UAB Hospital tops Alabama in new 2026-2027 best hospital rankings

U.S. News & World Report dropped its 2026-2027 Best Hospitals rankings today, and Birmingham is holding it down for the whole state. Here are our takeaways from the annual rankings.

UAB Hospital ranks No. 1 in Alabama

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Hospital is Alabama’s No. 1 Best Regional Hospital this year.

UAB is the only hospital in the state with a nationally ranked specialty, landing at No. 11 in the country for rheumatology and No. 48 for obstetrics & gynecology.

U.S. News awarded UAB with more high-performing marks than any other hospital in Alabama. It earned a high performing rating in five specialties:

1. Cancer
2. Geriatrics
3. Neurology + neurosurgery
4. Pulmonology + lung surgery
5. Rehabilitation

Additionally, 18 individual procedures and conditions received high performing rankings:

1. Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair
2. Aortic valve surgery
3. Back surgery (spinal fusion)
4. Colon cancer surgery
5. COPD
6. Diabetes
7. Gynecological cancer surgery
8. Heart arrhythmia
9. Heart bypass surgery
10. Heart failure
11. Hip fracture
12. Kidney failure
13. Leukemia, lymphoma + myeloma
14. Lung cancer surgery
15. Maternity care
16. Pneumonia
17. Stroke
18. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)

UAB was the only Alabama hospital named to U.S. News’ Best Regional Hospitals for Community Access list, a newer honor recognizing hospitals that serve underserved local populations well.

Birmingham is Alabama’s only ranked metro

Birmingham is the only area in Alabama U.S. News ranks at the metro level. Mobile, Huntsville and Montgomery all have hospitals on the statewide Best Regional Hospitals list, but only Birmingham got its own metro-level ranking this year due to population size.

The metro-area ranking is:

1. UAB Hospital
2. UAB St. Vincent’s Birmingham
3. Grandview Medical Center-Birmingham

Statewide, the above hospitals were three of Alabama’s six spots on the full Best Regional Hospitals list.

Birmingham hospitals dominate new rehab rankings

U.S. News introduced new regional specialty rankings this year, and Birmingham showed out in rehabilitation.

UAB Hospital, Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital and Encompass Health Lakeshore Rehabilitation Hospital all placed in Alabama’s new Rehabilitation Specialty Regional rankings — three of six hospitals statewide to make that list.

How Alabama’s hospitals stacked up overall

Alabama placed six hospitals total on this year’s national Best Regional Hospitals list, alongside UAB and the Birmingham trio:

• (#3 tie) Huntsville Hospital
• (#3 tie) Mobile Infirmary Medical Center
• (#6) Southeast Health Medical Center (Dothan)

Between UAB’s national rankings and a strong showing across the metro, Birmingham is the clear heart of Alabama’s health care scene.