Greensboro Senior AdvisorBy Greensboro Senior Advisor Care Team · September 17, 2026
Across 28 certified nursing homes with CMS staffing data, total nurse staffing has a median of 3.57 hours per resident per day and median nursing staff turnover is 51.4%. The spread from the best-staffed home to the thinnest is wide.
Why payroll data beats a tour
A tour shows a nursing home on its best day. Payroll data shows every day. CMS collects staffing hours from the payroll records nursing homes submit each quarter and publishes them in Care Compare as hours per resident per day, broken out by registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and aides.
Those numbers are much harder to dress up than a lobby. They do not tell you everything, since a well-staffed home can still be poorly managed, but a thinly staffed home will struggle no matter how good its intentions.
Every certified home, by total nurse staffing
Source: CMS Care Compare Provider Information, data as of October 1, 2026.
How to read the numbers
Total nurse hours per resident per day adds up the time of all nursing staff and divides by residents. A higher number means more hands. Registered nurse hours matter for clinical judgment: assessing a change in condition, catching an infection early, managing a complex discharge.
Turnover is the share of nursing staff who left over the year. High turnover means residents see new faces often and new staff are still learning routines. Weekend staffing, shown on each home's page, often dips, and weekend falls and missed care are common complaints.
What the spread means for families
The best-staffed home on the list reports 5.52 hours per resident per day; the thinnest reports 2.94. Some of the difference reflects the mix of residents, since rehab-heavy homes and long-stay homes differ, but much of it is choice.
Continuing care community nursing homes often staff above the median and admit mostly their own residents. Large homes with many Medicaid residents often staff closer to it. Neither pattern is a rule, which is why each home's page shows its own figures.
Staffing and star ratings
CMS's staffing star rating is built from these hours, adjusted for how sick each home's residents are. That adjustment is why two homes with similar raw hours can earn different staffing stars.
When comparing, use both: raw hours tell you how many hands are present, and the staffing star tells you how that compares with what CMS expects for the residents served.
Questions to ask about staffing
Ask how many nurses and aides are on each hall on evenings and nights, how much of each shift is covered by agency staff, and how long the director of nursing and administrator have been in place. CMS counts administrator departures too.
If a home's turnover is above the local median, ask what it is doing about it. If its weekend staffing drops sharply, ask how weekend care is covered. The answers, set beside the payroll data, tell you a lot.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good nurse staffing level?
There is no single standard; around here the median certified home reports 3.57 total nurse hours per resident per day.
Where does the staffing data come from?
From payroll records nursing homes submit to CMS, published in Care Compare.
Why does turnover matter?
Residents with frequent new caregivers are more likely to have missed or inconsistent care.
Do adult care homes report staffing to CMS?
No. CMS data covers certified nursing homes only; adult care home staffing appears in DHSR inspection findings.
Does high turnover always mean poor care?
Not always, but it raises the risk of inconsistent care; ask what the home is doing to keep staff.
Are weekend staffing figures published?
Yes. CMS publishes weekend nurse staffing, which appears on each home's page here.
