Top hospitals for hip replacement surgery in the United States

Patients researching the top hospitals for hip replacement surgery in the United States will find a landscape shaped by rigorous national rankings, rapidly evolving surgical technology, and a wide disparity in cost structures. Approximately 330,000 to 469,000 hip replacements are performed in the United States every year, and projections from the Journal of Rheumatology estimate that figure will climb to 850,000 annually by 2030 and reach 1.4 million by 2040. 1 Understanding which institutions lead on outcomes, volume, and innovation is essential context before any patient begins evaluating their options.

How National Rankings Are Determined

The most widely cited source for hospital performance in orthopedics is the U.S. News and World Report annual Best Hospitals survey. In its 2025-26 edition, U.S. News evaluated data from nearly 4,500 hospitals across 15 specialties, ultimately ranking the top 50 for orthopedics. 2 Methodology incorporates patient outcomes, surgical volume, nursing care quality, patient-reported experience, and available technology such as computer-assisted orthopedic surgery. Data is drawn from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the American Hospital Association, and professional organizations. 3

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, through its Blue Distinction Specialty Care program, offers a parallel quality signal. Facilities that earn the Blue Distinction Center Plus designation for knee and hip replacement demonstrate measurably better outcomes: an average of 21 percent fewer readmissions and 21 percent fewer complications within 90 days after surgery, alongside cost savings of approximately 30 percent compared to non-designated facilities. 4 These designation frameworks are developed in partnership with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, grounding them in clinical standards rather than marketing claims.

Leading Institutions in the 2025-26 U.S. News Rankings

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City held the number one position for orthopedics for the 16th consecutive year in the 2025-26 U.S. News rankings. 2 HSS is a purpose-built orthopedic institution that draws patients from all 50 states and more than 100 countries, frequently for complex conditions requiring highly specialized care. NYU Langone Hospitals ranked second, followed by Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, at third. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell ranked fourth, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles placed fifth. 2

The following table summarizes the top ten institutions from the 2025-26 U.S. News orthopedic rankings, all of which are recognized centers for hip replacement surgery:

Notable Programs Outside the Top Ten

Several institutions ranked between positions 11 and 25 are particularly prominent in hip replacement research and volume. Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago placed 11th and is associated with advanced fellowship training programs in adult joint reconstruction. Cleveland Clinic, ranked 17th nationally, operates a high-volume hip replacement program with strong patient satisfaction metrics and a specialized center-of-excellence structure. 5 Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore placed 22nd, recognized for integrating academic orthopedic research directly into clinical hip replacement practice. 6

Houston Methodist Hospital ranked 24th, while Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, ranked 25th. Beaumont is also cited as a fellowship training site for anterior hip replacement specialists. Rothman Orthopaedics at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia ranked 19th and has a dedicated high-volume joint replacement infrastructure. Scripps La Jolla Hospitals in California and Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey also appeared in the top 20, reflecting geographic breadth across the ranking. 2

Surgical Techniques and Technological Advances

Many of the institutions appearing in national rankings distinguish themselves through the adoption of the direct anterior approach to hip replacement, which accesses the joint from the front and avoids cutting major muscles and tendons. This technique is associated with reduced postoperative pain, improved early stability, and faster functional recovery compared to traditional posterior approaches. 7 Live fluoroscopy, or intraoperative X-ray, is frequently used alongside this method to confirm accurate implant positioning in real time and support consistent leg length alignment.

Robotic-assisted hip replacement has become an increasingly prominent differentiator among leading centers. Platforms such as those used at Cedars-Sinai, Cleveland Clinic, and various Corewell Health facilities allow for patient-specific implant placement by generating preoperative three-dimensional maps of the joint. Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, a Dartmouth Health member recognized by U.S. News as High Performing for hip replacement, has offered robotic-assisted joint replacement using joint mapping technology since 2023. 8 Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami performed the region's first pediatric total hip replacement using mixed reality-assisted surgical guidance in 2026, illustrating how frontier technology is entering even specialized patient populations. 9

Cost Landscape and Insurance Considerations

The cost of hip replacement surgery in the United States varies substantially depending on insurance status, facility type, and geographic market. Uninsured patients may face charges ranging from $32,000 to $65,000 or more, while the national average across all payers sits near $23,000. Medicare patients in outpatient ambulatory surgical centers pay an average out-of-pocket cost of roughly $2,154, reflecting the substantial role that payer type plays in determining actual patient exposure. 10 The United States ranks second globally for hip replacement costs, with an average of approximately $28,167, behind only Israel at $36,000. 11

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons projects that 51 percent of all joint replacements will be performed on an outpatient basis by 2026, driven by advances in anesthesia, pain management, and surgical efficiency. 1 Ambulatory surgery centers typically bill 25 to 40 percent less than hospital inpatient stays for the same procedure. Commercial health plans generally require prior authorization for hip replacement, and some insurers operate center-of-excellence programs that designate high-volume providers and may cover travel costs to access them. Patients should confirm network status, implant coverage, and physical therapy benefits before finalizing a surgical facility.

Eligibility Criteria, Risks, and Recovery Realities

Hip replacement is generally considered when persistent joint pain limits daily function, rest, or sleep and has not responded to conservative measures including physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, injections, or assistive devices. Surgeons typically evaluate bone density, cardiovascular health, body mass index, and prior joint history when assessing surgical candidacy. Patients with significant obesity, uncontrolled diabetes, or active infection may face additional pre-surgical requirements or may not qualify for elective replacement at standard facilities. 12

Surgical risks include infection, blood clots, implant dislocation, leg length discrepancy, nerve injury, and in rare cases, revision surgery. Nationally, readmission rates and complication rates within 90 days serve as primary quality benchmarks used by Medicare and independent accreditation bodies. Recovery typically involves one to two nights in a hospital or same-day discharge under outpatient protocols, followed by six to twelve weeks of physical therapy. Long-term outcomes data from the American Joint Replacement Registry, which has captured more than four million hip and knee arthroplasty cases since 2012, indicate that modern implants perform reliably over 15 to 20 years for most patients, though revision surgery becomes a statistical possibility in a meaningful subset of cases over time. 1

Sources

1. The World Data - Hip Replacement Statistics in US 2026 (theworlddata.com)
2. Becker's Spine Review - Top 50 Orthopedic Hospitals 2025-26: U.S. News (beckersspine.com)
3. Business Wire - HSS Ranked No. 1 in Orthopedics by U.S. News and World Report for 16th Consecutive Year (businesswire.com)
4. Sanford Health News - Sanford USD Medical Center earns knee/hip replacement honor (news.sanfordhealth.org)
5. Cleveland Clinic - Hip Replacement Program (my.clevelandclinic.org)
6. Johns Hopkins Medicine - Orthopedic Surgery (hopkinsmedicine.org)
7. Healio - Hospital for Special Surgery named best US hospital for orthopedics in 2025 to 2026 (healio.com)
8. Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital - U.S. News names APD among best hospitals 2025-2026 for hip replacement (alicepeckday.org)
9. Lifestyle Brights Future - Nicklaus Children's performs region's first pediatric total hip replacement using mixed reality-assisted surgical guidance (lifestyle.brightsfuture.com)
10. Care Cost Index - Hip Replacement Surgery Cost 2026 (carecostindex.com)
11. World Population Review - Hip Replacement Cost by Country 2026 (worldpopulationreview.com)
12. Penn Medicine - Hip Fracture Surgery (pennmedicine.org)