Southeast region rankings included

U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice, has revealed the 2022-2023 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings to help families of children with rare or life-threatening illnesses find the best medical care available. Now in their 16th year, the rankings include new measures for diversity, equity and inclusion.

The 2022-2023 rankings highlight the top 50 centers in each of these 10 pediatric specialties: cancer, cardiology & heart surgery, diabetes & endocrinology, gastroenterology & gastrointestinal surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology & neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology & lung surgery, and urology. For the second year, the Best Children’s Hospitals rankings feature expanded offerings that include state rankings and multi-state regional rankings.

Ten hospitals earned a spot on the Honor Roll – a distinction awarded to pediatric centers that deliver exceptionally high-quality care across multiple specialties. For the ninth consecutive year, Boston Children’s Hospital claimed the top spot on the Honor Roll. It also landed at No. 1 as the Best Children’s Hospital in Massachusetts and No. 1 in five of the 10 specialties: pediatric cancer (with Dana-Farber), pediatric nephrology, pediatric neurology & neurosurgery, pediatric orthopedics, and pediatric urology.

“Choosing the right hospital for a sick child is a critical decision for many parents. The Best Children’s Hospitals rankings spotlight hospitals that excel in specialized care, offering parents and their pediatricians a helpful starting point in choosing the facility that’s best for their child,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News.  “Recognizing that hospitals with inclusive and equitable cultures perform better, this year we added a new measure assessing hospitals’ efforts to improve the equity of care provided and to promote diversity and inclusion among clinicians and staff.”

2022-2023 Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll

1. Boston Children’s Hospital
2. Texas Children’s Hospital
3. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center 
4. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
5. Children’s National Hospital
6. UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
7. Children’s Hospital Colorado
8. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
9. Nationwide Children’s Hospital
10. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford

Other hospitals with No. 1 rankings include Texas Children’s Hospital in pediatric cardiology & heart surgery and pediatric pulmonology & lung surgery, Children’s National Hospital in neonatology, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in pediatric diabetes & endocrinology, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in pediatric gastroenterology & GI surgery.

See Best Children's Hospitals in the Southeast Below 

New This Year

Now in the 16th year of these rankings, U.S. News expanded its Best Children’s Hospitals offerings by introducing a measure of hospitals’ efforts to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion. It counts for 2% of each hospital’s score in each specialty.

In addition to the new measure for equity, diversity and inclusion, the weight of Expert Opinion has been reduced in most specialties from 15% to 13%. In pediatric cardiology & heart surgery, the weight of Expert Opinion has been reduced from 8.5% to 8%.

Top Five Children’s Hospitals in the 10 Evaluated Specialties

Pediatric Cardiology & Heart Surgery

1. Texas Children’s Hospital
2. Boston Children’s Hospital
3. UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
4. MUSC Children's Heart Network of South Carolina
5. New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell

Pediatric Cancer

1. Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
2. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
3. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
4. Texas Children's Hospital
5. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia 

Neonatology

1. Children's National Hospital
2. Boston Children’s Hospital
3. Texas Children’s Hospital
4. UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
5. UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals, San Francisco and Oakland

Pediatric Diabetes & Endocrinology 

1. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
2. Boston Children's Hospital
3. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
4. Children's Hospital Colorado
5. Texas Children’s Hospital

Pediatric Gastroenterology & GI Surgery 

1. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
2. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
3. Boston Children's Hospital
4. Texas Children's Hospital (tie)

4. Children's Hospital Colorado (tie)

Pediatric Nephrology 

1. Boston Children's Hospital
2. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford
3. Texas Children’s Hospital
4. Children’s Mercy Kansas City Hospital
5. Children’s National Hospital

Pediatric Neurology & Neurosurgery

1. Boston Children's Hospital
2. Texas Children's Hospital
3. Children's National Hospital
4. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
5. St. Louis Children's Hospital-Washington University

Pediatric Orthopedics

1. Boston Children's Hospital
2. Rady Children’s Hospital
3. Children's Medical Center Dallas-Texas Scottish Rite for Children
4. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
5. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Pediatric Pulmonology & Lung Surgery

1. Texas Children’s Hospital
2. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
3. Boston Children’s Hospital
4. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
5. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford

Pediatric Urology

1. Boston Children's Hospital
2. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
3. Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health
4. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
5. Texas Children’s Hospital

Best Children's Hospitals in Southeast

1     Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

       Children’s Hospital of Alabama at UAB

       Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt

4     Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center

5     Levine Children’s Hospital

       North Carolina Children’s Hospital at UNC

7     Arkansas Children’s Hospital

8     Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children

       Nicklaus Children’s Hospital

       UF Shands Children’s Hospital

11   Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital

       MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital

13    Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

       Ochsner Hospital for Children

15   Children’s Hospital New Orleans

       Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital at Memorial

       Nemours Children’s Hospital-Florida

18   AdventHealth for Children  

The Best Children's Hospitals methodology factors objective measures such as patient outcomes, including mortality and infection rates, as well as health equity and available clinical resources and compliance with best practices. To calculate the Best Children’s Hospitals rankings, U.S. News gathered relevant data from children’s hospitals, pediatric specialists and other healthcare organizations in early 2022.

RTI International, a North Carolina-based research and consulting firm, collected and analyzed data from 119 children’s hospitals and surveyed thousands of pediatric specialists. More than 100 pediatric specialists and other experts provided input through methodology working groups. 

This year’s rankings will be published in the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals 2023” guidebook (ISBN 9781931469999), available in stores October 5, 2022.

For more information, visit Best Children’s Hospitals and use #BestHospitals on Facebook and Twitter.

U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower consumers, business leaders and policy officials to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives and communities. A multifaceted digital media company with Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars, News and 360 Reviews platforms, U.S. News provides rankings, independent reporting, data journalism, consumer advice and U.S. News Live events. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.