Care Home Occupancy and Vacancy Statistics: The Data

Care home occupancy in England ran at 85.8% in the week ending 16 February 2026, meaning close to one in seven beds was empty, on figures published by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC, quarterly update to February 2026, as at July 2026, subject to change).

This page pulls together the official occupancy and vacancy statistics for care homes in England, drawn from the DHSC's monthly and quarterly releases, which are built on self-reported data from the Capacity Tracker digital tool. The figures below describe England only; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland collect and publish their own social care data separately. Percentages are current as at July 2026 and are subject to change as later releases are published. Where a number is stated, its source and reference period sit next to it.

Care home occupancy at a glance

Occupancy has stayed close to 86% for more than a year. In the week ending 16 February 2026, 85.8% of beds were occupied, 10.8% were vacant and admittable, and 3.4% were vacant but not admittable, among providers responding to the Capacity Tracker (DHSC, week ending 16 February 2026, as at July 2026, subject to change).

Two vacancy measures appear in the data and they are not the same thing. A "vacant and admittable" bed is empty and ready to take a new resident. A "vacant and non-admittable" bed is empty but cannot currently be filled, for reasons such as maintenance, staffing or infection control. Only the admittable figure reflects capacity that could genuinely be taken up today.

Key figures at a glance

Every headline number in the current releases is set out below with its source and reference period. Occupancy sat at 85.8% in the week ending 16 February 2026, while the twelve-month average to November 2025 was 86.0%, so the market has been stable rather than tightening (DHSC, December 2025 release, as at July 2026, subject to change).

All figures England only, drawn from providers responding to the Capacity Tracker. As at July 2026 and subject to change.

Occupancy and vacancies over time

Across the past year the occupancy rate has moved within a narrow band, from 85.7% in the week ending 14 January 2025 to 86.3% in the week ending 14 November 2025, before easing to 85.8% by mid-February 2026 (DHSC, February 2025 release, as at July 2026, subject to change). That stability is one of the clearer signals in the data.

England only, Capacity Tracker responding providers. Reporting weeks are not evenly spaced, so treat this as an indicative trend rather than a continuous series. As at July 2026, subject to change.

Occupancy by region

Where you look changes the picture. In the week ending 14 November 2025, occupancy ranged from 90.0% in London down to 82.6% in the East Midlands, a spread of more than seven percentage points (DHSC, December 2025 release, as at July 2026, subject to change). The regions with the fullest homes tend to be the ones with the fewest admittable vacancies.

Week ending 14 November 2025. Source: DHSC, Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: December 2025. As at July 2026, subject to change.

Occupancy also varies by the type of bed. In the week ending 16 February 2026, non-specialist residential beds were 85.5% occupied, non-specialist nursing beds 85.8%, and specialist and other beds 87.0% (DHSC, quarterly update to February 2026, as at July 2026, subject to change).

What this means for families planning ahead

Availability is only part of the picture; cost is the part that most often shapes estate planning. Occupancy statistics say nothing about who pays, and how care is funded depends on a means test run by the local authority, which looks at income and capital under national rules (gov.uk, paying for care and support, as at July 2026, subject to change). Many people meet some or all of their own care costs, which is why the numbers matter to later-life planning.

People sometimes ask whether giving away a home or savings can keep them out of that means test. Local authorities can look at whether assets have been given away deliberately to reduce a care contribution, under what are known as the deprivation of assets rules, and a gift made mainly for that reason can be treated as if the person still owned it (gov.uk, paying for your care, as at July 2026, subject to change). For that reason, planning here is about understanding and limiting the impact of care fees within the rules, not about deliberately avoiding them, and it can be worth discussing with a qualified professional before acting.

If you are working through these questions, our Care Home Fees guide explains how the means test and funding work in more detail, our overview of care home beds sets the capacity picture alongside these occupancy figures, and the wider estate planning guide shows where later-life care sits within a full plan. These are general information pages, not personal recommendations.

Sources and methodology

Every statistic on this page comes from official statistics published by the Department of Health and Social Care, built on the Capacity Tracker, a digital tool through which care providers self-report occupancy and vacancy. Coverage is high but not universal, so figures describe responding providers rather than every home, and they cover England only.

• DHSC, Adult social care provider statistics, England: quarterly update to February 2026 (published 5 March 2026; reference week ending 16 February 2026). Occupancy 85.8%, vacant and admittable 10.8%, vacant and non-admittable 3.4%, bed-type breakdown, 360,507 residents, 505,886 domiciliary care recipients.
• DHSC, Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: December 2025 (published 4 December 2025; reference week ending 14 November 2025). Occupancy 86.3%, 12-month average 86.0%, regional high London 90.0%, regional low East Midlands 82.6%.
• DHSC, Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: February 2025 (published 6 February 2025; reference week ending 14 January 2025). Occupancy 85.7%, vacant and admittable 11.2%.
• gov.uk, Paying for your own care (self-funding), for how the means test and deprivation of assets rules work.

Figures are as at July 2026 and subject to change as later releases are published. No statistic here has been estimated, rounded beyond the source, or extrapolated.

Frequently asked questions