A newly released national report once again highlights Florida’s growing home care workforce crisis, despite increasing demand for services from the state’s rapidly expanding older adult population.

According to the 2026 America’s Health Rankings® Senior Report published by the United Health Foundation, Florida ranks 50th — last in the nation — in the availability of home health care workers, with just 17 workers per 1,000 adults age 65 and older, compared to the national average of 65 workers per 1,000 adults age 65 and older.

The report found that while the national home health workforce increased 5% between 2023 and 2024, Florida continues to lag significantly behind every other state in workforce availability. Nationally, the number of home health care workers has increased 38% since 2016, yet substantial geographic disparities persist.

Florida is home to one of the nation’s largest senior populations, with adults age 65 and older representing 21.8% of the state’s total population, well above the national average of 18%. Despite this demographic reality, the state continues to face severe shortages of caregivers and direct care workers needed to support aging in place.

“Florida’s seniors overwhelmingly want to remain safely at home as they age, but that becomes increasingly difficult when there simply are not enough caregivers available to meet the demand,” said Denise Bellville, RN, BS, Executive Director of the Home Care Association of Florida. “Providers across the state continue to face extraordinary workforce shortages driven by inadequate reimbursement, wage competition from other industries, workforce burnout, and the growing complexity of patient needs. Without meaningful investment in home care services and the workforce that delivers them, access challenges will continue to worsen for Florida families.”

The report also noted broader national concerns affecting older adults, including increases in food insecurity, excessive drinking, suicide, and drug deaths among seniors. Adults age 65 and older were the only age group nationally to experience a significant increase in drug-related deaths between 2022 and 2023.

At the same time, the report identified several positive trends nationally, including improvements in physical activity, preventive screenings, reductions in early deaths, and growth in the geriatric clinician workforce.

Florida ranked 30th overall in senior health in the 2026 report. The state performed well in several areas, including hospice care utilization, low obesity prevalence, and nursing home quality measures, but continued to struggle with poverty rates, housing cost burden, mental distress, and workforce-related indicators.

HCAF continues to advocate for policies aimed at strengthening Florida’s home care workforce, including increased Medicaid reimbursement rates, workforce development initiatives, regulatory modernization, and strategies to improve recruitment and retention of caregivers and clinicians.

The full 2026 America’s Health Rankings® Senior Report is available here.