UCSF Health Named Among Nation’s Best for 2025-2026

UCSF Health-UCSF Medical Center* has again been named to the national Honor Roll in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best Hospitals rankings for adult care, a distinction earned by only 20 medical centers nationwide and four in California.

It tied as the No. 1 hospital in California and ranked best in the state for cancer, geriatrics, neurology and neurosurgery, pulmonology, and rheumatology.

Nationwide, UCSF Health was listed among the top 10 programs in seven adult areas: cancer, geriatrics, neurology and neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, pulmonology, and rheumatology. Additional high rankings include ear, nose and throat; gastroenterology; cardiology; diabetes; urology; and obstetrics and gynecology.

“UCSF Health is dedicated to caring for all patients, of all needs and backgrounds. This commitment is only possible because of our remarkable community,” said Suresh Gunasekaran, president and chief executive officer of UCSF Health. “These rankings are a testament to the contributions of every single person across our organization. Their work is what makes me confident in our continued ability to treat the most challenging conditions, and ensure that such compassionate, effective care is accessible to everyone.”

This recognition is a tribute to the hard work of our clinical teams and their collaborations with scientists to constantly advance care for patients with the most challenging conditions.”

The annual Best Hospitals report, released July 29, helps patients and their physicians determine which hospitals provide the best care for the most complex cases. Of the more than 4,400 hospitals evaluated this year, only 3.6% earned one or more top-50 rankings in a medical specialty. UCSF Health received 13 such designations.

“This recognition is a tribute to the hard work of our clinical teams and their collaborations with scientists to constantly advance care for patients with the most challenging conditions,” said UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS. “It is through their collective efforts that UCSF is consistently recognized as one of the best places in the nation for specialty care.”

This is the 29th consecutive year that UCSF has ranked among the top medical centers in neurology and neurosurgery, which are specialties within the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. It was also the top-ranked hospital in Northern California in gastroenterology and GI surgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, and urology, and best hospital overall in the San Francisco metro area.

UCSF Health also ranked as “high-performing” – the highest category – in 21 adult procedures and conditions, including diabetes, heart attacks, prostate cancer surgery, colon cancer surgery, hip replacement, and knee replacement.

All five medical centers in the University of California health system – at UCSF, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Davis, and UC Irvine – were recognized among California’s most distinguished hospitals.

UCSF Health is consistently cited among the country’s leaders in quality and safety by health care’s most highly regarded rating systems. These include The Leapfrog Group’s Top Hospital award, as well as Leapfrog’s “A” grade, its highest rating, for safety. UCSF Health hospitals have also received a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for quality of care, and are listed among top academic medical centers for quality and safety by the health care performance improvement company Vizient, Inc. They have received the gold standard “magnet recognition” in nursing excellence for more than a decade.

* U.S. News & World Report evaluates UCSF Medical Center for its UCSF Health adult rankings.

UCSF’s 2025-2026 rankings and recognition

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Nationwide, Best Hospitals Honor Roll 2025-2026

• #1 (tied) in California
• #1 San Francisco Metro Area

Top 10 nationwide (national rank shown)

• #2 Neurology & Neurosurgery – Best in California
• #2 Geriatric Care – Best in California
• #3 Pulmonology & Lung Surgery – Best in California
• #6 Orthopedics – Best in Northern California
• #7 Cancer – Best in California
• #7 Rheumatology – Best in California
• #10 (tie) Ophthalmology – Best in Northern California

Among the nation’s best (national rank shown)

• #15 (tie) Diabetes & Endocrine Disorders – Best in the San Francisco Metro Area
• #15 (tie) Urology – Best in Northern California
• #16 Gastroenterology & GI Surgery – Best in Northern California
• #17 (tie) Ear, Nose & Throat – Best in the San Francisco Metro Area
• #22 Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery – Best in the San Francisco Metro Area
• #25 Obstetrics & Gynecology – Best in the San Francisco Metro Area
• Psychiatry, High Performing (top 10% nationwide)

High-Performing procedures and conditions

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair
• Aortic valve surgery
• Back surgery (spinal fusion)
• COPD
• Colon cancer surgery
• Diabetes
• Gynecological cancer surgery
• Heart arrhythmia
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Hip fracture

• Hip replacement
• Kidney failure
• Knee replacement
• Leukemia, lymphoma & myeloma
• Lung cancer surgery
• Maternity care (uncomplicated pregnancy)
• Pacemaker implantation
• Pneumonia
• Prostate cancer surgery
• Stroke

About UCSF Health: UCSF Health is recognized worldwide for its innovative patient care, reflecting the latest medical knowledge, advanced technologies and pioneering research. It includes the flagship UCSF Medical Center, which is among the nation’s best hospitals, as well as UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, with campuses in San Francisco and Oakland; two community hospitals, UCSF Health St. Mary’s and UCSF Health Saint Francis; Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital; UCSF Benioff Children’s Physicians; and the UCSF Faculty Practice. These hospitals serve as the academic medical center of the University of California, San Francisco, which is world-renowned for its graduate-level health sciences education and biomedical research. UCSF Health has affiliations with hospitals and health organizations throughout the Bay Area. Visit www.ucsfhealth.org. Follow UCSF Health on Facebook or on LinkedIn.