Mayo Clinic Tops Newsweek's World Hospital Rankings for Eighth Consecutive Year

For the eighth year running, Newsweek has placed Mayo Clinic at the top of its annual World's Best Hospitals list. The 2026 ranking continues an unbroken streak that began in 2018, making Mayo the only institution to hold the No. 1 position for the full history of the ranking.

The Newsweek methodology draws from several sources: results from patient satisfaction surveys; an international survey of more than 85,000 healthcare professionals asked to identify hospitals they would recommend in their field; key performance metrics covering patient safety and quality of care; and implementation of patient-reported outcomes measures. The ranking covers hospitals across multiple countries and disciplines.

AI integration as a strategic priority

Mayo Clinic president and CEO Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., attributed the recognition to staff expertise and pointed specifically to a direction the organization has pursued over the past year: integrating artificial intelligence into patient care. This work sits within Mayo's "Bold. Forward." strategy and is operationalized through Mayo Clinic Platform, which develops, validates, and deploys AI tools in clinical settings. The platform operates with partners across four continents, focusing on applications tested and refined in real clinical environments rather than only in controlled research settings.

What the ranking measures and what it does not

Rankings of this type measure what their methodology can capture - survey responses, documented safety metrics, and patient outcome data from participating institutions. They cannot fully account for access, affordability, or the care delivered at community hospitals and primary care settings that treat the majority of patients in any health system.

Mayo Clinic operates as a nonprofit, with campuses in Rochester, Minnesota; Jacksonville, Florida; and the Phoenix/Scottsdale area of Arizona, as well as affiliated health systems. Its clinical practice is consistently among the top five in the United States, with more than 2,000 faculty physicians practicing at 130 locations. The full 2026 ranking, covering institutions across multiple countries, is available through Newsweek.