Top-rated orthopedic surgery centers in California

California consistently ranks among the states with the most top-rated spine and orthopedic ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in the country, alongside Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, and Texas. 1 Multiple independent rating organizations, including U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, and Healthgrades, have collectively identified dozens of California facilities as benchmarks for surgical quality, patient outcomes, and clinical excellence across joint replacement, spine surgery, and sports medicine.

How Major Rating Bodies Evaluate Orthopedic Centers

U.S. News & World Report evaluated 4,421 ambulatory surgery centers across four specialties, including orthopedics and spine, as part of its annual Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers list. 2 Patients treated at top-ranked spine and orthopedic ASCs had, on average, a 29% lower severity-weighted complication rate compared to all evaluated ASCs nationwide. 2 The methodology incorporates risk-adjusted mortality rates, complication rates, and clinical outcome data drawn from approximately 4,500 hospitals and surgery centers.

Newsweek, in partnership with Statista, examined more than 5,000 ambulatory surgery centers throughout the United States, scoring them across categories including quality of surgical care, management of waiting time, quality of surgical preparation, and quality of follow-up care. 3 Healthgrades independently evaluates risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates for over 30 common conditions and procedures at approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide to identify top specialty performers. 4

Top-Ranked California Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery

Among full-service hospital systems, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles has been ranked No. 5 nationally for orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report in its 2025-26 Best Hospitals list, also holding the top orthopedic ranking in California and Los Angeles. 5 Cedars-Sinai has appeared on the U.S. News Honor Roll for 10 consecutive years and received a score of 94.12% from Newsweek, making it the highest-scoring surgery center in the United States in 2024 for the second consecutive year. 3 Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles and Stanford Health Care-Stanford Hospital each appear in the U.S. News top 10 nationally for orthopedic care, with UCLA ranked No. 6 in Newsweek's America's Best Hospitals for Specialized Care 2026. 6

UCSF Health-UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco ranks No. 6 on the U.S. News 2025-26 Best Hospitals for Orthopedics list, while Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center & Orthopedic Hospital sits at No. 10 nationally. 7 Scripps La Jolla Hospitals rank No. 18 on the same national list. 7 Healthgrades named 18 California hospitals to its Top 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery list for 2026, recognizing facilities for superior outcomes in back and neck surgery, spinal fusion, hip fracture treatment, hip replacement, and total knee replacement. 8

California ASCs on the U.S. News Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers List

More than 50 of the 200-plus orthopedic ASCs on the U.S. News Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers list are located in the Western United States, with California accounting for the largest share among Western states. 9 The following California ASCs appear on the most recent edition of the list:

• Advanced Surgical Center of Beverly Hills and 90210 Surgery Medical Center at Linden (Beverly Hills)
• Skyway Surgery Center (Chico) and Campus Surgery Center (Daly City)
• Scripps Encinitas Surgery Center and UCSD Ambulatory Surgery Center (La Jolla)
• Long Beach Surgery Center and California Specialty Surgery Center (Mission Viejo)
• Oasis Surgery Center (Palmdale), El Mirador Surgery Center (Palm Springs), and Coastal Surgical Specialists (Pismo Beach)
• Poway Surgery Center, Sutter Sierra Surgery Center (Roseville), and Premier Outpatient Surgery Center (San Bernardino)
• Surgery Center San Carlos, Presidio Surgery Center (San Francisco), and Santa Barbara Outpatient Surgery Centers
• Carrillo Surgery Center and De la Vina Surgicenter (Santa Barbara), Santa Rosa Surgery and Endoscopy Center
• Saxon Surgical Center (Thousand Oaks), Center for Orthopedic Surgery (Van Nuys), Washington Outpatient Surgery Center (Fremont), and Hacienda Surgery Center (Pleasanton)

California Specialty Surgery Center in Mission Viejo, operated by Hoag Orthopedic Institute, earned U.S. News recognition for best orthopedics and spine for the second consecutive year, reflecting the HOI network's position as one of the largest orthopedic and spine care providers in the nation. 10

Sutter Health and Northern California Orthopedic Recognition

Sutter Health's Northern California hospital network earned multiple 2026 Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Awards, with three hospitals, Sutter Medical Center Sacramento, Novato Community Hospital, and Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, named to America's 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Care. 4 Three Sutter hospitals were simultaneously named to America's 100 Best Hospitals for Joint Replacement: Mills-Peninsula Medical Center, Sutter Medical Center Sacramento, and Novato Community Hospital. 4

