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Hospital outcomes

Is the hospital near you any good, and how would you know?

Across 5,359 reporting hospitals in 51 states, the average 30-day readmission rate is 14.93% and 30-day mortality 4.21%, on a CMS overall rating that averages 3.13 of 5 stars. The averages hide wide state and hospital variation, which is exactly what the State filter and the facility profile are for.

Question

The problem

Hospital quality is a national accountability issue that becomes actionable only at the facility and market level. National averages can look stable while specific hospitals, regions, and service lines persistently underperform, which means broad quality programs risk missing the patients most exposed to preventable harm.

The recommendation

Target the facility tail, not the national mean. The recommended consultant approach is to use national benchmarks to define the problem, state patterns to prioritize markets, and named-facility metrics to drive improvement plans, oversight, and public accountability.

5,359
reporting hospitals
51 states + DC
14.93%
average 30-day readmission
hospital-wide, risk-standardized
4.21%
average 30-day mortality
hospital-wide, risk-standardized
3.13★
average overall star rating
of 5

30-day readmission rate by state

Each cell is a state's average hospital-wide readmission rate. Redder is higher (worse). The benchmark is the national average.

Read it this way State color tells you the average, not your hospital: most variation lives within states, so use this to spot regional patterns, then drill to facilities with the State filter and the strip below. Pick a state in the filter to spotlight its cell. Use this chart to move from national context to state or facility variation, and to see why the recommendation focuses quality intervention on the underperforming tail.

AK 14.9% ME 14.8% WA 14.4% ID 14.5% MT 14.8% ND 14.9% MN 14.7% WI 14.8% MI 14.9% NY 15.2% VT 14.8% NH 15.1% OR 14.5% NV 15.3% WY 14.8% SD 14.8% IA 14.8% IL 15.2% IN 14.8% OH 15.1% PA 15.1% NJ 15.4% MA 15.6% CA 15.0% UT 14.5% CO 14.6% NE 14.9% MO 15.1% KY 15.2% WV 15.2% VA 14.8% MD 14.4% CT 14.9% RI 15.4% AZ 14.9% NM 14.9% KS 14.8% AR 15.2% TN 15.0% NC 14.8% SC 14.7% DC 14.8% DE 14.9% OK 14.8% LA 15.2% MS 15.2% AL 15.0% GA 15.1% TX 15.0% FL 15.5% HI 14.4% better than benchmark worse
⊞ data table⬇ CSV
State30-day readmission rate (%)
MA15.64
FL15.49
NJ15.45
RI15.45
NV15.25
KY15.24
WV15.23
IL15.2
LA15.17
NY15.17
AR15.15
MS15.15
PA15.14
GA15.07
NH15.07
OH15.07
MO15.06
AL15.04
CA15.03
TN14.96
TX14.96
MI14.95
AK14.92
CT14.92
NM14.92
DE14.91
ND14.91
AZ14.89
NE14.88
OK14.84
NC14.83
MT14.82
KS14.81
VT14.81
ME14.8
IA14.78
VA14.78
IN14.77
DC14.76
SD14.76
WY14.76
WI14.75
SC14.73
MN14.7
CO14.56
ID14.54
UT14.5
OR14.48
WA14.45
MD14.43
HI14.39

CMS Provider Data Catalog · Hospital Care Compare · 2026-05-13 · source

How the star ratings fall

Count of hospitals at each CMS overall rating.

Read it this way The mass sits at 3-4 stars, so the rating separates the tails, not the middle. Set the State filter to re-draw this distribution for one state. A state whose bars lean left has a genuinely weaker hospital stock, not just a big-city case mix. Use this chart to move from national context to state or facility variation, and to see why the recommendation focuses quality intervention on the underperforming tail.

0 250 500 750 1,000 1★ 2★ 3★ 4★ 5★ CMS OVERALL STAR RATING
⊞ data table⬇ CSV
Overall star ratingHospitals
1★225
2★645
3★932
4★765
5★288

CMS Provider Data Catalog · Hospital Care Compare · 2026-05-13 · source

The 15 highest-readmission large hospitals

Hospital-wide 30-day readmission rate, hospitals with 100+ beds. This is the hospital grain the State filter re-ranks.

