Nursing Homes in Iowa: Staffing, Turnover, and Penalties
Iowa has 387 Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing homes in 248 cities. On CMS's August 2026 figures, nurse aides there log 2.51 hours per resident per day, 8% above the US average of 2.32, and 44.0% of nursing staff leave in a year (US 45.8%).
Iowa averages
Aide hours per resident per day is the nurse aide time a home logged for each resident across a whole day, from the payroll records every home submits to CMS. More hours per resident means more hands on the floor for the same number of residents. Turnover is the share of nursing staff who left over a year. Fines and payment denials are CMS penalties from the last three years.
CMS Care Compare State and US Averages, August 2026 release
Nursing homes by city
The most nursing homes are in Des Moines (12), Cedar Rapids (10), Dubuque (8). Each city page compares every home on staffing, turnover, CMS stars, and fines.
- Ackley (1)
- Adel (1)
- Akron (1)
- Albia (1)
- Algona (2)
- Allison (1)
- Altoona (2)
- Amana (1)
- Ames (3)
- Anamosa (1)
- Anita (1)
- Ankeny (4)
- Aplington (1)
- Armstrong (1)
- Asbury (2)
- Atlantic (2)
- Audubon (1)
- Aurelia (1)
- Avoca (1)
- Bancroft (1)
- Battle Creek (1)
- Bedford (1)
- Belle Plaine (1)
- Bellevue (1)
- Belmond (1)
- Bettendorf (3)
- Bloomfield (1)
- Boone (2)
- Britt (1)
- Brooklyn (1)
- Buffalo Center (1)
- Burlington (1)
- Carlisle (1)
- Carroll (3)
- Cascade (1)
- Cedar Falls (5)
- Cedar Rapids (10)
- Centerville (3)
- Chariton (1)
- Charles City (2)
- Cherokee (3)
- Clarence (1)
- Clarinda (1)
- Clarion (1)
- Clarksville (1)
- Clear Lake (1)
- Clinton (2)
- Clive (1)
- Columbus Junction (1)
- Conrad (1)
- Coon Rapids (1)
- Coralville (2)
- Corning (1)
- Correctionville (1)
- Corydon (1)
- Council Bluffs (5)
- Cresco (1)
- Creston (2)
- Dallas Center (1)
- Davenport (7)
- Dayton (1)
- Decorah (2)
- Denison (2)
- Denver (1)
- Des Moines (12)
- De Witt (1)
- Dubuque (8)
- Dunlap (1)
- Dyersville (1)
- Eagle Grove (1)
- Edgewood (1)
- Eldora (1)
- Elkader (1)
- Elk Horn (1)
- Elma (1)
- Emmetsburg (3)
- Estherville (2)
- Exira (1)
- Fairfield (2)
- Fayette (1)
- Fonda (1)
- Forest City (1)
- Fort Dodge (3)
- Fort Madison (1)
- Garner (1)
- George (1)
- Gladbrook (1)
- Glenwood (1)
- Granger (1)
- Greene (1)
- Greenfield (1)
- Grimes (1)
- Grinnell (2)
- Grundy Center (2)
- Guthrie Center (1)
- Guttenberg (1)
- Hampton (2)
- Harlan (1)
- Hartley (1)
- Hawarden (1)
- Hiawatha (1)
- Holstein (1)
- Hubbard (1)
- Hull (1)
- Humboldt (1)
- Independence (2)
- Indianola (3)
- Inwood (1)
- Iowa City (3)
- Iowa Falls (1)
- Jefferson (1)
- Johnston (3)
- Kalona (1)
- Kanawha (1)
- Keokuk (3)
- Keosauqua (1)
- Keota (1)
- Keystone (1)
- Kingsley (1)
- Knoxville (2)
- Lake City (1)
