12 Best Hospital Right Now In Minnesota According To Data and Patients
Nobody plans their worst day. It shows up on a random Tuesday with chest pain that won't quit, a nasty fall on the ice, or a phone call from a doctor who says, "I'd like you to see a specialist."
In that moment, the last thing anyone wants is to be scrolling through hospital reviews in a parking lot. That's why the best time to think about where you'd go for care is before you need it.
Some decisions, like choosing where to have a knee replaced or deliver a baby, come with time to research. Others don't. Either way, knowing which hospitals consistently deliver strong results is homework that pays off.
Minnesota Has a Strong Health Care Reputation to Uphold
The good news for anyone living in Minnesota is that the state starts from a strong position. A 2026 WalletHub analysis ranked Minnesota the second-best state for health care in the nation, behind only New Hampshire.
The state leads the country in convenient care clinics per capita and posts an average ER wait of about 16 minutes, roughly as long as it takes to find a parking spot at the State Fair.
Minnesota also landed among the top three states on the Commonwealth Fund's 2025 Medicare performance scorecard, alongside Vermont and Utah. And then there's Mayo Clinic, which consistently collects national honors.
However, no state gets a perfect report card. In the spring 2026 round of Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, only six Minnesota hospitals earned an "A." That's a reminder that a strong statewide reputation doesn't automatically carry over to every hospital down the road.
Leapfrog also held back grades for about 450 hospitals nationwide this spring because of a court ruling, and it expects to resume full grading this fall.
How This List Was Put Together
Rather than relying on a single star rating, this list starts with the 2026-2027 Best Hospitals rankings from U.S. News & World Report, released August 4, 2026. This year's methodology puts more weight on risk-adjusted patient outcomes and less on hospital size, staffing, technology, and reputation.
U.S. News recognized 14 Minnesota hospitals as Best Regional Hospitals, and the top 12 spots, ties included, make up this countdown.
From there, each hospital was cross-checked against the Forbes Top Hospitals 2026 ratings. Those ratings weigh patient outcomes, best practices, value, and patient experience. Earlier this year, I shared the 12 Minnesota hospitals that earned a Forbes five-star rating, and four of them appear below.
Rankings only tell half the story, so each hospital below also includes what patients say. Those notes come from Medicare's latest patient survey, which asks people discharged between October 2024 and September 2025 about nurse and doctor communication, cleanliness, quiet at night, and whether they'd recommend the hospital.
Nationally, 71% of patients said they'd definitely recommend their hospital, and 72% gave it a 9 or 10 out of 10. However, strong outcomes don't always guarantee a five-star stay. Only one hospital on this list earned five patient stars, and most of the big Twin Cities hospitals landed at three.
A few ground rules before the countdown. Rankings change every year, ties are labeled, and no single list should be the only thing guiding your care.
Treat this as a starting point, then look up the hospital closest to you on Medicare's Care Compare tool and Leapfrog's hospital safety grades.
The 12 Best Hospitals In Minnesota
No. 10 (tie): Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital – St. Louis Park
The HealthPartners hospital just west of Minneapolis opens the countdown. U.S. News rated it high-performing in nine procedures and conditions. That kind of steady, across-the-board showing matters most for the everyday care that most patients actually need.
What Patients Say: Patients gave Methodist four stars across 1,107 surveys, and 81% said they'd definitely recommend it. That's 10 points above the national average and second only to Mayo Clinic on this list.
No. 10 (tie): M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital – Burnsville
Ridges matches Methodist with high-performing marks in nine procedures and conditions. It's also one of five Fairview hospitals that cracked the Twin Cities' top 10 this year.
What Patients Say: Ridges earned three patient stars across 476 surveys, with 66% saying they'd definitely recommend it. Patients gave it four stars for quiet at night but just one star for cleanliness.
No. 10 (tie): M Health Fairview Woodwinds Hospital – Woodbury
Rounding out the three-way tie, Woodwinds also earned high-performing ratings in nine procedures and conditions. It's proof that a hospital doesn't need to be a downtown giant to stack up with the best in the state.
What Patients Say: Woodwinds landed right around the national average, earning three patient stars across 479 surveys. Seventy percent of patients said they'd definitely recommend it.
No. 8 (tie): M Health Fairview St. John's Hospital – Maplewood
St. John's earned high-performing marks in 10 procedures and conditions. It's also one of the few hospitals on this list that pulled double duty, earning a five-star rating from Forbes as well.
