Objectives The study aims to evaluate the prevalence of nursing home (NH) resident crying and associated factors at the individual and NH levels. Design A regional retrospective study design has been used. Participants and setting A total of 8875 residents, living in 105 NHs, were included. Measurements The occurrence of an episode of crying on at least a daily basis in the last month was the dependent variable; independent variables were set at individual and at the NH levels as reported in the Val.Graf regional database. Results A total of 1,443 (16.3%) residents reported daily episodes of crying over the last month. Several individual variables were significantly associated with crying; female gender (odds ratio [OR] 2.535, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.069–3.107); sad, pained or worried facial expressions (OR 1.885, 95% CI 1.785–2.021); negative thoughts (OR 1.650, 95% CI 1.508–1.804); unrealistic fears (OR 1.410, 95% CI 1.295–1.534); anger with self or others (OR 1.141, 95% CI 1.043–1.248); repetitive anxious complaints/concerns (OR 1.136, 95% CI 1.045–1.235); clinical instability (OR 1.186, 95% CI 1.018–1.381); pain (OR 1.183, 95% CI 1.058–1.323); night restlessness (OR 1.180, 95% CI 1.100–1.267); communication problems (OR 1.169, 95% CI 1.051–1.300); and cognitive impairment (OR 1.086, 95% CI 1.019–1.156); all increased the likelihood of crying. Conversely, sociability (OR 0.866, 95% CI 0.805–0.932) and being involved in social based activities (OR 0.882, 95% CI 0.811–0.960) were protective against crying. However, the previously mentioned variables have explained only 35.9% of variance in daily crying. Conclusions Around one out of six residents living in NH cries on a daily basis, and the reasons are also at the individual level. Residents seem to cry for attachment and clinical needs and to express stress and unhappiness; more research is needed, aiming at discovering other factors associated with resident's daily crying. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.