Best Hospitals by State: 5-Star Ratings Ranked for 2026

Texas and California have the most five-star hospitals of any state, 29 each, in the official Medicare overall star ratings loaded by DataPorium (hospital data as of April 1, 2026) ^[1]. Measured by share, Utah leads by far: 15 of its 29 rated hospitals, or 51.7%, have five stars, against 12.2% nationally ^[1]^[3]. Only 383 of 6,517 Medicare hospitals have five stars, and 3,368, more than half, have no star rating at all ^[1].

Which states have the most 5-star hospitals?

The table ranks states by the number of hospitals with a five-star overall rating. "Rated hospitals" are those with any rating from 1 to 5. The share of rated hospitals with five stars and the share of all hospitals that are rated were computed by DataPorium. Ties are ordered by the five-star share ^[1].

Rank	State	5-star hospitals	Rated hospitals	5-star share of rated	All hospitals	Share rated	Average rating
1	Texas	29	216	13.4%	637	33.9%	3.38
2	California	29	276	10.5%	453	60.9%	3.11
3	Wisconsin	21	86	24.4%	155	55.5%	3.78
4	Pennsylvania	20	128	15.6%	223	57.4%	3.50
5	New York	20	136	14.7%	204	66.7%	2.77
6	Florida	19	168	11.3%	297	56.6%	3.06
7	Ohio	18	125	14.4%	249	50.2%	3.61
8	Utah	15	29	51.7%	59	49.2%	4.24
9	Colorado	14	48	29.2%	117	41.0%	3.98
10	Illinois	14	134	10.4%	227	59.0%	3.04
11	Minnesota	13	56	23.2%	139	40.3%	3.77
12	Virginia	12	76	15.8%	123	61.8%	3.68
13	Indiana	12	89	13.5%	173	51.4%	3.35
14	North Carolina	12	90	13.3%	131	68.7%	3.30
15	Massachusetts	9	53	17.0%	105	50.5%	3.23
16	Michigan	9	93	9.7%	173	53.8%	3.10

Source: DataPorium Healthcare Providers, Medicare hospitals by state and overall star rating (hospital data as of April 1, 2026; updated October 2, 2026) ^[1]. Average rating is the mean of rated hospitals.

Which states have the highest share of 5-star hospitals?

Counts favor large states. Ranked by the share of rated hospitals with five stars, among the 42 states with at least 20 rated hospitals, the top six are all in the West or Midwest ^[1]:

Utah: 15 of 29 rated hospitals (51.7%), with the highest average rating of any state, 4.24 ^[1]^[3].
Colorado: 14 of 48 (29.2%), average 3.98 ^[1].
Wisconsin: 21 of 86 (24.4%), average 3.78 ^[1].
Minnesota: 13 of 56 (23.2%), average 3.77 ^[1].
Idaho: 5 of 22 (22.7%), average 3.55 ^[1].
Montana: 4 of 20 (20.0%), average 3.25 ^[1].
Massachusetts: 9 of 53 (17.0%) ^[1].
Maryland: 7 of 42 (16.7%) ^[1].
Virginia: 12 of 76 (15.8%) ^[1].
Pennsylvania: 20 of 128 (15.6%) ^[1].

Where 5-star hospitals are rare

Four states with 20 or more rated hospitals have no five-star hospital: Louisiana (59 rated), Alabama (57), Nebraska (36) and New Hampshire (23) ^[1]. Mississippi has one five-star hospital among 50 rated (2.0%) and the lowest average rating of any state, 2.34 ^[1]. Delaware, Hawaii and Rhode Island, each with fewer than 20 rated hospitals, also have none ^[1].

New York shows that count and average can diverge: it has 20 five-star hospitals, tied with Pennsylvania for the fourth-highest count, but an average rating of 2.77, below the national 3.21 ^[1].

Which 5-star hospitals are in the largest states?

