America’s Best Hospitals

If you suddenly need to go to the hospital, the best option is usually going to be the one that’s closest. But when time isn’t of the essence, certain hospitals are considered to be better than others. Since 1990, U.S. News & World Report has created annual “honor rolls” of American hospitals, and the publication recently released its list of the 20 best hospitals in the nation for 2026. Did your local hospital make the cut?

The Methodology

To determine which medical centers excelled above the rest, U.S. News & World Report looked at several factors. The publication analyzed how hospitals performed with regard to 14 specialities such as cancer and psychiatry, as well as 23 more common procedures including knee replacements and treatment for strokes. 

Additionally, U.S. News & World Report considered factors such as patient outcomes, the overall experience for patients from start to finish, and the quality of communication from staff members. (This is just a quick glimpse at the methodology; for more information, you can read up here.) Hospitals on the honor roll are listed alphabetically. 

Now let’s jump into the 20 best hospitals in the U.S., per these criteria.

The Best Hospitals in the Northeast

The Northeast region had the highest total number of medical centers to make U.S. News & World Report’s honor roll, claiming seven of the top 20 spots. Three of them are in New York City: Mount Sinai, NewYork-Presbyterian (specifically the two city locations at Columbia University and at the Weill Cornell medical center), and NYU Langone.

Elsewhere in the Northeast, you’ll find excellent medical care in the city of Boston, as both Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General ranked among the country’s top 20 hospitals. Rounding out the best hospitals in the region are the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

The Best of the Midwest

Five Midwest-based hospitals ranked in the top 20, and two of them are in Chicago: Northwestern Medicine-Northwestern Memorial Hospital, located in the heart of the city near the Magnificent Mile, and Rush University Medical Center, located west of downtown.

The Midwest is also home to the world-famous Mayo Clinic, whose Rochester, Minnesota, location earned a well-deserved spot in the top 20. Another name on the list that you may recognize is the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. The University of Michigan Health-Ann Arbor made the list, too.

The California Contingent

California is home to five of the hospitals on U.S. News & World Report’s list, the highest number of any individual state. Two are in Los Angeles: Ronald Reagan Medical Center at UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which is located between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.

Farther south in the state, hospitals operated by UC San Diego Health — specifically, its La Jolla, Hillcrest, and East Campus Medical Centers — nabbed a spot on the list. And up north, two Bay Area hospitals made the top 20: Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto and the UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco.

The Best of the Rest

The remaining hospitals on the list can be found around the country. There’s the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, for one, as well as the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Last, but certainly not least, is Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas.

The Full List

Here’s the full list, in alphabetical order:

• Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston
• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
• Cleveland Clinic
• Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
• Houston Methodist Hospital
• Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
• Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
• Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
• Mayo Clinic-Arizona, Phoenix
• Mayo Clinic-Florida, Jacksonville
• Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City
• NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell, New York City
• Northwestern Medicine-Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
• NYU Langone Hospitals, New York City
• Rush University Medical Center, Chicago
• Stanford Health Care-Stanford Hospital, Palo Alto, California
• UC San Diego Health-La Jolla, Hillcrest, and East Campus Medical Centers
• UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, Los Angeles
• UCSF Health-UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco
• University of Michigan Health-Ann Arbor

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