3,567 of the 5,121 US community hospitals belonged to a health system of any size in the 2024 AHA Annual Survey, and 1,797 were rural, AHA's 2026 Fast Facts reports. The two counts overlap, because some rural hospitals also belong to a system.
3,567
of 5,121 US community hospitals belong to a health system of any size
3,567 of the 5,121 US community hospitals belonged to a health system of any size in the 2024 AHA Annual Survey, and 1,797 were rural, AHA's 2026 Fast Facts reports. The two counts overlap, because some rural hospitals also belong to a system.
Source: Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals, 2026 (opens in a new tab), U.S. Hospital Statistics table: Number of Community Hospitals in a System. Verified October 2026.
Related charts
- From research
Of the 44 problems, 13 are about money and payers and 10 about rules, surveys and audits
Kent Applied, Where AI tools fit in healthcare, by kind of organization - From research
Hospital drug expenses grew 13.6% in 2025, nearly twice as fast as total expenses
American Hospital Association, Costs of Caring 2026 (March 2026) - From the blog
Of eight specific pressures in an HFMA survey, CFOs feel least prepared for AI deployment
HFMA, The healthcare C-suite of the future: From AI to ROI (2025) - From the blog
Billing and scheduling were the fastest-growing hospital uses of predictive AI in 2024
ASTP, Data Brief No. 80: Hospital Trends in the Use, Evaluation, and Governance of Predictive AI, 2023-2024 (September 2025)
Sources for the figures above: American Hospital Association, Costs of Caring 2026 (March 2026) (opens in a new tab); HFMA, The healthcare C-suite of the future: From AI to ROI (2025) (opens in a new tab); ASTP, Data Brief No. 80: Hospital Trends in the Use, Evaluation, and Governance of Predictive AI, 2023-2024 (September 2025) (opens in a new tab).
Related facts
92.3%
of US practice firms with employees have fewer than 20
Of 440,667 US physician, dentist, other health practitioner and outpatient mental health firms with employees in 2022, 92.3% had fewer than 20 employees, by Kent Applied's sum of Census Bureau figures.
Source: Statistics of US Businesses 2022, US and state totals by 6-digit NAICS.
KentApplied13.6%
growth in US hospital drug expenses in 2025
Hospital drug expenses grew 13.6% in 2025, against 7.5% for total hospital expenses, AHA reports from Strata Decision Technology benchmark data.
Source: Costs of Caring 2026.
KentApplied41.2%
of US rural hospitals operate in the red
41.2% of US rural hospitals operate in the red, and the median rural hospital's operating margin is 2.0%, Chartis reported in its 2026 study of rural hospitals.
Source: 2026 Rural Health State of the State.
KentApplied
Sources for the figures above: American Hospital Association, Costs of Caring 2026 (March 2026) (opens in a new tab); 2026 Rural Health State of the State (opens in a new tab).
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