America's Best Hospitals

M.D. Anderson ranked No. 1 in latest U.S. News & World Report survey of the besthospitals

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is ranked No. 1 in the nation for cancer treatmentin the latest U.S. News and World Report survey of Best Hospitals.
Methodist Hospital ranks among the nation's top hospitals in 13 of 16specialties.
St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital ranks No. 4 in the nation in heart and heartsurgery.

The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center remains the nation's No. 1 hospital for cancer treatment, according to the latest U.S. News and World Report survey of America's Best Hospitals.

The 2010-11 rankings, posted on the magazine's Web site Wednesday, named M.D. Anderson the leading cancer hospital in the nation for the seventh time in the last nine years.

The hospital also is ranked in six adult specialities — No. 6 in ear and throat, No. 10 in urology, No. 11 in gynecology, No. 19 in gastroenterology, and No. 21 in diabetes and endocrinology.

And it is No. 12 in pediatric cancer in the 2010-2011 version of Best Children's Hospitals released last month.

U.S. News evaluated nearly 5,000 hospitals to compile its rankings of Best Hospitals and Best Children's Hospitals. The list includes rankings of 152 medical centers nationwide in 16 specialties, including cancer, diabetes and endocrinology, ear, nose, and throat, gastroenterology, geriatrics, gynecology, heart and heart surgery, kidney disorders, neurology and neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, psychiatry, pulmonology, rehabilitation, rheumatology, and urology.

No Houston hospital was named to the Honor Roll of the top 14 hospitals overall in the America's Best Hospital survey, based on rankings in a number of specialities and other factors.

But a number of area hospitals showed up well in various specialties, including heart and heart surgery, rehabilitation, opthalmology, kidney disorders and geriatrics.

Among other Houston hospitals:

Methodist Hospital ranked among the nation's top hospitals in 13 of the 16 specialties. It ranked 12th in ophthalmology, 17th in ear, nose, throat, 18th in urology, 20th in gastroenterology, 20th in geriatrics, 24th in kidney, 25th in neurology/neurosurgery, 26th in orthopedics, 27th in pulmonology, 36th in gynecology, 42nd in heart/heart surgery, 44th in diabetes/endocrinology and 45th in cancer.
St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital's Texas Heart Institute ranked fourth in heart and heart surgery. The hospital also ranked 38th in gastroenterology, 39th in urology, 44th in geriatrics, and 45th in kidney disorders.
TIRR Memorial Hermann ranked fifth in rehabilitation.
Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center ranked No. 30 in kidney disorders, No. 38 in gynecology, 46th in heart/heart surgery and 48th in urology. It ranks 30th in pediatric kidney disorders in the Best Children's Hospital rankings.
The Menninger Clinic ranked 5th in psychiatry.

In last month's rankings of children's hospitals, Texas Children's Hospital got high marks in 10 pediatric specialties: heart and heart surgery (3rd in the nation), kidney disorders (4th), gastroenterology (4th), neurology and neurosurgery (4th), pulmonology (4th), cancer (5th), neonatology (7th), urology (9th), diabetes and endocrinology (10th), and orthopedics (12th). Texas Children's was also one of only eight hospitals in the nation to make the Best Children's Hospital Honor Roll.

Such rankings are hotly debated in medical circles, but hospitals feature high rankings prominently in advertisements and marketing brochures.

The full survey of America's Best Hospitals will be featured in the August issue of U.S. News & World Report available on newsstands July 27.

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Houston has work to do on ranking of America's fittest cities for 2026

Photo by Gabin Vallet on Unsplash

About 74 percent of Houstonians have exercised in the past month.

Houstonians are more fit than they used to be, but the city still needs to hit the gym. The Bayou City ranks in the middle of the pack in a ranking of America's fittest cities.

This year’s American Fitness Index puts Houston at No. 44 among the country’s 100 most populated cities, up from 49th place last year. Houston ranks 26th in the personal health category and a disappointing 64th in the community and environment category.

The index shows 74 percent of Houston residents had exercised in the previous month, 57 percent had met aerobic activity guidelines, and 33 percent had met aerobic and strength activity guidelines. The first two of those numbers are below the 100-city averages.

The Elevance Health Foundation and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) produce the annual index, which they say combines measures of personal health behavior, chronic disease outcomes, community infrastructure, and environmental factors “to provide a comprehensive picture of how well cities promote fitness and well-being.”

Arlington, Virginia, tops the index, followed by Washington, D.C.; Minneapolis; Seattle; and Denver. The Dallas suburb of Plano takes the top Texas spot at No. 12 nationally.

“The cities that consistently rank at the top aren’t succeeding because of one program or one investment,” Stella Volpe, past president of ACSM and chair of the Fitness Index Advisory Board, says in a press release. “They’ve built systems that support healthier living over time. They are the ones creating environments where physical activity can easily become a part of everyday routines.”

One thing helping Houston is its strong network of parks. In May, Houston landed at No. 10 in Texas and 69th in the U.S. in the annual ParkScore Index. That was down slightly from 2025.

Every year, land conservation nonprofit The Trust for Public Land rates park systems in the 100 biggest American cities on accessibility, equity, acreage, investment, and amenities.

Among other Texas cities appearing in the American Fitness index are:

No. 28 Austin, down from No. 21 last year.
No. 43 Dallas, up from 46th last year.
No. 69 Fort Worth, up from 80th last year.
No. 80 San Antonio, up from No. 94 last year.

“Where you live increasingly determines how healthy you are,” Volpe says. “The healthiest cities don’t just encourage exercise — they make movement part of daily life through infrastructure, transportation, and community design.”

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