The largest five-star hospitals by beds in selected states, from DataPorium's state hospital lists ^[1]:

California: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles (913 beds), UC San Diego Health Hillcrest (840) and Stanford Health Care (717) ^[1].
Texas: Houston Methodist Hospital (1,054 beds) and Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Temple (616); the Houston and San Antonio VA medical centers also have five stars ^[1]^[4].
New York: New York-Presbyterian Hospital (2,844 beds) and NYU Langone Hospitals (1,663); two VA hospitals, in Northport and in the Hudson Valley, also have five stars ^[1]^[5].
Florida: UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville (993 beds), Sarasota Memorial Hospital (791), Baptist Hospital of Miami (775) and Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers (697) ^[1].
Pennsylvania: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (1,002 beds) and St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem (807) ^[1].
Illinois: Northwestern Memorial Hospital (930 beds), NorthShore's Evanston Hospital (691) and Rush University Medical Center (608) ^[1].
Ohio: Hillcrest Hospital (482 beds) and Fairview Hospital (475), both part of Cleveland Clinic; Cleveland Clinic's main hospital is rated four stars ^[1].
Utah: University of Utah Hospital (757 beds), Intermountain Medical Center (486) and Intermountain Health Utah Valley Hospital (337) ^[3].
Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics in Madison (681 beds), the Madison VA Medical Center (475) and UnityPoint Health - Meriter (332) ^[1].

Veterans Affairs hospitals stand out in the ratings. Of 110 rated VA hospitals, 49 have five stars (44.5%) and their average rating is 4.16; among 2,640 rated short-term acute care hospitals, 290 have five stars (11.0%) ^[1]. CMS says VA hospitals became eligible for the star ratings in 2023 ^[8].

What does the hospital star rating measure?

The overall hospital quality star rating, from 1 to 5 stars, is published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). It summarizes a hospital's results on quality measures that CMS already reports into one score ^[7]; the current data group those measures into five measure groups: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care ^[6]. CMS's hospital data list, for each hospital, the rating and how many measures it reported in each group ^[6].

The rating compares hospitals on these measures; it is not a ranking of specialties, prices or reputation. A "best" hospital in this article simply means one with five stars on this measure.

Why are so many hospitals unrated?

Hospitals that do not report enough measures in enough groups do not receive a rating ^[7]. In DataPorium's data, no psychiatric (659), rehabilitation (414), long-term care (310) or children's (94) hospital has a rating, nor do military, federal and rural emergency hospitals ^[1]^[2]. Among types that can be rated, 452 of 3,092 short-term acute care hospitals and 990 of 1,389 critical access hospitals have no rating ^[1]. That is why Texas, with 637 hospitals, has only 216 rated (33.9%) ^[1]^[4].

Only 383 of 6,517 Medicare hospitals, 12.2% of those rated, hold five stars; Utah has the highest five-star share at 51.7%, while Texas and California have the most, 29 each.

How we ranked the states

Hospitals: every active Medicare-certified hospital in DataPorium's data, 6,517 in all, including Veterans Affairs hospitals (hospital data as of April 1, 2026, updated October 2, 2026) ^[1].
Rating: the CMS overall star rating stored with each hospital; hospitals without a rating are counted as unrated ^[1].
Share ranking: limited to states with at least 20 rated hospitals, so a state with one or two rated hospitals cannot top the list. Territories are listed with states in the data; Puerto Rico has 7 rated hospitals and none with five stars ^[1].

Key takeaways

Texas and California tie for the most five-star hospitals, 29 each, followed by Wisconsin with 21 ^[1].
Utah has the highest five-star share, 51.7% of rated hospitals, and the highest average rating, 4.24 ^[1].
Nationally 383 hospitals have five stars, 12.2% of the 3,149 rated; 3,368 of 6,517 hospitals (51.7%) are unrated ^[1].
Louisiana, Alabama, Nebraska and New Hampshire have no five-star hospital despite 23 to 59 rated hospitals each ^[1].
VA hospitals average 4.16 stars, and 44.5% of rated VA hospitals have five stars ^[1].

Frequently asked questions

Which state has the best hospitals?

By the share of rated hospitals with five Medicare stars, Utah: 15 of 29 (51.7%), with an average of 4.24 stars ^[1]^[3]. By the number of five-star hospitals, Texas and California tie at 29 ^[1].

How many hospitals have a 5-star rating?

383 of the 6,517 Medicare hospitals in DataPorium's data, or 12.2% of the 3,149 hospitals with a rating ^[1].

What does a 5-star hospital rating mean?

It is the top score on the CMS overall star rating, which summarizes measures of mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care ^[6].

Why does a hospital have no star rating?

It did not report enough quality measures to be rated, or it is a hospital type that is not rated, such as psychiatric or rehabilitation hospitals; 51.7% of Medicare hospitals have no rating ^[1]^[7].