Healthcare Insights
How big is the average U.S. hospital?
If you want to understand the size and reach of a hospital, there are a few key metrics to consider: how many beds it staffs, the annual patient discharges, the number of operating rooms, and average daily census, for example. But just how large are these facilities in terms of physical space?
Using data from more than 5,800 hospitals in the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product, this Healthcare Insight reviews the average hospital facility square footage and compares results by bed size and hospital location. The figure is aggregated from the most recent 12-month interval tracked in our database.
Real estate and construction companies use this type of data from HospitalView to understand geographical demographics, analyze clinical trends, and target healthcare systems planning to build new facilities.
How is total hospital square footage calculated?
Total hospital facility area is sourced from the Medicare Cost Report (MCR) and includes the total square footage of buildings and fixtures on which depreciation was taken.
What is the average hospital size in square feet?
Based on hospital facility area for over 5,880 hospitals across the United States, the average hospital square footage as of December 2024 is nearly 354,000 square feet.
Average hospital square feet by bed size
Fig. 1 Data is from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product and is aggregated from the most recent 12-month interval tracked in our database. Accessed December 2024.
How does hospital facility size relate to bed count?
Hospitals with 100 or fewer beds average under 200,000 square feet. Hospitals with 101 to 250 beds average 446,000 square feet—just over the national average. Hospitals with more than 250 beds have an average size of 1.2 million square feet.
Average hospital square feet by region
Fig. 2 Data is from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product and is aggregated from the most recent 12-month interval tracked in our database. Accessed December 2024.
How does hospital size differ by location?
The data shows significant regional variation in hospital size, highlighting the differences in healthcare infrastructure, population density, and access to specialized care across the U.S. Understanding these trends can guide regional healthcare development, ensuring that resources are allocated appropriately to meet the needs of diverse populations.
The Northeast region has the largest average square footage at 602,691.24 sq. ft. Hospitals in this region are generally larger likely due to a higher concentration of major teaching hospitals, specialized medical centers, and advanced healthcare infrastructure in cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.
The Southeast with cities like Atlanta, Miami, and Charlotte, follows closely with an average of 339,627.53 sq. ft. The average square footage reflects the large medical centers in urban areas, as well as regional facilities that serve the healthcare needs of expanding suburban areas. The Southeast’s population growth is likely a key driver for the development of larger medical facilities.
Hospitals in the Midwest have an average square footage of 333,349.21 sq. ft., which is moderate but still substantial, indicating a balance of large hospitals in urban areas (like Chicago and Detroit) and smaller regional centers serving rural areas.
The West region has an average square footage of 304,302.16 sq. ft., which is slightly smaller than the Midwest and Southeast but still relatively large. This suggests a mix of major metropolitan healthcare centers and more localized care facilities across a large and diverse geographic area. Areas like California and Washington have large hospitals, but the vast geographic area and wide distribution of hospitals lead to variation in hospital sizes.
The Southwest has a smaller average square footage of 261,929.80 sq. ft. The mix of urban centers like Phoenix and Houston with sprawling rural areas likely influences the number and size of hospitals in the Southwest.
How does hospital size differ by type?
Children’s hospitals have the largest average square footage of 861,268.51 sq. ft., reflecting the specialized needs of pediatric care, which often requires substantial space for both medical and child-friendly environments. Religious Non-Medical Health Care Institutions are the smallest, with just 32,126.64 sq. ft., reflecting their more limited scope of service.
Learn more
Want even more U.S. hospital lists and insights? Read about where healthcare construction projects are taking place and learn about how that type of information is tracked. Then, see how our clients use healthcare commercial intelligence from Definitive Healthcare to expand and optimize facility footprints or watch our webinar about using contextualized data from HospitalView to make more intelligent real estate investments and win more business.
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