Annual ‘Honor Roll’ of America's best children's hospitals released
U.S. News & World Report updated its “Honor Roll” of the best children’s hospitals in the country, ranked overall based on the quality of care they provide in numerous specialties. Those include oncology, cardiology, gastroenterology, behavioral health, nephrology and urology—and more.
For the rankings, 198 children’s hospitals are surveyed, with 86 being ranked top 10 in at least one pediatric specialty services category. This is the 19th year of the honor roll, which seeks to examine not only patient care outcomes but also satisfaction.
An unranked top 10 overall is released every year, denoting the best children’s hospitals in the U.S., built from the best places for adolescent and pediatric patients to receive care.
Notably, the 2025-2026 honor roll is the same as last year, meaning the top hospitals continue to score well in multiple specialties. Without further ado, here they are in alphabetical order:
- Boston Children's Hospital | Boston, Massachusetts | #1 ranked in behavioral health (tie), neonatology, nephrology and urology
- Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado | #1 ranked in behavioral health (tie),
- Children's Hospital Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California | #1 ranked in behavioral health (tie).
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | #1 ranked in behavioral health (tie).
- Children's National Hospital | Washington, D.C.| #1 ranked in behavioral health (tie).
- Cincinnati Children's | Cincinnati, Ohio | #1 ranked in behavioral health (tie), cancer care, pediatric diabetes and endocrinology; and gastroenterology.
- Nationwide Children's Hospital | Columbus, Ohio | #1 ranked in behavioral health (tie).
- Rady Children's Hospital | San Diego, California | #1 ranked in behavioral health (tie).
- Seattle Children’s Hospital | Seattle, Washington | #1 ranked in behavioral health (tie).
- Texas Children's Hospital | Houston, Texas | #1 ranked in behavioral health (tie), cardiology, neurology and pulmonology
Notably, all the top 10 hospitals shared in the top 50 rankings for adolescent and pediatric behavioral health, which weighed heavily on the overall honors.
All were in the top ranking for multiple specialties.
“The 10 children's hospitals that are on our Best Children's Hospitals Honor Roll are distinguished by both an incredible breadth of expertise and depth of expertise,” Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis at U.S. News, said in a statement. “Each one of them ranks among the best hospitals in the country, in all 11 specialties that we evaluate, and nearly all of them rank at the top or very close to the top in one or more of those specialties.”
“So [the top 10 honorees all] have both this incredible expertise in specific specialties and also really can be counted on to provide excellent care across the whole gamut of specialties that we evaluate,” he added.
Of the 198 facilities, 108 were surveyed for opinions from more than 36,000 physicians, which impacted the rankings. The full list of institutions recognized with awards, broken down by pediatric specialty and state, can be found by clicking here.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.