Novato Community Hospital received specific recognition as ranking No. 5 in California for joint replacement by Healthgrades, earning five-star ratings for total knee replacement for four consecutive years (2023-2026) and for total hip replacement for three consecutive years (2024-2026). 11 Sutter Health's recognition spans 120 five-star ratings for clinical performance across a range of specialties in its 2026 Healthgrades evaluation cycle. 4

Academic and Specialty Orthopedic Centers Across the State

Keck Medicine of USC operates orthopedic surgery clinics in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Glendale, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Beverly Hills, and San Pedro, providing multidisciplinary operative and nonoperative treatment through an academic medical program. 12 The Keck network uses robotic-assisted procedures and minimally invasive surgical techniques for conditions ranging from herniated discs to complex joint replacements. The Stone Clinic in San Francisco is recognized nationally for cartilage and meniscal surgery, with founder Dr. Kevin Stone consistently listed among the country's top 25 ASC leaders and top 75 knee surgeons. 13

Healthgrades' 2026 California hospital list for orthopedic surgery includes West Hills Hospital and Medical Center, USC Arcadia Hospital, Torrance Memorial Medical Center, Riverside Community Hospital, Providence St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, Kaiser Permanente Orange County-Anaheim Medical Center, Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, and Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, among others. 8 Los Robles Regional Medical Center was separately recognized as ranked No. 1 in California for orthopedic surgery by Healthgrades. 14

Key Considerations and Patient Evaluation Factors

Patients researching orthopedic surgery centers in California should understand that ratings reflect historical aggregated outcome data rather than real-time performance guarantees. Complication rates, readmission rates, and patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) vary by procedure type, patient age, and underlying health conditions. Academic medical centers affiliated with residency and fellowship training programs, such as those connected to UC system hospitals and USC, typically handle higher surgical volumes and more complex cases, which can affect outcome statistics in both directions.

Insurance network participation varies considerably across California's orthopedic centers, and verification of coverage prior to scheduling is a practical necessity. Ambulatory surgery centers and hospital-based orthopedic departments operate under different regulatory oversight frameworks in California; ASCs are subject to state licensing requirements and federal Medicare certification standards. Waiting times, care coordination, and post-operative rehabilitation access are practical quality dimensions that published rankings do not always fully capture, making direct inquiry with the facility an important supplement to consulting published rating data. 15

Sources

1. Becker's Spine Review - States with the most top-rated spine, orthopedic ASCs 2026 (beckersspine.com)
2. Becker's ASC - The best spine, orthopedic ASCs: US News (beckersasc.com)
3. Saadat Spine - Cedars-Sinai Ranked Best Surgery Center in California and the US 2024 (saadatspine.com)
4. Sutter Health Vitals - Sutter Hospitals Earn Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Top Honors (vitals.sutterhealth.org)
5. Cedars-Sinai Newsroom - Cedars-Sinai Ranks Among Top U.S. Hospitals for 10th Consecutive Year (cedars-sinai.org)
6. Newsweek Rankings - America's Best Hospitals for Specialized Care 2026: Orthopedic Care (rankings.newsweek.com)
7. Becker's Spine Review - Top 50 orthopedic hospitals 2025-26: US News (beckersspine.com)
8. Becker's Spine Review - The 100 best hospitals for orthopedic surgery: Healthgrades (beckersspine.com)
9. Becker's Spine Review - The best orthopedic ASCs in the West: US News (beckersspine.com)
10. Hoag Orthopedic Institute LinkedIn - California Specialty Surgery Center US News Recognition (linkedin.com)
11. Novato Patch - Novato Community Hospital Earns Top Honors for Orthopedic Care (patch.com)
12. Keck Medicine of USC - Orthopedic Surgery Locations (keckmedicine.org)
13. The Stone Clinic - Dr. Kevin R. Stone Orthopaedic Surgeon Profile (stoneclinic.com)
14. Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center LinkedIn - Ranked #1 in California for Orthopedic Surgery by Healthgrades (linkedin.com)
15. Medicare.gov - Care Compare Hospital Quality Measures (medicare.gov)