Computation of Net Income Per Common Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands		12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Numerator:
Net income		$ 40,833	$ 52,843	$ 55,917
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests		358	2,853	485
Net income attributable to The Ensign Group, Inc.		$ 40,475	$ 49,990	$ 55,432
Denominator:
Weighted average shares outstanding for basic net income per share		50,932	50,555	50,316
Adjusted weighted average common shares outstanding		52,829	52,133	52,210
Basic net income (loss) per common share:
Basic net income per common share attributable to The Ensign Group, Inc.		$ 0.79	$ 0.99	$ 1.10
Diluted net (loss) income per common share:
Diluted net income per common share attributable to The Ensign Group, Inc.		$ 0.77	$ 0.96	$ 1.06
Common Class A [Member]
Denominator:
Weighted average shares outstanding for basic net income per share		50,932	50,555	50,316
Plus: incremental shares from assumed conversion (1)	[1]	1,897	1,578	1,894

[1] (1) Options outstanding which are anti-dilutive and therefore not factored into the weighted average common shares amount above were 1,252, 838 and 258 for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.