Specialty hospitals are important providers in both urban and rural areas. However, they are not evenly distributed across these areas. The NC Rural Health Research Program in the brief, A Comparison of Rural and Urban Specialty Hospitals, addresses three types of specialty hospitals: Long Term Acute Care Hospitals (LTCHs), Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities (IPFs), and Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs). We compared urban and rural specialty hospitals by ownership, location, inpatient beds, percent of inpatient days for rural residents, and percent of inpatient days for Medicare beneficiaries. We also looked at operating expenses, Medicaid days, and profitability.