September 16, 2026
3 min read
Key takeaways:
- Eleven hospitals made the Best Children’s Hospital honor roll this year.
- The outlet no longer ranks the hospitals in order, listing them alphabetically instead.
Eleven pediatric hospitals appeared on the honor roll this year for U.S. News & World Report’s 20th edition of Best Children’s Hospitals.
What started as a physician survey 20 years ago has evolved into a comprehensive review of the outcomes and resources available at pediatric hospitals in the United States, according to Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at the publication.
Derived from U.S. News & World Report.
“From a purely data and methodology standpoint, it has been a journey of enriching what we do with input and guidance from our various stakeholders, including doctors and family members, like parents,” Harder told Healio.
In 2024, U.S. News discontinued ordinal rankings for the top children’s hospitals and shifted to an unranked honor roll instead. This year’s honor roll includes:
- Boston Children’s Hospital;
- Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colorado;
- Children’s Hospital Los Angeles;
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia;
- Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.;
- Cincinnati Children’s;
- Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago;
- Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio;
- Seattle Children’s Hospital;
- Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston; and
- UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
The publication also named the best pediatric hospitals in each region of the country.
The top hospitals in the Mid-Atlantic Region were Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Children’s National Hospital and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
In the Midwest, Cincinnati Children’s, Lurie Children’s Hospital and Nationwide Children’s Hospital earned the top spots.
Boston Children’s Hospital was No. 1 in New England, Children’s Hospital Colorado was the leader in the Rocky Mountain region, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta took the top spot in the Southeast, and Texas Children’s Hospital was named the best pediatric hospital in the Southwest.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Seattle Children’s Hospital tied for best children’s hospitals on the Pacific coast.
Within specific specialties, three hospitals received top ranks. Boston Children’s Hospital was the No. 1 hospital for pediatric cancer care, gastroenterology and GI surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, pulmonology and lung surgery, and urology. Children’s Health Dallas-Scottish Rite for Children earned the top spot for orthopedics. Texas Children’s Hospital was named the best hospital for cardiology and heart surgery, as well as diabetes and endocrinology.
For the third year in a row, U.S. News also shared a list of the top 50 hospitals for pediatric and adolescent behavioral health in recognition of the ongoing youth mental health crisis.
Harder hopes these data can be helpful for pediatricians who may need to refer their patients to a hospital that provides specialty care.
“We certainly don’t expect families to make a decision on their own,” Harder said. “We want them to consult with clinicians they are already connected with.”
“The data we publish, it’s not just rankings,” he said. “All of the information around outcomes, best practices and resources available at these hospitals can be very helpful.”
For more information:
Ben Harder can be reached through Sarah Pike at szpike@usnews.com.
Sources/Disclosures
Source:
References:
Disclosures:
Harder reports being employed by U.S. News & World Report.
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