Best orthopedic surgery hospitals ranked by state: data-backed reporting on state leaders, eligibility criteria, and selection tradeoffs

State-by-state orthopedic surgery rankings require transparent methodology and clear boundaries around what a “best” designation means. This article compiles and summarizes the provided state-broken hospital lists and supporting methodology notes, starting with Healthgrades’ published orthopedic-surgery leaders by state and extending to additional published orthopedic ranking context. 1 4

How state orthopedic hospital rankings are typically produced

Orthopedic surgery rankings are usually derived from outcomes and structured performance measurement, not from reputation alone. In the Healthgrades methodology for Specialty State Rankings, Healthgrades analyzed and identified top ranked hospitals in each state across 18 key specialty areas, including Orthopedic Surgery. 4 The analysis used Medicare inpatient data from the MedPAR file (Medicare Provider Analysis and Review) purchased from CMS for years 2022 through 2024. 4

Performance in the Healthgrades system is built from patient outcomes across multiple conditions or procedures, with mortality-based and complication-based measures forming a base for the final Specialty Excellence Award and State Ranking results. 4 That design affects what can be compared across states because it weights risk-adjusted outcomes using the Medicare inpatient footprint rather than ambulatory-only volume. 4

State-level “best” lists from Healthgrades: orthopedic surgery leaders by state

One of the most direct state-by-state compilations in the provided research is “The 100 best hospitals in the U.S. for orthopedic surgery in 2026, broken down by state,” published in a Becker’s Spine Review post referencing Healthgrades. 1 The same article notes that Florida has 26 hospitals included on Healthgrades’ Top 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery list, the most of any state. 1 The list spans multiple states and includes many named hospitals, reflecting the underlying Healthgrades award methodology. 1

For example, the Becker’s Spine Review compilation lists Alabama’s inclusion as Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital (Phenix City), and it lists Colorado entries as HCA HealthONE SKY Ridge (Lone Tree), HCA HealthONE Swedish (Englewood), and Rose Women’s Hospital (Denver). 1 The dataset also lists multi-hospital states like California and Florida, showing how state-level “leaders” can be expressed as a set of top hospitals rather than a single facility per state. 1

State-by-state orthopedics coverage from Healthgrades: methodology signals and what they imply

While the Becker’s Spine Review excerpt presents a “Top 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery” list broken down by state, the underlying Healthgrades Specialty State Rankings framework is broader: it measures hospital performance across 18 specialty areas, including Orthopedic Surgery. 4 That matters because a state can have multiple orthopedic excellence designations depending on whether the list is based on the “America’s 100 Best Hospitals” style award subset or the Specialty State Rankings’ state-recipient design. 4

The Healthgrades Specialty State Ranking Award Methodology states that Medicare inpatient data from MedPAR for 2022 through 2024 is used for performance measurement. 4 It also notes the analysis is rooted in clinical performance through risk-adjusted complication and mortality outcomes across 31 conditions or procedures. 4 This creates a selection reality: hospitals with different payer mixes or service-line proportions could be affected because the measurement is constrained to Medicare inpatient cases. 4

Where U.S. News and other orthopedic ranking frameworks fit: risks in cross-framework comparison

In addition to Healthgrades, the provided research includes context on U.S. News introducing new regional specialty rankings that include Orthopedics, alongside cancer and rehabilitation. 3 This indicates a structural shift in how consumers can identify local specialty performance, but it also increases the risk of confusion between national specialty rankings and regional specialty rankings. 3

U.S. News’ press-release summary emphasizes regional specialty rankings are intended to help patients compare nearby hospitals for complex care close to home, and it describes increased statistical weight on risk-adjusted patient outcome measures such as survival and complication rates. 3 Comparing a Healthgrades “best orthopedic surgery hospitals ranked by state” list with U.S. News orthopedics specialty rankings requires care because both reference outcomes but can differ in data sources, inclusion criteria, and category definitions. 3 4

Count-based and capacity-based context: orthopedic workforce and joint replacement volume by state

