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Florida Nursing Home Staffing Calculator
Florida requires a weekly average (Sunday to Saturday) of 3.6 hours of direct care per resident per day, at least 2.0 hours from certified nursing assistants and at least 1.0 hour from licensed nurses per resident per day.
Counted Florida's way and the way CMS counts it for Care Compare, side by side, with staff per shift for any target you choose. An estimate for planning, not legal advice.
Florida: Florida requires a weekly average (Sunday to Saturday) of 3.6 hours of direct care per resident per day, at least 2.0 hours from certified nursing assistants and at least 1.0 hour from licensed nurses per resident per day. The 3.6 is a weekly average, Sunday to Saturday. The statute does not call the 2.0 and the 1.0 weekly averages.
Source: Florida Statutes section 400.23(3), 2026. Checked October 13, 2026.
Dietary, therapeutic and mental health direct care, and paid feeding assistants who completed the state program. Florida counts these toward the 3.6 only.
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How the nursing home staffing calculator works
Enter your residents and nursing hours
One day, a week or a quarter. Total hours by job, or the number of people on each shift.
Pick a target
Your state if it is one we checked (New York, Florida, Illinois, California), your own number, or none for the CMS count alone.
Read both counts and the staff per shift
The CMS count, your state's own count, warnings CMS acts on, and how many RNs, LPNs and CNAs each shift needs for the target.
What Florida counts
- Counts direct care staff hours: nursing, plus dietary, therapeutic and mental health direct care, plus paid feeding assistants who completed the state program (these count toward the 3.6 only).
- Leaves out nursing administration, staff development, staffing coordination and the administrative part of MDS work, so this calculator leaves out director of nursing hours and RN and LPN admin hours.
- Certified nursing assistants performing medication aide duties do not count toward the 2.0 or the 1.0, so medication aide hours count toward the 3.6 only.
- Nursing assistants employed under section 400.211(2) may count toward the 2.0 if their duties are only nursing-assistant duties, so aide-in-training hours are counted toward the 2.0.
The 3.6 is a weekly average, Sunday to Saturday. The statute does not call the 2.0 and the 1.0 weekly averages.
- Florida also says a facility may not staff below 1 certified nursing assistant per 20 residents or 1 licensed nurse per 40 residents.
- If an aide in training does more than nursing-assistant duties, leave their hours out of the 2.0.
Source: Florida Statutes section 400.23(3), 2026. Read on October 13, 2026.
Worked example
For one day with 100 residents, 40 RN, 80 LPN and 220 CNA hours, plus 8 director of nursing, 8 RN admin, 10 aide-in-training and 20 medication aide hours: Direct care (weekly average): 3.70 against 3.60, above by 0.10. Certified nursing assistant: 2.30 against 2.00, above by 0.30. Licensed nurse: 1.20 against 1.00, above by 0.20. Counted the CMS way, the same day is 3.86.
Florida nursing home staffing: questions
- What is the minimum nurse staffing in Florida nursing homes?
- Florida requires a weekly average (Sunday to Saturday) of 3.6 hours of direct care per resident per day, at least 2.0 hours from certified nursing assistants and at least 1.0 hour from licensed nurses per resident per day. The 3.6 is a weekly average, Sunday to Saturday. The statute does not call the 2.0 and the 1.0 weekly averages.
- What counts toward Florida's staffing hours?
- Counts direct care staff hours: nursing, plus dietary, therapeutic and mental health direct care, plus paid feeding assistants who completed the state program (these count toward the 3.6 only). Leaves out nursing administration, staff development, staffing coordination and the administrative part of MDS work, so this calculator leaves out director of nursing hours and RN and LPN admin hours. Certified nursing assistants performing medication aide duties do not count toward the 2.0 or the 1.0, so medication aide hours count toward the 3.6 only. Nursing assistants employed under section 400.211(2) may count toward the 2.0 if their duties are only nursing-assistant duties, so aide-in-training hours are counted toward the 2.0.
- How do you calculate Florida's staffing hours per resident day?
- For one day with 100 residents, 40 RN, 80 LPN and 220 CNA hours, plus 8 director of nursing, 8 RN admin, 10 aide-in-training and 20 medication aide hours: Direct care (weekly average): 3.70 against 3.60, above by 0.10. Certified nursing assistant: 2.30 against 2.00, above by 0.30. Licensed nurse: 1.20 against 1.00, above by 0.20. Counted the CMS way, the same day is 3.86.
- Is Florida's count the same as Care Compare's?
- No. Care Compare counts every PBJ nursing job code (directors of nursing, admin nurses, aides in training and medication aides included) and adjusts for acuity before giving stars. The calculator shows both counts side by side.
- Is this legal advice?
- No. It is an estimate for planning, not legal advice. Confirm with your state agency and CMS. We read Florida's rule at its source on October 13, 2026.
An estimate for planning, not legal advice. Confirm with your state agency and CMS. Rules checked October 13, 2026; laws and CMS methods change.
The nursing home staffing calculator for every state. Other checked states: New York, Illinois, California.