Mayo leads Jacksonville’s top hospitals in U.S. News & World Report (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Out of 20 hospitals evaluated in the Jacksonville metro area, three made the cut for the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Regional Hospitals List released Tuesday.
Mayo Clinic Florida led the pack at No. 1 in the local metro area and was also the No. 2 highest ranked hospital in the state, per U.S. News.
“We are proud to once again be recognized as top ranked in more specialties than any other hospital in Florida by U.S. News & World Report,” said Kent Thielen, CEO of Mayo Clinic in Florida. “This recognition is a testament to our teams’ unwavering commitment – day in and day out – to providing innovative, differentiated patient care of the highest quality.”
The health system — which calls a 602-acre local footprint at 4500 San Pablo Road home — was followed by Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville (also ranked No. 8 in the state) and Ascension St. Vincent’s Riverside Hospital (also ranked No. 21 in the state).
“The 2025-2026 U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings highlight the outstanding caliber of health care available in the Jacksonville area,” wrote U.S. News & World Report Senior Health Data Analyst Chelsey Wen in a statement to the Business Journal. “And with three Best Regional Hospitals, Jacksonville patients benefit from a wide array of specialized services.”
The Baptist ranking includes Baptist Jacksonville, Baptist South and Baptist Clay as they share a common license, according to a Baptist Health spokesperson.
“As the area’s only locally governed, locally owned health system, we’re deeply rooted in the community we serve,” said Michael Mayo, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “This local connection allows us to stay closely attuned to what our community needs most, delivering care that is both personal and high-quality.”
The rankings also included an “honor roll” which recognized the 20 best hospitals of this year’s bunch that excelled across multiple areas of care. Though no North Florida hospitals made the cut, AdventHealth in Orlando was the sole hospital in the Sunshine State represented on that list.
The AdventHealth Palm Coast campus also made the broader ranking at No. 37 in the state.
“Our teams have made real progress, and we’re proud of that — but we didn’t do it for the internal recognition,” said Rob Deininger, president and CEO of the AdventHealth East Florida Division. “External recognition like this tells each of the communities we serve that they can count on AdventHealth to deliver the highest quality healthcare. We strive daily to deliver better results for the people who count on us, every single day. That’s what keeps us moving forward.”
This year’s edition of best hospital includes the 504 hospitals across 49 states and 95 metro areas that have “demonstrated superior outcomes,” per U.S. News.
“For most Americans, health care decisions are made close to home,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News. “The Best Regional Hospitals rankings underscore the difference high-performing local medical centers make.”
To determine the Best Hospitals, U.S. News evaluated more than 4,400 hospitals’ performance on objective measures such as risk-adjusted mortality rates, preventable complications and level of nursing care, per a release about the list.
“We are grateful for physicians, nurses, care teams and associates who start each day with safety, empathy and patient well-being top of mind,” said Dr. Syed Jafri, Chief Clinical Officer of Ascension Florida, of the ranking. “Their dedication and hard work are the driving force behind these achievements.”