3 NJ Children’s Hospitals Among Nation’s Best: U.S. News Rankings

NEW JERSEY — Three children’s hospitals in New Jersey have been named among the best in the country in a new U.S. News & World Report ranking that for the first time includes pediatric and adolescent behavioral health specialty rankings.

Two of these hospitals were ranked among the top 50 nationally for behavioral health services in the 2024-2025 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. Here’s how New Jersey hospitals performed.

• Hackensack Meridian Health JM Sanzari (Hackensack) and K Hovnanian Children's Hospitals (Neptune) were ranked together as the No. 1 children's hospital in the Garden State, and among the top hospitals for behavioral health services. Among the specialties ranked, these hospitals also ranked at No. 45 for Diabetes and Endocrinology, and No. 49 for Urology.
• The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at RWJ University Hospital (New Brunswick) was ranked as the No. 2. children's hospital in New Jersey, and for two specialties — coming in at No. 47 for Orthopedics, and No. 35 for Urology.

The hospitals were evaluated across 11 pediatric specialties. U.S. News chief of health analysis and managing editor Ben Harder said the inclusion of behavioral health specialty hospitals is a reflection of the changing needs of society.

“This year’s inclusion of behavioral health as a new specialty is significant, as 1 in 5 U.S. children has a mental, emotional, behavioral or developmental disorder, according to the Department of Health and Human Services,” Harder said in a news release. “U.S. News is responding to the growing mental health crisis among America’s youth by giving families a valuable source of behavioral health data as part of our increasingly comprehensive view of pediatric care.”

For the 2024–2025 rankings, U.S. News, together with RTI International, a North Carolina-based research and consulting firm, collected and analyzed data from 108 children’s hospitals and surveyed thousands of pediatric specialists.

Here are the nation’s top three hospitals by specialty area:

Pediatric Cancer

1. Cincinnati Children's
2. Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
3. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Pediatric Cardiology & Heart Surgery

1. Texas Children's Hospital, Houston
2. MUSC Children's Heart Network of South Carolina, Charleston
3. Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego

Pediatric Neurology & Neurosurgery

1. Boston Children's Hospital
2. Texas Children's Hospital, Houston
3. Cincinnati Children's

Pediatric Orthopedics

1. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
2. Children's Medical Center Dallas-Scottish Rite for Children
3. Cincinnati Children's

Here are hospitals on the 2024-2025 Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll that are either ranked No. 1 or tied for No. 1 in its state and region:

• Boston Children's Hospital
• Children's Hospital Colorado
• Aurora Children's Hospital, Los Angeles
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
• Children's National Hospital, Washington, D.C.
• Cincinnati Children's Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
• Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego
• Seattle Children's Hospital
• Texas Children's Hospital, Houston