A typical U.S. hospital stay lasts nearly five days and carries an estimated $16,353 in hospital expenses, according to an Oct. 5 report from LendingTree.
Americans would need to work 435 hours, or nearly 11 weeks, to earn the equivalent of those estimated hospital expenses, according to the report.
To reach that figure, LendingTree multiplied 2024 KFF data on hospital expenses per adjusted inpatient day — $3,297, based on American Hospital Association data — by an average stay of 4.96 days, according to Definitive Healthcare data. Researchers then divided the total by U.S. workers’ average hourly earnings of $37.62, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report also ran the calculation using each state’s minimum wage.
The figures reflect hospitals’ expenses for providing inpatient care, not what patients are billed, what they pay out of pocket or what insurers reimburse.
“The amount you might pay after a hospital stay can vary widely depending on whether you’re insured, the details of your plan and how much healthcare you’ve had earlier in the year,” said Cate Deventer, a health insurance expert at LendingTree.
Estimated expenses for a typical stay rose 26.1% from the previous analysis, climbing from $12,974 using 2021 data to $16,353 using 2024 data. Average hourly earnings rose 11.2% between the two analyses, from $33.82 to $37.62. The work time needed to cover a typical stay increased 13.3%, from 384 to 435 hours, driven by a longer average stay — up from 4.50 days — and a 14.4% rise in daily expenses.
California has the highest estimated expenses for a typical stay at $23,530, 43.9% above the national average. Idaho carries the heaviest work burden: Residents would need to work 648 hours, more than in any other state, to cover the state’s estimated $22,236 per stay at average hourly earnings of $34.32.
The burden is heavier for Idaho’s minimum-wage workers, who earn $7.25 an hour and would need to work 3,067 hours — nearly a year and a half of full-time work — to earn the equivalent of a typical stay.
Mississippi has the lowest estimated expenses at $6,949 per typical stay, the equivalent of 247 hours of work.
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