The U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals Honor Roll is the definitive benchmark for the highest-quality care in the American healthcare system. Released annually, the 2024–2025 Honor Roll evaluates nearly 5,000 hospitals and recognizes those that achieve the greatest breadth and depth of excellence across 15 complex medical specialties and numerous procedures.
These institutions are the national referral centers, known for pioneering research, advanced technology, and managing the most challenging patient cases.
👑 The Top 10: Overall Clinical Excellence
This list is composed of the hospitals that earned the most points based on risk-adjusted patient outcomes, nurse staffing, reputation among specialists, and advanced clinical services.
| Rank (Based on Score) | Hospital Name | City | State | Key Distinction & Focus |
| 1 | Mayo Clinic – Rochester | Rochester | MN | #1 in the nation; top-ranked in more specialties than any other hospital globally; renowned for its integrated, team-based approach. |
| 2 | Cleveland Clinic | Cleveland | OH | Global leader in Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery (often ranked #1 in this specialty); excels in high-volume, complex surgical care. |
| 3 | NYU Langone Hospitals | New York | NY | Highly recognized for superior Patient Safety scores and top rankings in Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Orthopedics. |
| 4 | The Johns Hopkins Hospital | Baltimore | MD | A historic powerhouse in academic medicine, research, and education; a major center for treating rare and complex disorders. |
| 5 | Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) | Boston | MA | Premier Harvard teaching hospital; a leader in Psychiatry, Cancer, and high-success rate organ transplantation. |
| 6 | UCLA Medical Center | Los Angeles | CA | Major West Coast referral center with strengths in Pulmonology, Gastroenterology, and Geriatrics. |
| 7 | UCSF Health – UCSF Medical Center | San Francisco | CA | West Coast leader, particularly excelling in Neurology & Neurosurgery and specialized cancer treatment. |
| 8 | Cedars-Sinai Medical Center | Los Angeles | CA | Highly ranked in Cardiology, Gastroenterology, and Orthopedics, and a key private academic hub on the West Coast. |
| 9 | NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital | New York | NY | Affiliated with Columbia and Cornell; a comprehensive urban center for specialized adult and pediatric services. |
| 10 | Stanford Health Care – Stanford Hospital | Palo Alto | CA | Known for translating research into clinical practice, with high rankings in Neurosciences and advanced cardiac care. |
🔬 Specialty Dominance: The Standalone Leaders
While the Honor Roll measures broad excellence, several U.S. hospitals focus so intensely on a single field that they are often ranked as the best in the world for that niche:
-
Orthopedics: Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York is the perennial #1 in the nation for musculoskeletal health.
-
Cancer Care: University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York) consistently top the oncology rankings.
💡 The Ranking Methodology
The annual U.S. News rankings are primarily data-driven, focusing on objective measures that matter most to patient health:
-
Risk-Adjusted Outcomes: The most significant factor is how successfully the hospital treats its sickest patients, measuring survival and complication rates relative to predicted risk.
-
Structure: This includes crucial metrics like nurse staffing levels (indicating quality of care), patient volume for complex procedures (indicating deep expertise), and the availability of advanced technologies.
These stringent standards ensure that the hospitals listed truly represent the best options for complex medical needs.
Would you like a side-by-side comparison of the heart and vascular services at the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic?