Methodology

To calculate the rankings, U.S. News partnered with RTI International to collect and analyze data from 118 children's hospitals, as well as survey responses from thousands of pediatric specialists. The hospitals were ranked across 11 pediatric specialties, including:

• Behavioral health
• Cancer
• Cardiology and heart surgery
• Diabetes and endocrinology
• Gastroenterology and GI surgery
• Neonatology
• Nephrology
• Neurology and neurosurgery
• Orthopedics
• Pulmonology and lung surgery
• Urology

This is the second year behavioral health has been included as a specialty in the rankings.

To determine the rankings, U.S. News evaluated how well each hospital performed in several different areas:

• Structure, which includes the volume, technology, clinical services, and other features of pediatric hospitals
• Process, which includes a hospital's commitment to best practices, ability to prevent infections, and expert opinions
• Outcomes, which include risk-adjusted mortality, readmissions following discharge, infection rates, and more

The best children's hospitals for 2025

Overall, 10 pediatric hospitals were named to U.S. News' Honor Roll, a distinction that is awarded to facilities that provide exceptionally high-quality care across several specialties. The Honor Roll hospitals are named in alphabetical order and either ranked No. 1 or tied for No. 1 in their state or region:

• Boston Children's Hospital (Boston, MA)
• Children's Hospital Colorado (Aurora, CO)
• Children's Hospital Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA)
• Children's National Hospital (Washington, D.C.)
• Cincinnati Children's (Cincinnati, OH)
• Nationwide Children's Hospital (Columbus, OH)
• Rady Children's Hospital (San Diego, CA)
• Seattle Children's Hospital (Seattle, WA)
• Texas Children's Hospital (Houston, TX)

Since the methodology for the behavioral health ranking is still new, U.S. News decided to postpone ordinal rankings for the specialty for at least one additional year. The top 50 pediatric hospitals included in behavioral health ranking were listed in alphabetical order instead.

U.S. News also ranked the top pediatric hospitals across several U.S. regions, including:

• Mid-Atlantic: Children's National Hospital and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (tie)
• Midwest: Cincinnati Children's and Nationwide Children's Hospital (tie)
• New England: Boston Children's Hospital
• Pacific: Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Rady Children's Hospital, and Seattle Children's Hospital (tie)
• Rocky Mountain: Children's Hospital Colorado
• Southeast: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Duke Children's Hospital and Health Center, and Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt (tie)
• Southwest: Texas Children's Hospital

"U.S. News has long assisted parents and caregivers in finding the best possible care for children with serious illnesses or complex medical needs. Our annual rankings of pediatric hospitals provide a roadmap to exceptional care for families, not just by specialty, but also by region and state," said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News.

"The data are clear: one in five U.S. children has a mental, emotional, behavioral or developmental disorder and nearly one in three youth ages 12 to 17 are navigating a mental or behavioral health condition," Harder added. "U.S. News' continued evaluation of the top hospitals for pediatric and adolescent behavioral health empowers families with the information they need to make the most informed decisions for their child's well-being and health."