Background: To determine how socioeconomic factors, such as level of education and employment status, affect patient experiences on quality of care for ambulatory healthcare services in teaching hospitals in southeast Nigeria. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional design to collect data using exit poll. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was administered on clients accessing care in the outpatient departments of three tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. The assessment of patient experiences for quality of care was based on five (5) domains of care: waiting time; environment of the outpatient department; quality of doctor’s care; quality of care by nurses/other health workers; and responsiveness of care. In addition, the overall quality of care was assessed. Results: The mean rating of patient experience of quality of care for the ambulatory care (outpatients’ visits) was 74.31 ± 0.32%. There were moderate differences among the hospitals for various levels of patients’ care, especially for waiting time, quality of doctors’ care and overall quality of care. Employment status was a statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) determinant of overall patient experience rating for quality of care, while the level of patient’s education was an influence on the perception of waiting by the patients and their rating of care from nurses/other healthcare providers (apart from medical doctors). Conclusion: The study show that educational and employment status (measures of socioeconomic status) of patients determined how patients receiving ambulatory (outpatient) healthcare services perceived the quality of care in the hospitals. Hence, in order to ensure equity, there is need to institutionalize patient-centered care, giving full consideration to patients’ socioeconomic status. Keywords: Quality of care, Patient Experience, Socioeconomic Status, Hospitals, Nigeria.