Top-rated hospitals for hip replacement surgery in the United States

Finding the top-rated hospitals for hip replacement surgery in the United States requires navigating multiple independent ranking systems, each measuring different dimensions of surgical quality. Approximately 572,000 total hip replacement procedures are performed in the United States each year, with demand projected to keep rising as the population ages. 1 Against that volume, meaningful differences in outcomes, infection rates, and readmission rates exist across institutions, making systematic ranking data a critical reference point for patients and referring clinicians alike.

How National Hospital Rankings for Hip Replacement Are Constructed

The most widely cited framework is the U.S. News and World Report Best Hospitals program, now in its 36th annual edition. For the 2025-2026 cycle, U.S. News evaluated more than 4,400 hospitals across 15 specialties, including orthopedics. 2 To qualify for a specialty ranking, institutions must meet at least one structural criterion: membership in the Association of American Medical Colleges, affiliation with a medical school, at least 200 staffed beds, or at least 100 staffed beds combined with four or more key medical technologies. 2 Orthopedics is one of 12 data-driven specialties where rankings are determined primarily by federal and industry outcome data rather than peer surveys alone.

For the specific hip replacement procedure rating, U.S. News applies a distinct methodology. Evaluation factors include risk-adjusted mortality, preventable complications, nursing quality, survival rates, infection rates, recovery at home, hospital stay length, and patient volume, drawn from over 800 million care records. 3 Only 499 hospitals nationwide received a High Performing designation for hip replacement in the 2025-2026 edition, indicating significantly better outcomes compared to peers. 3 Separately, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association runs a Blue Distinction Specialty Care program that identifies high-performing joint replacement centers using quality assessments developed in partnership with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Designated facilities demonstrate an average of 21 percent fewer readmissions and 21 percent fewer complications within 90 days after hip replacement surgery, and achieve cost savings of approximately 30 percent compared to non-designated facilities. 4

The National Leaders: U.S. News and Newsweek Orthopedic Rankings Compared

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City holds the No. 1 position in U.S. News orthopedic rankings for the 16th consecutive year in the 2025-2026 edition. 5 HSS performs more than 30,000 orthopedic surgical procedures annually and draws patients from all 50 states and more than 100 countries, often for complex cases requiring highly specialized care. 5 Newsweek's America's Best Hospitals for Specialized Care 2026 list designates HSS as No. 1 for orthopedic care in the United States, explicitly citing hip replacement surgery as one of its standout specialties alongside knee replacement, ACL reconstruction, ankle surgery, shoulder replacement, and nonsurgical orthopedic treatments. 6

Newsweek's World's Best Specialized Hospitals 2026 list, which incorporates global institutions, places Mayo Clinic Rochester at No. 1 worldwide for orthopedics and HSS at No. 2 globally. 7 On the U.S. News national list, Mayo Clinic Rochester holds the No. 3 spot. Newsweek's domestic orthopedic ranking places Mayo Clinic Rochester at No. 2 and recognizes it for hip replacement surgery as a standout specialty. 6 Cleveland Clinic ranks No. 3 in Newsweek's domestic orthopedic specialty list and No. 3 globally, also carrying a standout hip replacement designation. 6 7

Top 10 U.S. Hospitals for Orthopedics: 2025-2026 Rankings at a Glance

The table below summarizes the top 10 hospitals from the U.S. News 2025-2026 Best Hospitals for Orthopedics national specialty ranking and cross-references their appearance in Newsweek's America's Best Hospitals for Specialized Care 2026 orthopedic list. 2 6

Regional Leaders and Metro-Level Performance

Beyond national specialty rankings, U.S. News identifies 504 Best Regional Hospitals across 49 states and 95 metropolitan areas for the 2025-2026 cycle, evaluated entirely on procedures and conditions performance data. 2 The top regional hospitals by major metro area include Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital (tied) in Boston, Northwestern Medicine-Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Rush University Medical Center (tied) in Chicago, and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland. 8 Rush University Medical Center, listed as Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, ranks No. 11 on the national orthopedics list and is nationally recognized for joint reconstruction outcomes research.