- Lake Mills (1)
- Lamoni (1)
- Lansing (1)
- La Porte City (1)
- Laurens (1)
- Le Mars (2)
- Lenox (1)
- Leon (1)
- Lisbon (1)
- Lone Tree (1)
- Madrid (1)
- Manchester (1)
- Manly (1)
- Manson (1)
- Mapleton (1)
- Maquoketa (2)
- Marcus (1)
- Marengo (1)
- Marion (5)
- Marshalltown (4)
- Mason City (3)
- Mc Gregor (1)
- Mechanicsville (1)
- Mediapolis (1)
- Milford (1)
- Missouri Valley (1)
- Montezuma (1)
- Monticello (1)
- Montrose (1)
- Mount Ayr (2)
- Mount Pleasant (3)
- Mount Vernon (1)
- Muscatine (2)
- Nevada (2)
- New Hampton (2)
- New London (1)
- Newton (5)
- Nora Springs (1)
- North English (1)
- Northwood (1)
- Norwalk (2)
- Oakland (1)
- Odebolt (1)
- Oelwein (2)
- Ogden (1)
- Onawa (1)
- Orange City (1)
- Osage (2)
- Osceola (1)
- Oskaloosa (3)
- Ossian (1)
- Ottumwa (3)
- Panora (1)
- Pella (1)
- Perry (2)
- Pleasant Hill (1)
- Pleasant Valley (1)
- Pleasantville (1)
- Polk City (1)
- Pomeroy (1)
- Red Oak (2)
- Reinbeck (1)
- Remsen (1)
- Riceville (1)
- Rock Rapids (1)
- Rock Valley (1)
- Rockwell (1)
- Ruthven (1)
- Sac City (1)
- Saint Ansgar (1)
- Sanborn (1)
- Sergeant Bluff (2)
- Sheffield (1)
- Sheldon (1)
- Shell Rock (1)
- Shenandoah (2)
- Sibley (2)
- Sidney (1)
- Sigourney (2)
- Sioux Center (1)
- Sioux City (6)
- Solon (1)
- Spencer (2)
- Spirit Lake (1)
- Stacyville (1)
- Stanton (1)
- State Center (1)
- Storm Lake (1)
- Story City (1)
- Stratford (1)
- Strawberry Point (1)
- Stuart (1)
- Sumner (1)
- Tabor (1)
- Tama (1)
- Tipton (1)
- Titonka (1)
- Toledo (1)
- Traer (1)
- Tripoli (1)
- Urbandale (3)
- Villisca (1)
- Vinton (2)
- Wall Lake (1)
- Wapello (1)
- Washington (2)
- Waterloo (6)
- Waukon (2)
- Waverly (1)
- Wayland (1)
- Webster City (2)
- Wellman (1)
- West Bend (1)
- West Branch (1)
- West Burlington (1)
- West Des Moines (5)
- West Liberty (1)
- West Point (1)
- West Union (1)
- Wheatland (1)
- Whiting (1)
- Williamsburg (1)
- Wilton (1)
- Winfield (1)
- Winterset (1)
- Woodbine (1)
- Zearing (1)
Largest nursing home chains in Iowa
CMS links 200 of Iowa's homes to these 15 chains. A chain is a group of homes under common ownership or management, as CMS records it.
| Chain | Homes in IA | Homes nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Care Initiatives | 43 | 43 |
| Legacy Healthcare | 35 | 89 |
| Accura Healthcare | 26 | 41 |
| Campbell Street Services | 18 | 22 |
| Good Samaritan Society | 16 | 92 |
| The Ensign Group | 10 | 342 |
| Wesleylife | 10 | 10 |
| Azria Health | 6 | 9 |
| Presbyterian Homes & Services | 6 | 21 |
| Shlomo Hoffman | 6 | 10 |
| Western Home Communities | 6 | 6 |
| Cedar View Holdings | 5 | 9 |
| Edgewood Convalescent Home | 5 | 5 |
| Pivotal Health Care | 5 | 9 |
| Life Care Services | 3 | 43 |
Chain as recorded in the CMS Provider Information file, August 2026 release