Top 10 Best Nursing Homes in California

Compare the Best Nursing Homes in California

Every year, thousands of seniors, their families, and friends are faced with the difficult decision of choosing a skilled nursing facility, either because someone is recuperating after a hospital visit or for end-of-life care. This is usually an issue that arises suddenly, and the decision makers are not equipped with the right knowledge and information to make a good decision. Not knowing how to decide, they turn to others for recommendations. Word of mouth, along with geography, are constantly cited as the most important factors in choosing a skilled nursing facility. Choosing a facility with such limited information can lead to significant problems. Not all skilled nursing facilities are the same and the people that you trust to recommend a facility may not know enough about the facility and the alternatives to be a competent guide.

To help people who are facing this difficult situation, we have compiled a list of the best California skilled nursing facilities and the the worst skilled nursing facilities. (We have also compiled the best and worst nursing homes by city for most cities in the United States, links are shown at the bottom on this page.) The lists are based on data provided by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (“CMS”) and include information gathered from detailed annual inspections, monthly reporting, complaint histories, deficiency reports and much more.

To see a more detailed analysis of the performance on skilled nursing facilities in California, including staffing, COVID-19 infections, historical occupancy levels and recent trends, look at our detailed analysis page.

Best Nursing Homes in the Largest California Cities

All of the following nursing homes have been given a Weighted Health Inspection Score by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Every year, nursing homes in California go through an unannounced inspection performed by independent state examiners. These examiners look at factors such as cleanliness, hazards, and safety to perform the inspection. Points are given to nursing homes based on their deficiency in a certain category. Thus, a higher Weighted All Cycles Score means more problems and lower quality of care.

The list below ranks the homes with the best (lowest) weighted inspection scores. The score is shown next to the facility name.

Best Nursing Homes in Los Angeles, California

• Pih Health Good Samaritan Hospital D/p Snf (21)
• East Los Angeles Doctors Hosp (26)
• White Memorial Medical Ctr Dp (34)
• Lotus Care Center (37)
• Los Angeles Comm Hospital (40)
• Bonnie Brae Skilled Nursing (42)
• Angels Nursing Health Center (42)
• Alden Terrace Convalescent Hospital (42)
• Grand Park Convalescent Hospital (52)
• Montecito Heights Healthcare and Wellness Centre, LP (54)

Best Nursing Homes in San Francisco, California

• Hayes Convalescent Hospital (9)
• Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hosp and Trauma Snf (11)
• California Pacific Medical Ctr- Davies Campus Hosp (12)
• Lawton Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (12)
• San Francisco Towers (24)
• Central Gardens Post Acute (24)
• Victorian Post Acute (36)
• Pacific Heights Transitional Care Center (37)
• City View Post Acute (43)
• St. Anne's Home (48)

Best Nursing Homes in San Diego, California

• Kearny Mesa Convalescent and Nursing Home (21)
• The Springs at Pacific Regent (30)
• Helen Bernardy Center D/p Snf (30)
• Vi at La Jolla Village (32)
• Bayshire Torrey Pines Post-Acute (39)
• Ridgeview Skilled Nursing Facility (41)
• Villa Rancho Bernardo Care Center (46)
• Arroyo Vista Nursing Center (57)
• Jacob Healthcare Center (57)
• University Care Center (65)

Best Nursing Homes in Riverside, California

• Riverside Heights Healthcare Center, LLC (24)
• Alta Vista Healthcare and Wellness Centre (34)
• Riverside Behavioral Healthcare Center (38)
• Valencia Gardens Health Care Center (41)
• Mission Care Center (42)
• Villa Health Care Center (42)
• The Grove Care and Wellness (52)
• Pinnacle Point Wellness and Rehabilitation (66.75)
• Extended Care Hospital of Riverside (70)
• Palm Terrace Care Center (78)

Best Nursing Homes in Sacramento, California

• Sherwood Healthcare Center (51)
• Woodside Healthcare Center (53)
• Bruceville Terrace - D/p Snf of Methodist Hospital (66)
• Gramercy Court (76)
• Cedarwood Post Acute (76)
• Sacramento Post-Acute (79)
• Acc Care Center (92)
• Double Tree Post Acute Care Center (92.75)
• Pioneer House (95)
• Windsor Care Center of Sacramento (102)

Best Skilled Nursing Homes in Other States

How We Compile Nursing Home Ratings in California

Every month, we rank all of the skilled nursing facilities in California. These rankings are based on data provided by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid measures ("CMS”), including the CMS 5-Star Rating System and the Health Inspection Scores. The list of the best Skilled Nursing Facilities in California is based on the weighted overall health inspection score which is a composite of CMS's three most recent skilled nursing home inspection scores weighted to give the most recent inspection more importance.

The CMS 5-Star Rating System rates skilled nursing facilities from one to five stars, with one star being the lowest and five stars being the highest. The rating system also rates California nursing homes across five different dimensions including overall rating, health inspection rating, quality measures rating, overall staffing rating, and RN staffing rating (RN is an acronym for Registered Nurse).