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How to Calculate Your No-Show Rate

Formula, free calculator, worked examples, and segment benchmarks. The dominant query for this site at position 37 - fully answered here.

101 GSC impressions/mo - biggest queryMGMA 2024 + JAMA 2022 data

No-show rate calculator

Enter your scheduled appointments and no-shows for any period (day, week, month).

Your no-show rate
23.0%
High

23 no-shows out of 100 scheduled appointments.

The formula explained

No-Show Rate = (No-Shows / Scheduled Appointments) × 100
Numerator: No-Shows

Patients who did not appear and did not contact you before the appointment. No advance notice, no call, no cancellation.

Denominator: Scheduled

Total appointments booked for the period, including those who showed up and those who no-showed. Does not include walk-in demand.

Common mistakes

Do NOT include same-day cancellations as no-shows. Do NOT count rescheduled appointments. Do NOT include late arrivals unless they missed the slot.

Worked examples

100
Scheduled
19
No-shows
19%
Rate
(19 / 100) × 100 = 19%

Typical primary care practice. At this rate you are near the national average of 19% (MGMA 2024). Acceptable but reducible.

Calculate cost for this rate →

What is a good no-show rate by industry?

SegmentGoodAcceptableAverageHigh
Primary Care< 10%< 15%19%> 25%
Behavioral Health< 20%< 30%30-40%> 40%
Dental< 10%< 20%15-25%> 30%
Specialist< 8%< 12%10-12%> 18%
Restaurants< 10%< 15%20%> 25%
Salons< 15%< 25%30%> 35%
Fitness< 15%< 20%25%> 30%

Sources: MGMA 2024, JAMA 2022, Kruse et al 2018, OpenTable 2023, Phorest 2023, Mindbody 2023. Full benchmark table with methodology →

How to track no-shows over time

Monthly tracking

Calculate once per month. Plot the rate on a simple chart. Compare month-over-month. Look for a downward trend after implementing reminder systems.

Seasonal adjustment

No-show rates typically spike 20-30% in summer (July-August) and around major holidays. Adjust your targets seasonally rather than comparing December to August directly.

Segment breakdowns

Track by provider, by appointment type, and by patient demographic if your EHR supports it. New patients have 2-3x higher no-show rates than established patients in most practices.

Calculate the cost →
Now that you have your rate, see the full annual revenue and opportunity cost.
Reduce your rate →
Six evidence-based strategies ranked by effectiveness. Every stat cited from peer-reviewed literature.
Full benchmarks →
Compare your rate to the complete sortable table of industry benchmarks.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate the no-show rate?+
No-show rate = (number of no-shows / total scheduled appointments) x 100. If you scheduled 100 appointments and 23 patients did not appear without contact, your rate is 23%. Use consistent definitions - only zero-contact non-appearances count.
What counts as a no-show?+
A no-show is a patient or customer who had a scheduled appointment, did not appear, and gave no advance notice. Same-day cancellations (even with 5 minutes notice) are technically not no-shows but may be treated similarly in your policy. Late arrivals who still received service are not no-shows. The CMS definition for healthcare requires zero contact before the appointment time.
What is a good no-show rate?+
It varies by industry. For primary care, under 10% is excellent, under 15% is acceptable. The US national healthcare average is 23% (JAMA 2022). Behavioral health and therapy practices see 30-40% and that is not necessarily a management failure - clinical factors drive high rates in these settings. For restaurants, under 10% is considered good.
How often should I calculate my no-show rate?+
Monthly for trend tracking, weekly if you are running an active reduction program. Daily rates are too noisy for meaningful analysis except in very high-volume settings. Compare the same month year-over-year as well as sequentially to account for seasonal variation.