What Patients Say: This is where St. John's has room to grow. It earned three patient stars across 456 surveys, and 63% rated it a 9 or 10, the lowest overall score on this list. Two-thirds said they'd definitely recommend it, a reminder that a Forbes five-star rating and a five-star stay aren't always the same thing.
No. 8 (tie): Mayo Clinic Health System – Mankato
Southern Minnesota gets a seat at the table with Mayo's Mankato hospital, rated high-performing in nine procedures and conditions. Like St. John's, it also holds a Forbes five-star rating, so it scores well on patient outcomes and experience alike.
What Patients Say: Mankato patients gave it four stars across 1,071 surveys and a perfect five stars for nurse communication. Seventy-six percent said they'd definitely recommend it, comfortably above the national average.
No. 6 (tie): Allina Health Abbott Northwestern Hospital – Minneapolis
Abbott Northwestern is nationally ranked in one specialty and high-performing in 11 procedures and conditions. Longtime followers of these rankings may be surprised to see it here.
As recently as 2024, it was ranked second in Minnesota for the twelfth straight year, which shows how much this year's outcome-heavy formula shuffled the deck.
What Patients Say: Abbott Northwestern earned three patient stars across 508 surveys, with 72% saying they'd definitely recommend it, just above the national average. Cleanliness was a weaker spot at two stars.
No. 6 (tie): Allina Health Mercy Hospital – Coon Rapids
Mercy earned high-performing marks in 12 procedures and conditions. Expecting parents in the north metro may want to note that its Mother Baby Center was also named high-performing for maternity care in 2026.
What Patients Say: Mercy earned three patient stars across 462 surveys. Sixty-seven percent said they'd definitely recommend it, a bit below the national mark, and cleanliness drew two stars.
No. 5: CentraCare – St. Cloud Hospital – St. Cloud
St. Cloud Hospital earned high-performing ratings in 15 procedures and conditions, and it was ranked second statewide for heart care. It slipped from No. 2 overall last year, but it remains central Minnesota's heavyweight.
What Patients Say: Few hospitals in the state hear from more patients. St. Cloud Hospital earned four stars across 3,026 surveys, second only to Mayo Rochester in volume. Seventy-one percent said they'd definitely recommend it, matching the national average.
No. 4: Allina Health United Hospital – St. Paul
United matched St. Cloud with high-performing marks in 15 procedures and conditions. Its Mother Baby Center joined Mercy's in earning a 2026 high-performing designation for maternity care.
What Patients Say: United earned three patient stars across 458 surveys, with 68% saying they'd definitely recommend it. Cleanliness and quiet at night each drew two stars, which anyone who has tried to sleep in a downtown hospital might understand.
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No. 3: M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital – Edina
Southdale was rated high-performing in 16 procedures and conditions, the most of any Minnesota hospital not named Mayo. It also earned a Forbes five-star rating, making it one of the strongest all-around picks in the metro.
What Patients Say: Southdale earned three patient stars across 515 surveys. Seventy-one percent said they'd definitely recommend it, right on the national average, and patients gave it four stars for quiet at night.
No. 2: M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center – Minneapolis
The University of Minnesota's flagship academic medical center is nationally ranked in two specialties and high-performing in 15 procedures and conditions. Its research and teaching make it a go-to for complex cases from across the state.
What Patients Say: UMMC earned three patient stars across 405 surveys, and 69% said they'd definitely recommend it. Its two-star score for nurse communication was the lowest on this list. That doesn't take away from its medical reputation, but it's worth knowing.
No. 1: Mayo Clinic – Rochester
No surprise here. Mayo Clinic was nationally ranked in 14 adult specialties and high-performing in 22 procedures and conditions. It also earned a spot on U.S. News' national Honor Roll, a distinction given to just 20 hospitals.
It ranked No. 1 in the country for both diabetes and endocrinology and for gastroenterology and GI surgery, with top-five finishes in cardiology, orthopedics, cancer, neurology, and more. It's a Forbes five-star hospital, too.
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What Patients Say: Patients agree with the experts. Mayo Rochester earned five patient stars across 4,221 surveys, the most of any Minnesota hospital. Eighty-nine percent said they'd definitely recommend it, the highest on this list by a wide margin.
Expert rankings and patient feedback each tell part of the story, but neither one can decide for you. A hospital known for its stroke care might be just average when it comes to delivering babies, and in a true emergency, the best hospital is almost always the nearest one equipped to help.
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