CHICAGO — Forty-two Chicago-area nursing homes rank among the nation’s best, according to a new ranking released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report, highlighting a national nursing home talent shortage. I’m doing it.
The 2025 Best Nursing Homes report ranks facilities that provide short-term or long-term care and assisted living services. Less than 20 percent of the approximately 15,000 nursing homes evaluated nationwide made the ranking, according to a U.S. News news release.
There are 370 nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities in the Chicago area. This metropolitan area includes Aurora, Evanston, Joliet, and Naperville. Of these, 45 received an overall rating of 5 out of 5.
The ranking includes three hospitals outside the Chicago area, in Wisconsin and Indiana.
U.S. News evaluated 366 nursing homes in the Chicago area. Of those selected for the 2025 ‘Best’ list, 58 had high performance on short stays, 36 had high performance on long stays and 23 had high performance on both stays.
In Illinois, 661 nursing homes were evaluated. Of those selected for the 2025 “Best” list, 67 performed well in short-term stays, 56 performed well in long-term stays, and 28 performed well in both.
According to U.S. News, 1,637 cities (out of 5,147) and 715 counties (out of 1,687) in the United States have at least one nursing home listed.
“These facilities set the standard for high-quality care and should be commended for their commitment to improving the lives of their residents,” said Ben Harder, head of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News. stated in a release.
Overall, the assessment found that more than half of U.S. nursing homes are not in compliance with federal regulations that require a registered nurse to be present for at least eight hours each day. Among facilities that did not comply, the average nursing home was understaffed for 15 days, according to the report.
“Staffing continues to be a major challenge for nursing homes in the United States,” Harder said.
Ranked short-term rehabilitation facilities provide an average of 50% more nursing care per resident than facilities ranked below average for short-term rehabilitation. Top-performing long-term care facilities have double the staff retention rate compared to underperforming nursing homes, Harder said.
Among other discoveries:
Nursing homes best suited for short-term rehabilitation discharge an average of 50% more patients to residences (rather than long-term care facilities) compared to facilities rated below average. Nursing homes that are ideal for long-term care allow residents to maintain their independence for longer. Residents are, on average, 50% less likely to lose the ability to perform self-care activities, such as eating and washing, compared to residents in facilities rated as: Below average. Nursing homes best suited for long-term care spend 46% less time administering antipsychotic medications to residents than facilities rated below average. Residents in the best long-term care facilities are more than 60% less likely to require emergency department care than residents in facilities rated below average.
The metropolitan areas with the most nursing homes on the “best” list (in alphabetical order) are Boston, Chicago, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, and Minneapolis-St. Louis. Paul, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco-Oakland, Washington DC
To calculate the best nursing home rating, U.S. News evaluated each nursing home’s performance using a variety of quality metrics obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Factors considered include resident care, safety, outcomes, and other quality aspects. This includes data on nurse staffing levels, consistency and retention, antipsychotic use and success in preventing ER visits.
