Californians looking for top-ranked medical care may not have to travel far.
U.S. News & World Report's newly released 2026-27 Best Hospitals
rankings placed six California hospitals on its prestigious Honor Roll, which recognizes 20 hospitals nationwide for excellence across a broad range of specialties, procedures and patient outcomes. California's six hospitals accounted for 30% of all Honor Roll facilities, more than any other state.The rankings evaluate nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide using measures including patient outcomes, nursing quality, patient experience and performance across 14 medical specialties and 23 procedures and conditions.
California led the nation with six Honor Roll hospitals
California was the most represented state on the 2026-27 Honor Roll, with hospitals spanning from
San Diego to the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
The six California hospitals named to the national Honor Roll were:
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
- Stanford Health Care-Stanford Hospital, Palo Alto
- 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
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
Together, those hospitals represented nearly one-third of the nation's top 20 medical centers.
Among the California standouts, Cedars-Sinai earned top-50 national rankings in 10 specialties and received the highest possible "High Performing" rating in all 23 procedures and conditions evaluated by U.S. News.
UCSF Health said it remained tied as California's highest-ranked hospital and landed on the Honor Roll for the 30th consecutive year. The San Francisco-based academic medical center had 10 specialties ranked among the nation's top 10.
How California compared with the rest of the nation
The 20 Honor Roll hospitals were spread across nine states, but California had the largest share by far.
A breakdown of Honor Roll hospitals by state shows California outpacing every other state:
- California: 6 hospitals
- New York: 3 hospitals
- Massachusetts: 2 hospitals
- Illinois: 2 hospitals
- Minnesota: 1 hospital
- Arizona: 1 hospital
- Florida: 1 hospital
- Maryland: 1 hospital
- Michigan: 1 hospital
- Ohio: 1 hospital
- Pennsylvania: 1 hospital
- Texas: 1 hospital
California's six Honor Roll hospitals exceeded the combined totals of most states and reinforced the state's reputation as one of the nation's largest hubs for academic medicine and specialized care.
The rankings also highlighted California's regional strength. Los Angeles was home to 25 Best Regional Hospitals, second only to the New York City area, which had 28.
Top California hospitals were recognized across major metro areas
California hospitals also topped several metro-area rankings.
According to U.S. News, hospitals ranked first or tied for first in major California metro areas included:
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles
- UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento
- UC San Diego Health in San Diego
- UCSF Health-UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco
Those rankings are designed to help patients identify highly rated care closer to home, rather than traveling to nationally known hospitals in other states.
How U.S. News ranks hospitals
U.S. News said hospitals earn Honor Roll points based on national rankings in 14 adult specialties and whether they receive "High Performing" ratings in maternity care and 23 procedures and conditions. The highest point-scoring hospitals are named to the Honor Roll,
For the 2026-27 rankings, evaluators examined nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide and considered factors such as risk-adjusted mortality rates, preventable complications, nursing quality and patient experience.
While the Honor Roll highlights elite medical centers, U.S. News notes that patients do not necessarily need to seek care at a nationally ranked hospital for most conditions, as hundreds of regional hospitals earned high marks for specific specialties and procedures.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California lands 6 hospitals on U.S. News Honor Roll
