U.S. population with a hospitalization 1997-2019, by age

In 2019, almost seven percent of people aged 18 to 44 years in the United States were hospitalized at least once. Unsurprisingly, hospitalization among people aged 65 years and older was higher at almost 17 percent.

Hospital Stays

Hospitalization in the U.S. has decreased since 1997. In 2019, a total of 7.3 percent of people in the U.S. were hospitalized at least once. Hospitalization rates for females have been higher than males for the past two decades. In 2019, almost eight percent of females were hospitalized, compared to only five percent of males. The average length of stay in a hospital is currently 6.2 days. However, this varies greatly by state. In Wyoming, for example, the average length of stay is 9.2 days, which is more than twice the average length of stay New York.

Hospital Costs

Community hospital expenses per inpatient stay in the United States have been constantly increasing. The average expenses for a community hospital per inpatient stay in 2019 was around 14,101 U.S. dollars. Expectedly, hospital care expenditure has also been increasing in the past two decades. In 2020, around 1.27 trillion U.S. dollars were spent on hospital care.