Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects host cells through ACE2 receptors, leading to coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-related pneumonia. In nationwide study in China, hypertension was associated with increased in-hospital morbidity and mortality. We performed a similar analysis in a US-based population.Hypothesis: Hypertension is associated with clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19.Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of all adult patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to two hospitals in Michigan between 3/1/2020 and 4/30/2020. We divided the patients into two groups according to their pre-admission hypertension status, with hypertension (HTN) and without hypertension (No-HTN). Primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were length of stay (LOS), the risk of intubation, duration of intubation, and the use of vasopressors. Statistical analysis was done using Chi-square tests for binary outcomes and Poisson Regression for count outcomes.Results: A total of 215 patients with COVID-19 were included. Mean age was 62.8 years, mean BMI was 30.9, 119 of them (55%) were males, and 135 (63%) had hypertension. Patients with HTN had significantly higher risk of in-hospital death (N=62/135) when compared to patients without HTN (N=20/80) (p=0.002). Patients with HTN also had higher risk of intubation (HTN=74/135 vs No-HTN=23/80, p<0.001) and higher risk of vasopressors use (HTN=56/136, No HTN=19/80, p=0.007). There was no statistically significant difference in LOS (p=0.295), and duration of intubation (p=0.442).Conclusions: Hypertension is associated with higher risk of in-hospital death, higher risk of intubation, and higher risk of vasopressors use in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Larger studies are needed to confirm these results with adjusting for confounding factors.