U.S. News & World Report released on Oct. 7 the 2025-26 edition of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” an annual evaluation of pediatric hospitals by specialty and by location.
For the 19th edition, the media company, alongside RTI International, a North Carolina-based research and consulting firm, collected and examined data from 118 children’s hospitals and surveyed thousands of pediatric specialists. Hospitals are evaluated across 11 pediatric specialties.
This year’s edition names 86 top pediatric hospitals, and it includes 10 Honor Roll hospitals with the highest rankings across all specialties. The edition also includes the second annual evaluation of pediatric and adolescent behavioral health programs.
Here are the top hospitals across specialties:
Note: U.S. News announced that the 19th edition features an alphabetical list of the top 50 hospitals in the eleventh specialty, behavioral health. A spokesperson for the media company told Becker’s that since the methodology behind the behavioral health ranking is still maturing, the media company postponed the use of ordinal rankings until further analysis can be done in this speciality.
Top five pediatric hospitals across specialties
Cancer
1. Cincinnati Children’s
2. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
3. Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
4. Children’s Hospital Colorado (Aurora)
5. Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Columbus, Ohio)
Cardiology and heart surgery
1. Texas Children’s Hospital (Houston)
2. Children’s Hospital Colorado
3. Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center (Durham, N.C.)
4. MUSC Children’s Heart Network of South Carolina (Charleston)
5. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Neonatology
1. Boston Children’s Hospital
2. Texas Children’s Hospital
3. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford (Palo Alto, Calif.)
4. Cincinnati Children’s
5. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Neurology and neurosurgery
1. Texas Children’s Hospital
2. Boston Children’s Hospital
3. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
4. Children’s National Hospital (Washington, D.C.)
5. Cincinnati Children’s
Orthopedics
1. Children’s Medical Center Dallas-Scottish Rite for Children Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center
2. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
3. Cincinnati Children’s
4. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
5. Boston Children’s Hospital – tie
5. Texas Children’s Hospital – tie
Diabetes and endocrinology
1. Cincinnati Children’s
2. UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
3. Children’s Hospital Colorado
4. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
5. Texas Children’s Hospital
Gastroenterology and GI surgery
1. Cincinnati Children’s
2. Boston Children’s Hospital
3. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
4. Nationwide Children’s Hospital
5. Texas Children’s Hospital
Nephrology
1. Boston Children’s Hospital
2. Texas Children’s Hospital
3. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford
4. Nationwide Children’s Hospital
5. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Pulmonology and lung surgery
1. Texas Children’s Hospital
2. Cincinnati Children’s
3. Boston Children’s Hospital
4. Children’s Hospital Colorado
5. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia – tie
5. UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh – tie
Urology
1. Boston Children’s Hospital
2. Texas Children’s Hospital
3. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
4. Cincinnati Children’s
5. Nationwide Children’s Hospital
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