A number of Chicago and suburban hospitals landed on Forbes’ new “Top Hospitals” ranking for 2026, with several hospitals receiving “five-star” overall grades on the list that editors say is based on hospital quality, safety, health outcomes, patient experience and more
According to editors, the “Top Hospitals List & Rankings,” which ranks hospitals by state, is a first-ever list from Forbes. Approximately 5,400 general acute care hospitals were eligible for consideration, editors said, with an advisory panel made up of clinicians, scientists, health policy researchers, patient advocates and a healthcare data firm helping to produce the final rankings.
“Unlike specialty hospitals—which typically focus on specific clinical areas and complex, high-risk cases—general acute care hospitals usually treat a greater number of common conditions, contain an emergency department (ED), and provide healthcare services for more people each year,” Forbes said.
The list differs rom other hospital rankings, Forbes said, in that it uses publicly available data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. It also placed the most weight on clinical outcomes, like rates of infection and admission, and adjusted outcomes based on social drivers of health.
“By adjusting for these factors in the communities surrounding each hospital, our ratings allow for a more level comparison of each hospital’s quality, despite differences between any given hospital’s location and patient population,” Forbes said.
Of the more than 5,400 U.S. hospitals considered, 2,500 met Forbes’ inclusion criteria based on a number of primary quality measures from the CMS and the CMS’ Provider Data Catalog, which compares the quality of care across hospitals.
Ratings were then calculated, with hospitals earning between one and five star ratings across four categories of that Forbes dubbed “Pillars:” Outcomes, best practices, value and patient experience. Hospitals also earned an overall star rating based on its performance in each of the four pillars.
In Illinois, 28 hospitals made the list, nine of which earned an “overall” five star rating. Many Illinois hospitals also earned five start ratings in “outcomes,” while only one Illinois hospital, in Belleville, earned five stars for “patient experience.”
In the Chicago area, 22 hospitals ranked on the Forbes’ list. The outlet’s full report of top hospitals can be found here.
Top Hospitals in the Chicago area, according to Forbes:
Ascension St. Joseph – Chicago
Overall: 5 stars
Outcomes: 5 stars
Best Practices: 4 stars
Value: 3 stars
Patient Experience: 3 stars
Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital – Lake Forest
Overall: 5 stars
Outcomes: 5 stars
Best Practices: 3 stars
Value: 4 stars
Patient Experience: 4 stars
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital – Winfield
Overall: 5 stars
Outcomes: 5 stars
Best Practices: 3 stars
Value: 3 stars
Patient Experience: 4 stars
Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital – Geneva
Overall: 5 stars
Outcomes: 5 stars
Best Practices: 3 stars
Value: 3 stars
Patient Experience: 4 stars
Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital – McHenry
Overall: 5 stars
Outcomes: 5 stars
Best Practices: 3 stars
Value: 3 stars
Patient Experience: 4 stars
Northwestern Memorial Hospital – Chicago
Overall: 5 stars
Outcomes: 5 stars
Best Practices: 2 stars
Value: 5 stars
Patient Experience: 4 stars
Rush University Medical Center – Chicago
Overall: 5 stars
Outcomes: 5 stars
Best Practices: 3 stars
Value: 4 stars
Patient Experience: 4 stars
UChicago Medicine AdventHealth LaGrange – LaGrange
Overall: 5 stars
Outcomes: 5 stars
Best Practices: 3 stars
Value: 4 stars
Patient Experience: 4 stars
Advocate Condell Medical Center – Libertyville
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 4 stars
Best Practices: 3 stars
Value: 4 stars
Patient Experience: 3 stars
Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital – Barrington
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 4 stars
Best Practices: 3 stars
Value: 4 stars
Patient Experience: 4 stars
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital – Park Ridge
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 4 stars
Best Practices: 5 stars
Value: 2 stars
Patient Experience: 3 stars
Advocate Sherman Hospital – Elgin
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 3 stars
Best Practices: 4 stars
Value: 3 stars
Patient Experience: 4 stars
Ascension Satin Alexius – Hoffman Estates
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 4 stars
Best Practices: 4 stars
Value: 1 stars
Patient Experience: 3 stars
Elmhurst Hospital – Elmhurst
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 4 stars
Best Practices: 3 stars
Value: 3 stars
Patient Experience: 4 stars
Endeavor Health Evanston Hospital – Evanston
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 5 stars
Best Practices: 1 stars
Value: 4 stars
Patient Experience: 3 stars
OSF Saint Elizabeth Medical Center – Ottawa
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 4 stars
Best Practices: 3 stars
Value: 4 stars
Patient Experience: 2 stars
Resurrection Medical Center – Chicago
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 4 stars
Best Practices: 3 stars
Value: 2 stars
Patient Experience: 3 stars
Riverside Medical Center – Kankakee
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 4 stars
Best Practices: 3 stars
Value: 2 stars
Patient Experience: 3 stars
Rush Copley Medical Center – Aurora
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 4 stars
Best Practices: 4 stars
Value: 2 stars
Patient Experience: 3 stars
Silver Cross Hospital – New Lenox
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 5 stars
Best Practices: 2 stars
Value: 3 stars
Patient Experience: 4 stars
St. Mary’s Hospital – Kankakee
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 4 stars
Best Practices: 4 stars
Value: 4 stars
Patient Experience: 3 stars
UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale
Overall: 4 stars
Outcomes: 5 stars
Best Practices: 2 stars
Value: 3 stars
Patient Experience: 3 stars