WakeMed earns high-performing recognition from U.S. News & World Report

WakeMed Health & Hospitals earned high-performing ratings in 13 key categories from U.S. News & World Report in the 2025-2026 Best Hospitals: Procedures & Conditions rankings. For patients in Wake County, the label is more than a trophy shelf line: it signals that WakeMed cleared a national benchmark in specific services that people actually use when they are choosing a hospital.

U.S. News says a High Performing rating means a hospital was significantly better than the national average in a given procedure or condition. The rankings cover more than 4,200 hospitals nationwide, and 1,802 earned High Performing status in at least one procedure or condition. That makes the designation a measure of clinical performance in selected areas, not a blanket judgment on every department, every visit or every price tag.

WakeMed’s own U.S. News profile puts WakeMed Raleigh Campus at No. 13 in North Carolina and No. 5 in Raleigh-Durham. The profile says the campus was nationally ranked in one adult specialty and High Performing in 11 adult procedures and conditions, with WakeMed Children’s Hospital included in the evaluation of the Raleigh campus.

That detail matters in the Triangle, where hospital choice often comes down to the exact condition being treated and how far a patient is willing to travel. Duke University Hospital ranked No. 1 in North Carolina and No. 35 nationally in cancer care in the same 2025-2026 rankings, and UNC Hospitals also appeared on the list. WakeMed’s showing puts it in the same crowded regional conversation, but in a different lane than a top-line “best hospital” slogan would suggest.

For Wake County patients, the practical value of the ranking is limited to what it measures: outcomes tied to specific procedures and conditions. It does not tell a family what a stay will cost, whether a specialist appointment is easy to get or whether a particular insurance plan will make one hospital cheaper than another. It does, however, give Raleigh-area patients one more external signal when they are comparing WakeMed with Duke, UNC and other realistic options close to home.