Top 10 Best Nursing Homes in Minnesota

Compare the Best Nursing Homes in Minnesota

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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota, including staffing, COVID-19 infections, historical occupancy levels and recent trends, look at our detailed analysis page.

Best Nursing Homes in the Largest Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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 Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Fairview University Trans Serv (0)
• Mount Olivet Home (25)
• Andrew Residence (26)
• Birchwood Care Home (30)
• Minneapolis Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (31)
• Redeemer Health Care Center (43)
• Jones Harrison Residence (45)
• Mount Olivet Careview Home (47.75)
• Mn Veterans Home Minneapolis (48)
• Edenbrook of Edina (63)

Best Nursing Homes in St. Paul, Minnesota

Best Nursing Homes in Rochester, Minnesota

• Charter House Inc (9)
• Birch Healthcare Center (16)
• Madonna Towers of Rochester (27)
• Samaritan Bethany Home On Eighth (31)
• Rochester Manor (31)
• Hickory Creek at Rochester (41)
• Life Care Center of Rochester (51)
• Edenbrook of Rochester (75.5)
• Edenbrook Rochester West (131.25)
• Rochester Restorative Care Center (255.75)

Best Nursing Homes in Duluth, Minnesota

• Ecumen Lakeshore (7)
• Viewcrest Health Center (25)
• The North Shore Estates LLC (64)
• Franciscan Health Center (86)
• Hilltop Healthcare Rehabilitation and Skilled Nurs (88.75)
• Bayshore Residence and Rehabilitation Center (106.75)
• Aftenro Home (108)
• Benedictine Health Center (120)

Best Nursing Homes in St. Cloud, Minnesota

Best Skilled Nursing Homes in Other States

How We Compile Nursing Home Ratings in Minnesota

Every month, we rank all of the skilled nursing facilities in Minnesota. 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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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).