Hospital excellence rankings do not directly show the orthopedic case volume that drives surgical experience, though volume can correlate with specialty maturity. The provided research includes workforce counts from Becker’s Spine Review using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, noting that New York has the highest number of orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric, with an estimated 1,450 in practice. 13 It also states there are about 14,100 orthopedic surgeons total working in the U.S., with the latest data available from May 2025. 13

Becker’s Spine Review provides a state breakdown for 39 states, including Florida at 580 and California at 0 not listed in the excerpt table, but it includes examples like Illinois at 170 and Texas at 490. 13 Another dataset in the provided research (OrthoProcedures) visualizes 522,201 Medicare-billed joint replacements across the U.S. in 2023 and attributes that volume to 8,293 orthopedic surgeons across 50 states. 15 The same report notes that California, Florida, and Texas account for 20% of all joint replacements. 15

Eligibility criteria, care scope, and “best” limitations: what to look for in the fine print

Even when state lists name hospitals, eligibility criteria and scope can shift what a patient should infer from a ranking. Healthgrades’ orthopedic state ranking methodology lists 18 specialty areas, and it specifies that performance measurement uses Medicare inpatient data from MedPAR for years 2022 through 2024. 4 It also enumerates patient outcomes across 31 conditions or procedures, including mortality-based and complication-based measures. 4 For users comparing states, this implies the ranking is anchored to measured inpatient outcomes rather than an explicit measure of ambulatory rehabilitation pathways. 4

Other provided materials reinforce how different ranking authorities define selection differently. A press release about Healthgrades’ 2026 specialty excellence awards and state rankings highlights that Healthgrades uses risk-adjusted complication and mortality rates across approximately 4,500 U.S. hospitals. 5 Additionally, a separate press-release note about Money magazine’s orthopedic hospital ranking states eligibility required a four- or five-star overall quality rating from CMS and includes physician expertise metrics, with CMS data accounting for 25% of the overall score. 9 These differing inclusion and scoring schemes illustrate a key friction point: “best” can mean different operational definitions across systems. 9

Practical interpretation: how to use a “ranked by state” list without overreading it

State-broken lists are most reliable when the user aligns the intended clinical need with the ranking’s scope and measurement window. The Healthgrades state recipient methodology uses Medicare inpatient data for 2022 to 2024, and it evaluates Orthopedic Surgery among other specialty areas. 4 If a clinical plan depends heavily on outpatient orthopedic surgery, a user should interpret “orthopedic surgery” outcomes within the confines of inpatient measurement rather than assuming full coverage of outpatient pathways. 4

Another interpretation risk involves assuming a single hospital is the sole state leader. The Becker’s Spine Review excerpt explicitly presents Florida as having 26 hospitals included on Healthgrades’ Top 100 best orthopedic surgery list, and it also provides multiple hospitals per state in the excerpted text. 1 Therefore, state ranking content can be better interpreted as a set of high-performing hospitals rather than a definitive ordering for every local decision. 1 Cross-framework comparisons should similarly remain cautious because U.S. News orthopedics regional specialty rankings emphasize comparison close to home with risk-adjusted measures. 3

Sources

1. Becker’s Spine Review: “The 100 best hospitals for orthopedic surgery: Healthgrades” (state-broken orthopedic surgery list excerpt)
2. PRNewswire: “Recognizing Outstanding Care: Healthgrades Names 2026’s Top Hospitals for Specialty Care”
3. PRNewswire: U.S. News & World Report announces 2026-2027 Best Hospitals and regional specialty rankings including Orthopedics
4. Healthgrades: Specialty State Rankings Methodology (Orthopedic Surgery included; MedPAR 2022-2024; outcomes measurement)
5. Healthgrades Partner Solutions blog: “The 2026 Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Report”
6. Healio: “U.S. News announces 2026-2027 best hospitals”
7. Griffin Health: “Griffin Hospital Named Best Hospital in Connecticut for Orthopedic Surgery”
8. Becker’s Spine Review: “Number of orthopedic surgeons by state”
9. OrthoProcedures: “522,201 Joint Replacements Across the U.S.”