How many hospices are there in the United States?

There are 6,804 Medicare-certified hospice providers in the United States, based on Medicare's Care Compare data (updated July 2026).

How many U.S. counties have no locally-based hospice?

About 1,805 of the roughly 3,143 U.S. counties have no Medicare-certified hospice administratively based within them, though many are served by providers based in neighboring counties. Another 737 counties have only one locally-based provider.

Does a county with no local hospice mean families there can't get hospice care?

No. Hospices routinely serve counties beyond the one where their office is located, so a county with no locally-based hospice may still be covered by providers from nearby. What the data shows is where families have local, in-county options and real choice among providers, versus where that choice is thin or absent.

America's Hospice Map: Where Local End-of-Life Care Is Thin or Absent (July 2026)

When a family faces the end of a loved one's life, the difference between three good hospice options and none can shape their final weeks. Using Medicare's own public data on all 6,804 Medicare-certified hospices, we mapped where those providers are based — and found that local choice is a rural-America story as much as a healthcare one.

6,804Medicare-certified hospices

1,338counties with a local hospice

1,805counties with none based locally

81%of counties have one local option or none

How we counted — and what it does and doesn't mean. This analysis uses the county where each Medicare-certified hospice is administratively based (its CMS office location), compared against U.S. Census county counts. Hospices routinely serve counties beyond their home base, so a county with no locally-based provider may still be covered by a hospice from nearby. This is not a claim that 1,805 counties lack hospice access. What it measures is where families have local, in-county options and genuine choice among providers — and where that choice is thin or absent, often meaning longer drives, fewer non-profit options, and less competition on responsiveness.

Where local choice is thinnest

Measured as the share of a state's counties that have at least one locally-based hospice, the states where families most often have to look beyond their own county include Alaska, Nevada, South Dakota, Kentucky, North Dakota, Nebraska, West Virginia, Kansas. These are largely rural states where population — and providers — cluster in a few population centers.

The full picture, state by state

Rows shaded in red are states where fewer than 40% of counties have a locally-based hospice.

State	Hospices	Counties w/ a local hospice	Share of counties	Only 1 local provider	None based locally
Alabama	85	36 / 67	54%	14	31
Alaska	6	3 / 30	10%	2	27
Arizona	242	13 / 15	87%	2	2
Arkansas	46	24 / 75	32%	11	51
California	2,062	45 / 58	78%	14	13
Colorado	87	26 / 64	41%	15	38
Connecticut	28	7 / 8	88%	4	1
Delaware	11	3 / 3	100%	1	0
District of Columbia	5	1 / 1	100%	0	0
Florida	60	27 / 67	40%	14	40
Georgia	263	66 / 159	42%	25	93
Hawaii	11	4 / 5	80%	2	1
Idaho	54	15 / 44	34%	5	29
Illinois	146	42 / 102	41%	26	60
Indiana	102	35 / 92	38%	19	57
Iowa	70	46 / 99	46%	32	53
Kansas	86	29 / 105	28%	23	76
Kentucky	23	23 / 120	19%	23	97
Louisiana	119	36 / 64	56%	21	28
Maine	17	5 / 16	31%	1	11
Maryland	26	17 / 24	71%	12	7
Massachusetts	76	13 / 14	93%	3	1
Michigan	172	44 / 83	53%	23	39
Minnesota	83	36 / 87	41%	23	51
Mississippi	83	37 / 82	45%	17	45
Missouri	130	42 / 115	37%	25	73
Montana	32	21 / 56	38%	16	35
Nebraska	42	20 / 93	22%	16	73
Nevada	184	3 / 17	18%	0	14
New Hampshire	23	8 / 10	80%	2	2
New Jersey	61	18 / 21	86%	5	3
New Mexico	54	15 / 33	45%	6	18
New York	39	32 / 62	52%	27	30
North Carolina	76	63 / 100	63%	53	37
North Dakota	13	10 / 53	19%	8	43
Ohio	169	49 / 88	56%	30	39
Oklahoma	133	39 / 77	51%	15	38
Oregon	65	22 / 36	61%	10	14
Pennsylvania	183	45 / 67	67%	20	22
Rhode Island	11	3 / 5	60%	1	2
South Carolina	87	25 / 46	54%	10	21
South Dakota	17	12 / 66	18%	10	54
Tennessee	60	29 / 95	31%	20	66
Texas	1,086	99 / 254	39%	45	155
Utah	84	13 / 29	45%	6	16
Vermont	9	8 / 14	57%	7	6
Virginia	111	48 / 133	36%	23	85
Washington	50	22 / 39	56%	15	17
West Virginia	18	15 / 55	27%	12	40
Wisconsin	83	32 / 72	44%	17	40
Wyoming	21	12 / 23	52%	6	11

Why local choice matters

Hospice is not one-size-fits-all. A good hospice can begin care within 24 to 48 hours, sends nurses often, answers the phone at 2 a.m., and fits a family's values — and Medicare covers the care itself. Where a county has three or four providers, families can compare and choose. Where there is one, or none nearby, they take what they can get, and the difference shows up in the hardest hours.

Families are also free to choose a provider based in a neighboring county, and to change providers if the fit is wrong — rights many don't know they have. The practical problem is simply knowing who serves your area. That is what our free Care Match tool exists to solve: it shows every Medicare-certified provider serving your county, wherever they're based, with no sales calls and no facility paying to be listed.

See who serves your county

Free, instant, from official Medicare data. No calls, no catch.

Find hospice near you →

Explore the data

We publish the underlying provider lists for every U.S. county: browse hospice providers by state and county →

For journalists & researchers. You're welcome to cite this analysis with attribution to Peace of the Mountain (palliativeoptions.com) and the source data, Medicare.gov Care Compare (CMS), July 2026. For the methodology, per-county figures, or a comment, reach us at help@peaceofthemountain.com.

6,804 hospices — but not where every family needs one

Where local choice is thinnest

The full picture, state by state

Why local choice matters

See who serves your county

Explore the data