education to medical students, residents, and other healthcare professionals. Teaching hospitals are usually associated with a medical school but do not confer medical degrees themselves.
As of April 2024, the HospitalView product currently tracks 216 hospitals that are classified as AMCs and nearly 1,400 that are considered teaching hospitals. There are 196 hospitals that are considered both.
Learn more
Healthcare Insights are developed with healthcare commercial intelligence from the Definitive Healthcare platform. Want even more insights? Start a free trial now and get access to the latest healthcare commercial intelligence on hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers.
You might also be interested in...