Read it this way Every dot to the right of the dashed national line readmits more than the average hospital. Set the State filter to re-rank within one state. Distance from the line matters more than rank, and referral centers can sit high for case-mix reasons the risk adjustment only partly removes. Use this chart to move from national context to state or facility variation, and to see why the recommendation focuses quality intervention on the underperforming tail.

Caveat Ranked among hospitals that publicly report the hospital-wide measure. High-acuity referral centers can carry higher rates for case-mix reasons CMS risk-adjusts only partly.

0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% Oroville Hospital · Oroville, CA 19.3% L A Downtown Medical Center · Los Angeles, CA 19.1% St John'S Episcopal Hospital At South Shore · Far Rockaway, NY 18.2% Alliancehealth Durant · Durant, OK 17.9% Larkin Community Hospital · South Miami, FL 17.7% St Claire Regional Medical Center · Morehead, KY 17.6% North Shore Medical Center · Miami, FL 17.5% St Lucie Medical Center · Port Saint Lucie, FL 17.5% Jefferson Stratford Hospital · Stratford, NJ 17.5% Hca Florida Palms West Hospital · Loxahatchee, FL 17.4% South Shore Hospital · South Weymouth, MA 17.4% Centinela Hospital Medical Center · Inglewood, CA 17.3% Tufts Medical Center · Boston, MA 17.2% Milford Regional Medical Center · Milford, MA 17.2% Maimonides Medical Center · Brooklyn, NY 17.2% national average
⊞ data table⬇ CSV
Hospital30-day readmission rate
Oroville Hospital · Oroville, CA19.3
L A Downtown Medical Center · Los Angeles, CA19.1
St John'S Episcopal Hospital At South Shore · Far Rockaway, NY18.2
Alliancehealth Durant · Durant, OK17.9
Larkin Community Hospital · South Miami, FL17.7
St Claire Regional Medical Center · Morehead, KY17.6
North Shore Medical Center · Miami, FL17.5
St Lucie Medical Center · Port Saint Lucie, FL17.5
Jefferson Stratford Hospital · Stratford, NJ17.5
Hca Florida Palms West Hospital · Loxahatchee, FL17.4
South Shore Hospital · South Weymouth, MA17.4
Centinela Hospital Medical Center · Inglewood, CA17.3
Tufts Medical Center · Boston, MA17.2
Milford Regional Medical Center · Milford, MA17.2
Maimonides Medical Center · Brooklyn, NY17.2

CMS Provider Data Catalog · Hospital Care Compare · 2026-05-13 · source

Patient experience by state

Share of patients who rated their hospital 9 or 10 out of 10 (HCAHPS). Bluer is higher (better).

Read it this way This measures how patients felt about communication and courtesy, not whether care was safe. Regional clustering here is real (staffing culture travels), but do not read a blue state as a safe state. Compare with the infection map beside it. Use this chart to move from national context to state or facility variation, and to see why the recommendation focuses quality intervention on the underperforming tail.

AK 71.8% ME 74.2% WA 69.9% ID 75.7% MT 74.5% ND 75.9% MN 75.6% WI 76.5% MI 69.4% NY 65.6% VT 73.3% NH 74.1% OR 73.0% NV 67.7% WY 73.8% SD 77.0% IA 77.3% IL 70.2% IN 73.3% OH 72.9% PA 72.1% NJ 64.9% MA 67.9% CA 67.4% UT 77.5% CO 74.9% NE 79.0% MO 71.7% KY 72.5% WV 74.0% VA 72.4% MD 65.5% CT 66.2% RI 69.5% AZ 68.4% NM 68.0% KS 78.7% AR 73.1% TN 70.5% NC 71.3% SC 72.0% DC 60.3% DE 65.6% OK 73.8% LA 76.2% MS 72.8% AL 71.0% GA 71.6% TX 73.8% FL 67.6% HI 71.1% better than benchmark worse
⊞ data table⬇ CSV
Statepatient experience (HCAHPS linear)
NE79.03
KS78.72
UT77.5
IA77.35
SD77
WI76.46
LA76.2
ND75.9
ID75.67
MN75.61
CO74.89
MT74.5
ME74.16
NH74.08
WV74
TX73.84
WY73.8
OK73.77
IN73.34
VT73.29
AR73.13
OR72.98
OH72.94
MS72.75
KY72.51
VA72.38
PA72.12
SC71.95
AK71.77
MO71.72
GA71.63
NC71.35
HI71.07
AL70.96
TN70.53
IL70.18
WA69.88
RI69.55
MI69.41
AZ68.41
NM68
MA67.93
NV67.68
FL67.61
CA67.38
CT66.15
NY65.62
DE65.57
MD65.53
NJ64.92
DC60.29