Community-level recognition also exists through Healthgrades. River's Edge Hospital in St. Peter, Minnesota, earned the No. 1 ranking for joint replacement in Minnesota for 2026 by Healthgrades and received five-star ratings for hip replacement, knee replacement, and hip fracture treatment specifically, placing it among the top 5 percent of U.S. hospitals for those service areas. 9 The 2025-2026 U.S. News edition also recognized Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with a Blue Distinction Center+ designation for knee and hip replacement from Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, further illustrating that high-quality hip replacement programs exist well beyond major academic medical centers. 4

Clinical Quality Indicators Patients Should Examine

Ranking positions offer a useful starting point, but individual patients benefit from examining facility-level clinical metrics directly. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires hospitals to report standardized quality data through the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program, enabling public comparison across institutions. 10 Key procedure-specific metrics for hip replacement include 30-day readmission rates, surgical site infection rates, length of hospital stay, and the rate of at-home recovery versus extended facility stays. The 2024 American Joint Replacement Registry annual report analyzed 4.3 million hip and knee procedures across nearly 5,000 surgeons in all 50 states, with primary total hip arthroplasty representing roughly 32 percent of all joint procedures tracked. 1

The mean age of patients receiving primary total hip replacement is approximately 65.6 years, and women represent roughly 58.6 percent of joint replacement patients, per AJRR data. 1 Many leading programs now use the Direct Anterior Approach for hip replacement, a minimally invasive technique associated with reduced post-operative recovery time compared to traditional lateral or posterior approaches. Robotic-assisted systems, cited in the U.S. News methodology as a measurable quality technology, are deployed at multiple top-ranked centers including Cedars-Sinai and are used to improve implant placement precision. Patients should verify whether a prospective hospital holds Joint Commission accreditation, as this independent national credential reflects adherence to standardized care protocols throughout the surgical and recovery continuum.

Cost Variables and Access Considerations

Facility rankings do not reflect cost, and the financial structure of hip replacement is worth understanding independently. A total hip replacement is billed under CPT code 27130 (total hip arthroplasty) or under MS-DRG 470 for inpatient admissions, and the facility fee, which covers the operating room, nursing, recovery, and overhead, is almost always the largest component of the total bill. 11 At one California hospital, the facility charge alone was listed at approximately $58,966 for a total hip replacement, while the surgeon's professional fee represented a much smaller share. 11 Nationally, negotiated rates for CPT 27130 vary widely by state and insurance plan, with the national median negotiated rate reported at $1,819 for the professional fee component, ranging from approximately $1,136 to $2,863 across 125,204 providers. 12 Patients with insurance should confirm that a prospective hospital and the operating surgeon are both in-network, as separate billing for facility and professional fees creates independent in-network verification requirements. Geographic access also matters practically: while institutions like HSS draw patients nationally, regional high-performers and Blue Distinction Center+ designated facilities may deliver comparable procedure-specific outcomes closer to a patient's home community.

Sources

1. knowyoursurgery.com - Total Hip Replacement: FAQs, Statistics, and Patient Cases
2. beckersspine.com - Top 50 Orthopedic Hospitals 2025-26: U.S. News
3. saintjosephelgin.com - Saint Joseph Hospital Named High Performing in Hip Replacement by U.S. News and World Report
4. news.sanfordhealth.org - Sanford USD Medical Center Earns Knee/Hip Replacement Honor
5. businesswire.com - HSS Ranked No. 1 in Orthopedics by U.S. News and World Report for 16th Consecutive Year
6. rankings.newsweek.com - America's Best Hospitals for Specialized Care 2026: Orthopedic Care
7. rankings.newsweek.com - World's Best Specialized Hospitals 2026: Orthopedics
8. prnewswire.com - U.S. News Announces 2025-2026 Best Hospitals
9. ofc-clinic.com - River's Edge Hospital Ranked No. 1 in Joint Replacement in Minnesota by Healthgrades
10. cms.gov - Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program
11. medrates.fyi - What's Actually on a Hip Replacement Bill in the South Bay
12. momentarylab.com - How Much Does a Hip Replacement Cost? Self-Pay Rates 2026