60 CA Hospitals Among Best In U.S. In New Forbes Ranking

Forbes unveiled its first-ever Top Hospitals List and Rankings for 2026 on Thursday, including 60 California hospitals among the best in the U.S.

For its inaugural report, Forbes evaluated nearly 5,400 general acute care hospitals listed in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Provider Data Catalog based on their performance across 56 reported hospital quality measures.

The 56 selected measures were grouped into four categories with different weights: outcomes (55 percent of the weight), best practices (20 percent), value (15 percent) and patient experience (10 percent).

"Navigating the healthcare system can be daunting. Managing referrals, red tape, complicated treatment protocols and increasing costs become all the more overwhelming when people are at their most vulnerable—facing illness, long-term conditions, or injuries," Forbes senior editor Rachel Rabkin Peachman said.

California hospitals recognized as the best in the state are:

• Adventist Health Howard Memorial, Willits - overall ranking of five stars
• Adventist Health Ukiah Valley, Ukiah - five stars
• Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Summit Campus, Oakland - five stars
• Eisenhower Medical Center, Rancho Mirage - five stars
• French Hospital Medical Center, San Luis Obispo - five stars
• MarinHealth Medical Center, Greenbrae - five stars
• Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance, Torrance - five stars
• Providence St. Joseph Hospital Eureka, Eureka - five stars
• Scripps Green Hospital, La Jolla - five stars
• Sequoia Hospital, Redwood City - five stars
• Sharp Coronado Hospital, Coronado - five stars
• St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, Red Bluff - five stars
• Stanford Health Care, Stanford - five stars
• Sutter Davis Hospital, Davis - five stars
• Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, Santa Rosa - five stars
• UC San Diego Health Hillcrest Medical Center, San Diego - five stars
• UCI Medical Center, Orange - five stars
• Woodland Memorial Hospital, Woodland - five stars
• Adventist Health Glendale, Glendale - four stars
• Adventist Health Lodi Memorial, Lodi - four stars
• Adventist Health White Memorial, Los Angeles - four stars
• Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Alta Bates Campus, Berkeley - four stars
• CPMC Mission Bernal Campus & Orthopedic Institute, San Francisco - four stars
• California Hospital Medical Center, Los Angeles - four stars
• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles - four stars
• Dominican Hospital, Santa Cruz - four stars
• Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach - four stars
• John Muir Medical Center-Concord Campus, Concord - four stars
• Los Angeles General Medical Center, Los Angeles - four stars
• Marshall Medical Center, Placerville - four stars
• MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center, Laguna Hills - four stars
• Mercy General Hospital, Sacramento - four stars
• Mercy Hospital of Folsom, Folsom - four stars
• Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta, Mount Shasta - four stars
• Mills-Peninsula Medical Center-Burlingame Campus, Burlingame - four stars
• Natividad Medical Center, Salinas - four stars
• Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar - four stars
• PIH Health Downey Hospital, Downey - four stars
• Paradise Valley Hospital, National City - four stars
• Pioneers Memorial Hospital, Brawley - four stars
• Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, Mission Hills - four stars
• Providence Mission Hospital Mission Viejo, Mission Viejo - four stars
• Providence Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica - four stars
• Providence St. Joseph Hospital Orange, Orange - four stars
• Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles - four stars
• Salinas Valley Health, Salinas - four stars
• Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara - four stars
• Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, Encinitas - four stars
• Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, La Jolla - four stars
• Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego, San Diego - four stars
• Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, Chula Vista - four stars
• St. Bernardine Medical Center, San Bernardino - four stars
• St. Francis Medical Center, Lynwood - four stars
• St. Joseph's Medical Center, Stockton - four stars
• Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital, Auburn - four stars
• Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Lakeport - four stars
• Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento, Sacramento - four stars
• Sutter Tracy Community Hospital, Tracy - four stars
• Torrance Memorial Medical Center, Torrance - four stars
• UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco - four stars

To produce the Forbes Top Hospitals rating system, researchers enlisted healthcare measurement experts, including an advisory panel comprised of clinicians, scientists, health policy researchers, and patient advocates. The magazine also partnered with Inovalon, a healthcare data and analytics firm, to calculate the ratings.

The outcomes were statistically adjusted for social drivers of health, such as socioeconomic and access to medical services.

The ratings were then calculated, and out of 4,601 eligible hospitals, 253 hospitals received an overall rating of five stars, and 509 hospitals received an overall rating of four stars. The stars represented the following percentiles:

1. One star: 1st to 10th percentile
2. Two stars: 11th to 30th percentile
3. Three stars: 31st to 70th percentile
4. Four stars: 71st to 90th percentile
5. Five stars: 91st to 100th percentile

To view the full list of Forbes Top Hospitals, click here.