U.S. News names top ambulatory surgery centers for 2026

Long known for its rankings of America’s best hospitals, U.S. News & World Report has been examining providers of outpatient care in recent years.

Today, U.S. News released its list of the 2026 Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers. Working in partnership with Arcadia, a healthcare analytics firm, U.S. News examined 4,421 ambulatory surgery centers in specialties including colonoscopy & endoscopy; ophthalmology; orthopedics and spine; and urology.

In its analysis, U.S. News named 911 surgery centers as worthy of recognition as the best, about one in five (21%) of those reviewed. Last year, 733 ambulatory surgery centers, or about 17% of those examined, earned U.S. News honors as the nation’s best performers.

Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News, said the analysis of top surgery centers comes as more complex procedures are being done in outpatient facilities.

“Overall we found that ambulatory surgical care continues to be a very safe option for the vast majority of patients, even as utilization grows,” Harder said in an email to Chief Healthcare Executive®. “That's reassuring for patients and suggests that the ongoing shift of care from hospitals to ASCs is likely to continue and, if anything, gather steam.”

The best ambulatory surgery centers stood out in a number of ways, Harder said.

“First, on average, fewer of their patients required emergency department visits or hospitalizations after their procedures, indicating that the best surgery centers are successful in avoiding major complications that require hospital care,” he said.

“Second, the top performers had lower average costs associated with complications, reflecting the fact that they had both fewer complications and, when complications did occur, they tended to be less severe,” he added.

The best ambulatory surgery centers in orthopedic & spine care were found to have 29% fewer severe complications compared to their peers, and the top-ranking urology centers had 31% fewer serious complications, Harder noted.

The top surgery centers in colonoscopy and endoscopy had 26% fewer severe complications compared to the rest.

Harder said this year’s analysis found some changes in performance among surgery centers compared to a year ago. Some facilities fared better, while others didn’t do as well as last year. He said he hopes the rankings will spur more scrutiny from providers about their performance.

“Those changes are important information for consumers who are choosing among the ASCs in their community, and they're important for surgical administrators and ambulatory care leaders to understand, especially if their centers may have room for improvement,” Harder said.

U.S. News compiled the analysis after reviewing data from Medicare claims from 2022 through 2024. Researchers identified 17 types of procedures commonly performed in ambulatory surgery centers.

U.S. News has been doing more rankings of top performers in the healthcare industry beyond the hospital. Last month, U.S. News introduced its first analysis of America’s best home health agencies.

California boasts more top surgery centers than any state, which probably isn’t surprising given that California boasts the biggest population of any state. But Maryland ranked fourth with 48 top centers, ahead of Pennsylvania (43) and New York (33), even though both states have larger populations.

Top 10 States

California (105 Best ASCs)

Florida (81)

Texas (59)

Maryland (48)

Pennsylvania (43)

Georgia (40)

New Jersey (40)

New York (33)

Arizona (29)

North Carolina (27)

Top 10 Metro Areas

New York (52 Best ASCs)

Los Angeles (34)

Atlanta (28)

Philadelphia (27)

Baltimore (24)

Washington, D.C. (24)

Phoenix (22)

Dallas-Fort Worth (21)

Chicago (16)

San Francisco (15)