North Carolina is still in the top 10 safest states for healthcare, according to a national watchdog.
The Leapfrog Group released its Spring 2026 Hospital Safety Grades evaluating hospitals with letter grades from A to F. North Carolina is tied for 8th in the country with Maryland, a slight drop from the fall.
North Carolina ranked fifth in Leapfrog’s November report. Connecticut is now the safest state according to Leapfrog Group data. Utah dropped from No. 1 for five years to No. 4, and South Carolina ranked No. 3.
Here’s a closer look at the Triangle’s grades and what they mean
How are grades calculated?
Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades are assigned twice a year, in the spring and fall. The Hospital Safety Grade program was established in 2012.
Grades are assigned using letters, with A as the best grade and F as the worst. The grades are assigned using data from various public sources, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
A Florida judge recently ordered Leapfrog to scrub poor patient safety grades for several Florida hospitals, The Miami Herald reported. The judge described the methodology as misleading, and “punitive” for healthcare systems that choose not to participate.
In a video explaining how to use the hospital safety grades, Leapfrog recommends using them to inform your decision when researching hospitals near you. Leapfrog offers a search tool on the homepage at hospitalsafetygrade.org. Hospitals are searchable by hospital name, city and state, just state or ZIP code.
Here are North Carolina’s Leapfrog safety rankings in recent years:
What makes a hospital safe?
Leapfrog evaluates hospital safety based on the prevention of medical errors, illnesses, injuries and infections.
The group uses up data on 32 safety measures to evaluate hospitals. If a hospital is missing too many pieces of data, the hospital is not graded. Leapfrog reports on five patient experience measures that directly impact patient safety:
Nurse communicationDoctor communicationStaff responsivenessCommunication about medicineDischarge informationReport highlights “straight A” hospitals
Hospitals that received A grades for five or more grading rounds are designated “Straight A” hospitals.
Raleigh has two this spring:
Duke Regional HospitalWakeMed Raleigh Campus
WakeMed Cary Campus was a “Straight A” hospital in 2025, but dropped to a B.
How safe are Raleigh hospitals?
The following Raleigh-area hospitals received A grades in Leapfrog’s spring report:
Duke Regional HospitalWakeMed Raleigh CampusCentral Harnett HospitalJohnston HealthJohnston Health ClaytonUniversity of North Carolina Hospitals
“We are proud of our teammates and physicians who work incredibly hard to provide safe and outstanding care for patients from across North Carolina,” Dr. Cristy Page, CEO of UNC Health, said in a news release. “We appreciate Leapfrog’s recognition and know that patients and their families have choices about where to receive care. We strive to be a destination for patients from across North Carolina and beyond.”
These Raleigh-area hospitals got a B:
Betsy Johnson Regional HospitalCentral Carolina HospitalDuke Raleigh HospitalDuke University HospitalREX Holly Springs HospitalRex Hospital, Inc.WakeMed Cary HospitalWakeMed North Hospital
Wilson Medical Center got the only C. Granville Medical Center got the only D.
Portions of this story were previously published in The Charlotte Observer.
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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 10:33 AM.
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Eva Flowe is a North Carolina native and a graduate of the University of South Carolina. She joined the Charlotte Observer as part of the NC service journalism team in April 2026.