Newsweek shares Best Animal Hospitals 2026 rankings

When Newsweek, in partnership with research, data, and analytics firm Plant-A Insights, published their ranking of America’s best animal hospitals last year, their criteria closely aligned with AAHA standards. So much so, in fact, that 499 of the 500 hospitals on the list were AAHA-accredited.

In Newsweek’s 2026 ranking, AAHA-accredited hospitals once again made up a majority of the list.

The overlap between this list and AAHA-accreditation is due to the recognition of AAHA’s patient care, facility management, medical protocols, and staff training standards.

“America’s Best Animal Hospitals 2026 goes beyond traditional ranking studies by combining a large-scale nationwide survey with an attribute-based sentiment analysis of millions of customer reviews,” said Manuel Moerbach, CEO of Plant-A Insights.

“Every pet deserves exceptional care, and AAHA-accredited hospitals deliver on that promise. These hospitals voluntarily choose to undergo rigorous evaluations across hundreds of standards because they’re committed to excellence,” said Guylaine Charette, DVM, interim CEO of AAHA. “We commend Newsweek for highlighting this important distinction in their rankings and helping pet owners understand what to look for when selecting a veterinary hospital, enabling them to identify facilities that have demonstrated an unwavering dedication to the highest standards of care.”

Methodology

The Plant-A study considered more than 15,000 animal hospitals in an initial review, evaluating their accreditations and the number of online reviews. From there, more than 4,500 animal hospitals were included in an in-depth evaluation in a nationwide survey, in which each animal hospital was evaluated on a state-by-state basis.

The nationwide survey in the United States invited more than 30,000 respondents to participate through multiple online access panels between Sept. 2025 – Oct. 2025. Participants were asked to identify as pet owners, indicate the type of pets they cared for, and provide their likelihood to recommend animal hospitals they were familiar with in their state.

The ranking methodology incorporated multiple evaluation criteria:

• Nationwide survey of more than 30,000 pet owners (September-October 2025) who identified and rated their likelihood to recommend animal hospitals in their state
• Sentiment analysis of over five million online reviews using a proprietary Large Language Model to evaluate eight key satisfaction drivers, including quality of care, customer service, and pricing/affordability
• AAHA accreditation standards, with additional recognition given to accredited hospitals and special consideration for facilities meeting rigorous professional benchmarks. AAHA provided data on accreditation status, specialties, and quality standards for participating facilities.

The inclusion of so many AAHA-accredited hospitals is meaningful for any clinic that’s pursued accreditation. Striving to meet these standards of excellence indicates a practice’s commitment to practicing the type of medicine pet parents expect (and patients deserve). That’s not just something to be proud of, but something AAHA-accredited hospitals can share with their clients and communities.

The work these hospitals do to support pets, families, and the human-animal bond is powerful and deserves to be celebrated. And that’s all the more reason to celebrate the release of Newsweek’s Best American Animal Hospitals 2026!

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