Rural hospitals are closing at a significant rate while the number of urban hospitals in the U.S. is mostly holding steady, according to a new analysis.

The Health Care Affordability Lab at Yale found that between 2001 and 2023, 114 new rural hospitals opened – but 348 closed, a net loss of 234 hospitals in rural areas.  Thirty-one of the 50 states experienced a net loss of rural hospitals, led by Texas, (24), Tennessee (14), California and Georgia (12), and Kansas (10).  States with the biggest net increases in rural hospitals were Wyoming (5), Colorado (3), and Nevada (3).

Meanwhile, the closure of 385 urban hospitals during that same period of time was offset by 396 openings.  Eighteen states gained urban hospitals, led by Texas (64), Florida (17), and Arizona and Colorado (12).  The states that lost the most urban hospitals were New York (33), California (29), Pennsylvania (24), New Jersey (14), and Michigan (10).

Learn more about hospital openings and closings from the Becker’s Hospital Review articles  “Rural hospital closures by state vs. transformation funding” and “Urban hospital closures and net change, by state” and from the Health Care Affordability Lab at Yale’s announcement “Where America’s Hospitals Are Closing – and Opening.”