U.S. News & World Report Announces 2026-2027 Best Hospitals, Introducing Regional Specialty Rankings to Help Patients Find Complex Care Close to Home

The latest edition also recognizes 505 Best Regional Hospitals across the U.S.

Summary

• 505 Best Regional Hospitals recognized across 49 states and Washington, D.C., for superior clinical outcomes.
• Four new regional specialty rankings introduced in Cancer; Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery; Orthopedics; and Rehabilitation to help patients find and compare nearby care.
• Increased statistical weight placed on risk-adjusted patient outcome measures, such as survival and complication rates, to determine rankings.
• 73 hospitals recognized as Best Regional Hospitals for Community Access, highlighting essential care provided to underserved local populations.
• 20 hospitals across 9 states named to the Honor Roll for broad clinical excellence.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in healthcare decision support, today released the 2026-2027 edition of Best Hospitals. Now in its 37th year, the annual study helps patients and their families make informed, data-driven healthcare decisions in consultation with their medical providers and care teams.

Recognizing that most healthcare decisions are made locally, the 2026-2027 edition highlights 505 Best Regional Hospitals across 49 states and Washington, D.C., that have demonstrated superior patient outcomes for a variety of common procedures and conditions.

Regional Specialty Rankings

To simplify the search for complex treatments close to home, U.S. News is introducing regional specialty rankings in four key areas:

1. Cancer
2. Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery
3. Orthopedics
4. Rehabilitation

These new regional evaluations allow patients to easily identify which nearby, accessible hospitals excel in the specific areas they need most, bridging the gap between national excellence and local accessibility.

"For nearly four decades, U.S. News has helped families and their medical providers navigate complex healthcare decisions," said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News. "Because most patients choose providers close to home, this year's debut of regional specialty rankings in Cancer; Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery; Orthopedics and Rehabilitation gives them an easy new way to evaluate their local options in consultation with their medical providers. U.S. News' performance-driven metrics ensure American families can confidently find and choose high-quality care, often right in their own communities."

2026-2027 Best Regional Hospitals, Metro Highlights

The metropolitan areas with five or more Best Regional Hospitals are listed below, in alphabetical order, along with the hospital(s) ranked No. 1 or tied for No. 1 in each metro area:

• Atlanta: Emory University Hospital, No. 1 out of 13 Best Hospitals near Atlanta
• Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Hospital, No. 1 out of 6 Best Hospitals near Baltimore
• Boston: Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, No. 1 (tied) out of 10 Best Hospitals near Boston
• Charlotte: Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, No. 1 out of 6 Best Hospitals near Charlotte
• Chicago: Northwestern Medicine-Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Rush University Medical Center, No. 1 (tied) out of 20 Best Hospitals near Chicago
• Cleveland: Cleveland Clinic, No. 1 out of 6 Best Hospitals near Cleveland
• Dallas-Fort Worth: UT Southwestern Medical Center, No. 1 out of 13 Best Hospitals near Dallas-Fort Worth
• Detroit: University of Michigan Health-Ann Arbor, No. 1 out of 11 Best Hospitals near Detroit
• Houston: Houston Methodist Hospital, No. 1 out of 14 Best Hospitals near Houston
• Kansas City: University of Kansas Hospital, No. 1 out of 5 Best Hospitals near Kansas City
• Los Angeles: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, No. 1 (tied) out of 25 Best Hospitals near Los Angeles
• Miami-Fort Lauderdale: Cleveland Clinic Weston, No. 1 out of 8 Best Hospitals near Miami-Fort Lauderdale
• Minneapolis-St. Paul: M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center, No. 1 out of 10 Best Hospitals near Minneapolis-St. Paul
• New York: Mount Sinai Hospital, New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell and NYU Langone Hospitals, No. 1 (tied) out of 28 Best Hospitals near New York
• Philadelphia: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, No. 1 out of 13 Best Hospitals near Philadelphia
• Phoenix: Mayo Clinic-Arizona, No. 1 out of 5 Best Hospitals near Phoenix
• Pittsburgh: UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside, No. 1 out of 6 Best Hospitals near Pittsburgh
• Portland: OHSU Hospital, No. 1 out of 6 Best Hospitals near Portland
• Raleigh-Durham: Duke University Hospital, No. 1 out of 6 Best Hospitals near Raleigh-Durham
• Richmond: VCU Medical Center, No. 1 out of 5 Best Hospitals near Richmond
• Sacramento: UC Davis Medical Center, No. 1 out of 6 Best Hospitals near Sacramento
• San Diego: UC San Diego Health-La Jolla, Hillcrest, & East Campus Medical Centers, No. 1 out of 9 Best Hospitals near San Diego
• San Francisco: UCSF Health-UCSF Medical Center, No. 1 out of 13 Best Hospitals near San Francisco
• Seattle: Virginia Mason Medical Center, No. 1 out of 9 Best Hospitals near Seattle
• St. Louis: Barnes-Jewish Hospital, No. 1 out of 8 Best Hospitals near St. Louis
• Tampa-St. Petersburg: Tampa General Hospital, No. 1 out of 5 Best Hospitals near Tampa-St. Petersburg
• Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News: Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, No. 1 out of 6 Best Hospitals near Hampton Roads
• Washington, D.C.: MedStar Washington Hospital Center, No. 1 out of 12 Best Hospitals near Washington, D.C.

The top-ranked hospitals in each state and major metropolitan areas are available at health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area.

Best Regional Hospitals for Community Access

U.S. News also recognizes 73 Best Regional Hospitals for Community Access in this year's edition. This list highlights Best Regional Hospitals with a demonstrated track record of providing high-quality care to a patient population that includes underserved and vulnerable groups in their local communities.

Honor Roll

Separately, the nation's 20 best hospitals overall are recognized on this year's Best Hospitals Honor Roll for demonstrating exceptional breadth and depth of clinical excellence. Nine states have at least one Honor Roll hospital.

Methodology

To determine the Best Hospitals, U.S. News analyzed each hospital's performance based on measures such as risk-adjusted mortality rates, preventable complications and patient experience. The Best Hospitals Specialty Rankings methodology and Procedures & Conditions Ratings methodology measure patient outcomes using data from over 800 million records of patient care. This year, among other methodology refinements, risk-adjusted outcome measures play a larger and more dominant role in determining the rankings and ratings, while the Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery specialty undergoes its greatest transformation to date.

This year's rankings and ratings are published in the U.S. News & World Report "Best Hospitals 2027 Guidebook," available to order from the U.S. News Online Store.

For those seeking medical care, a hospital recognized by U.S. News with a "Best" designation may be worth considering in consultation with their medical provider.

For more information, visit Best Hospitals and use #BestHospitals on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok and X.

Media Contact: Sarah Pike, [email protected] 

About U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report is the global leader for journalism that empowers consumers, citizens, business leaders and policy officials to make confident decisions in all aspects of their lives and communities. A multifaceted media company, U.S. News provides unbiased rankings, independent reporting and analysis, and consumer advice to millions of people on USNews.com each month. A pillar in Washington for more than 90 years, U.S. News is the trusted home for in-depth and exclusive insights on education, health, politics, the economy, insurance, personal finance, travel, automobiles, real estate, careers and consumer products and services. 

SOURCE U.S. News & World Report, L.P.