Nursing home inspection records in California
In California, 26.0% of the 1,165 Medicare-certified nursing homes were cited for harming a resident on two or more separate inspections, against 27.3% nationally, and 12.2% were cited at harm level under the same federal requirement more than once.
These are California's figures from CMS's own files, computed for every certified home in California. Use them to know what is ordinary for a home here — then compare a home only with other homes in California, never with a home in another state, because each state's inspectors cite differently. By the share cited for harm on two or more inspections, California ranks 26th highest of the 51 states and territories with at least 10 homes.
cited at harm level on two or more inspections (303 homes)
cited at harm level under the same requirement twice (142 homes)
fined at least once, 19 Aug 2023 to 29 Jul 2026 (474 homes)
of California's 1,422 harm-level citations came from a complaint investigation
California and the United States
Harm level means scope and severity G or worse. Staffing medians are over the homes that report them; a home that reports none is left out, never counted as zero.
| Measure | California | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Medicare-certified nursing homes | 1,165 | 14,690 |
| Cited at harm level on two or more inspections | 26.0% | 27.3% |
| Cited at harm level for the same requirement twice | 12.2% | 14.6% |
| Cited at harm level at least once | 52.4% | 55.8% |
| Fined at least once | 40.7% | 44.3% |
| Median total fine, fined homes only | $36,796 | $33,804 |
| Median total nurse hours per resident day | 4.24 | 3.68 |
| Median nurse turnover | 36.3% | 44.9% |
| Special Focus Facilities | 5 | 84 |
| Special Focus Facility candidates | 31 | 441 |
| Homes carrying CMS's abuse icon | 113 | 1,426 |
| Ownership changed in the last 12 months | 12 | 113 |
Who owns California's homes
Ownership type as CMS's provider file records it. Shares are of that group's homes in California.
| Ownership | Homes | Share of state's homes | Same requirement twice | Harm on 2+ inspections | Fined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For profit | 1,013 | 87.0% | 12.7% | 27.8% | 42.8% |
| Non profit | 119 | 10.2% | 8.4% | 13.4% | 24.4% |
| Government | 33 | 2.8% | 9.1% | 15.2% | 33.3% |
A difference between groups is not evidence that ownership causes it; the national study explains why.
Requirements cited at harm level twice, most often
Homes in California cited at G or worse under the requirement on two or more survey dates; shown where two or more homes share it.
| Requirement | What it requires (CMS wording) | Homes |
|---|---|---|
| F-0689 | Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents. | 95 |
| F-0600 | Protect each resident from all types of abuse such as physical, mental, sexual abuse, physical punishment, and neglect by anybody. | 37 |
| F-0684 | Provide appropriate treatment and care according to orders, resident’s preferences and goals. | 8 |
| F-0686 | Provide appropriate pressure ulcer care and prevent new ulcers from developing. | 8 |
| F-0692 | Provide enough food/fluids to maintain a resident's health. | 4 |
The largest chains in California
840 of California's 1,165 homes are listed by CMS as part of a chain. This is a count of homes, not a rating; nothing here measures any chain's care. The free owner lookup shows each home's own record.
| Chain, as CMS names it | Certified homes in California |
|---|---|
| PACS GROUP | 133 |
| THE ENSIGN GROUP | 75 |
| DAVID JOHNSON | 46 |
| CORPORATE INTERFACE SERVICES | 40 |
| LONGWOOD MANAGEMENT CORPORATION | 38 |
What these figures cannot tell you
- They describe California's homes as a group, not the home you are considering. Read that home's own record.
- Inspectors differ between states, so a figure here is comparable with other homes in California, not with homes elsewhere.
- The citation file is a window: surveys from 23 Mar 2017 to 23 Jul 2026. Fines cover 19 Aug 2023 to 29 Jul 2026.
- A citation is not a court finding, and the file records a dispute, not its outcome.
Where these figures come from
Dataset: Nursing home inspection figures for California · spatial coverage California · last rebuilt 2026-09-28. Every state's figures are in one free file: nursing-home-state-profiles.csv.
| Dataset | Dataset ID | Captured |
|---|---|---|
| CMS Care Compare - Nursing Home Citation Code Look-up | NH_CitationDescriptions_Aug2026.csv | 2026-09-14 |
| CMS Care Compare - Nursing Home Health Deficiencies | NH_HealthCitations_Aug2026.csv | 2026-09-14 |
| CMS Care Compare - Nursing Home Penalties | NH_Penalties_Aug2026.csv | 2026-09-14 |
| CMS Care Compare - Nursing Home Provider Information | NH_ProviderInfo_Aug2026.csv | 2026-09-14 |
CMS Care Compare provider data, loaded in full and reconciled against the publisher's own row count.
Questions people ask
How many nursing homes in California were cited for harming a resident more than once?
303 of California's 1,165 Medicare-certified homes (26.0%) were cited at harm level on two or more separate inspections between 23 Mar 2017 and 23 Jul 2026. Nationally the share is 27.3%.
How many nursing homes in California have been fined?
474 (40.7%) have at least one fine in CMS's penalties file, which covers 19 Aug 2023 to 29 Jul 2026. The median total among fined homes is $36,796.
Where can I look up one nursing home in California?
Medicare's Care Compare shows each home's inspections, and CMS publishes the files at data.cms.gov. Our free nursing home finder searches by name and city, and the Nursing Home Record compares up to three homes.