CMS Provider Data Catalog · Hospital Care Compare · 2026-05-13 · source

Healthcare-associated infection ratio by state

Average standardized infection ratio (SIR). 1.0 means as many infections as predicted, and below 1.0 is better.

Read it this way Anything above 1.0 means more infections than predicted for that case mix, and infection control is the most hospital-controllable measure on this page. States above the line have a fixable problem. Pick one in the filter to spotlight it. Use this chart to move from national context to state or facility variation, and to see why the recommendation focuses quality intervention on the underperforming tail.

AK 0.6 ME 0.6 WA 0.6 ID 0.6 MT 0.5 ND 0.4 MN 0.5 WI 0.6 MI 0.5 NY 0.5 VT 0.7 NH 0.5 OR 0.5 NV 0.3 WY 0.5 SD 0.6 IA 0.5 IL 0.5 IN 0.6 OH 0.5 PA 0.6 NJ 0.4 MA 0.5 CA 0.5 UT 0.3 CO 0.5 NE 0.4 MO 0.5 KY 0.5 WV 0.5 VA 0.3 MD 0.5 CT 0.3 RI 0.4 AZ 0.4 NM 0.6 KS 0.5 AR 0.5 TN 0.5 NC 0.5 SC 0.4 DC 0.7 DE 0.5 OK 0.4 LA 0.5 MS 0.6 AL 0.5 GA 0.5 TX 0.4 FL 0.4 HI 0.6 better than benchmark worse
⊞ data table⬇ CSV
Statehealthcare-associated infection score (SIR) (SIR)
VT0.71
DC0.65
ID0.63
NM0.63
WI0.59
IN0.57
SD0.57
AK0.56
WA0.56
HI0.55
ME0.55
MS0.55
PA0.55
IL0.54
MA0.54
MO0.54
MT0.54
IA0.53
MN0.53
KY0.52
MI0.52
OR0.52
WV0.52
OH0.51
CA0.5
AL0.49
DE0.49
LA0.49
NH0.49
NY0.49
CO0.48
KS0.48
MD0.48
GA0.47
NC0.47
TN0.47
WY0.47
AR0.45
AZ0.44
OK0.44
SC0.43
NJ0.41
TX0.39
ND0.38
FL0.36
NE0.36
RI0.36
CT0.33
NV0.32
UT0.32
VA0.31

CMS Provider Data Catalog · Hospital Care Compare · 2026-05-13 · source

Why this matters

Quality is produced at the facility level: staffing, infection control, and safety culture are local properties. National programs move averages slowly because they dilute pressure across 5,400 facilities. Facility-named accountability moves the tail because it concentrates it. Infection ratio is the clearest case: it is the most hospital-controllable measure here.

Recommended actions

  • Drill to the facility grain with the State filter and the hospital strip before drawing any conclusion from a state color.
  • Prioritize infection-ratio (SIR) improvement programs. Above-1.0 facilities have a measurable, fixable problem.
  • Focus oversight on the persistent 1-2 star tail rather than spreading attention across the 3-4 star middle.
  • Track within-state spread as the quality KPI. A falling spread means the tail is closing, which a stable mean can hide.

The recommendation

Therefore, target the facility tail, not the national mean. The recommended consultant approach is to use national benchmarks to define the problem, state patterns to prioritize markets, and named-facility metrics to drive improvement plans, oversight, and public accountability.

Demographic slice none. CMS Care Compare is reported per hospital, and scores are risk-standardized by CMS. Suppressed (low-volume) measures are left blank, never imputed.

Sources