State hospital quality · CMS Hospital Compare

Best CMS-rated hospitals in District of Columbia

According to PlainHospital's state average CMS-star ranking, District of Columbia ranks #42 of 54 states and territories by average overall star rating among rated hospitals (highest = #1).

10
Hospitals: #42 of 54
Corpus placement: 2.9★
Avg (7 rated): 1
Five-star: 7
With ER

District of Columbia vs all states by Medicare hospital count

Where this state's Medicare-certified hospital inventory sits among every tracked state and territory (inventory signal, not a quality ranking)

10 52nd of 56 higher than 4 of 56 states

States and territories, banded by Medicare-certified hospital count

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source CMS Hospital Compare · 2026-08-14

The state picture

According to PlainHospital's state average CMS-star ranking, District of Columbia ranks #42 of 54 states and territories by average overall star rating among rated hospitals (highest = #1). Among 7 rated hospitals, the state averages 2.9 of 5 stars.

2.9 / 5
state average among rated (below 3.2 national): #42 of 54
state corpus placement by avg star: 1
five-star hospitals: 7 of 10 rated
hospitals with a CMS overall rating

CMS star ratings are composite quality scores; 7 of 10 District of Columbia hospitals had enough reporting volume to receive one. Not medical advice.

District of Columbia hospital quality

District of Columbia averages 2.9/5 CMS stars across 7 rated hospitals (below the 3.2 national average), with 1 five-star facility of 10 Medicare-certified hospitals.

PlainHospital ranks District of Columbia hospitals from CMS Hospital Compare overall star ratings (mortality, safety, readmission, patient experience, timely care). Corpus placement: #42 of 54 states and territories by average overall star among rated hospitals. 7 of 10 facilities had enough volume to receive a star; the rest stay unrated. Not medical advice - open a hospital page for the measure-level detail.

5★

1
4★

0
3★

4
2★

1
1★

1

What this shows 1 District of Columbia hospital reaches five stars; the state's 2.9-star average sits below the 3.2-star national mark.

What the Data Shows About Hospitals in District of Columbia

District of Columbia has 10 Medicare-certified hospitals tracked by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare program. Of these, 7 facilities operate an emergency department, an important signal for communities that rely on nearby acute-care access. The statewide average CMS overall star rating is 2.9 out of 5 , calculated across the 7 of 10 hospitals with enough reporting volume to generate a composite rating.

At the top of the quality distribution, 1 hospital has earned the highest 5-star CMS overall rating in District of Columbia. The single highest-rated facility in the state registry is Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, currently listed at 5/5 stars. Star ratings are composite scores built from mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience (HCAHPS), and timely & effective care domains, so a single number conceals meaningful per-domain variation that matters for specific procedures.

Showing 10 of 10 hospitals on this page (page 1 of 1). Hospital quality varies materially within a state, urban academic centers, rural critical-access hospitals, and specialty facilities report against different baselines, so comparing individual facility profiles before choosing planned care is more useful than relying on the statewide average alone. All figures reflect the CMS Hospital Compare release from 2026-08-14, and nothing on this page is medical advice, consult a qualified clinician before making care decisions.

Hospitals

2.9

Avg (7 rated)

Five-Star

With ER

Top-Rated in District of Columbia

Highest CMS star ratings among Medicare-certified hospitals in District of Columbia.

🥇1 Sibley Memorial Hospital Washington, DC · Acute Care Hospitals ★★★★★
🥈2 Medstar Georgetown University Hospital Washington, DC · Acute Care Hospitals ★★★
🥉3 Medstar Washington Hospital Center Washington, DC · Acute Care Hospitals ★★★
4 United Medical Center Washington, DC · Acute Care Hospitals ★★★
5 Washington DC VA Medical Center Washington, DC · Acute Care - Veterans Administration ★★★
6 George Washington Univ Hospital Washington, DC · Acute Care Hospitals ★★

Compare Sibley Memorial Hospital vs Medstar Georgetown University Hospital →

All Hospitals

Showing 1–10 of 10 hospitals

Hospital	City	Type	Rating	ER
Children's National Hospital Washington	Washington	Childrens	N/A	Yes
George Washington Univ Hospital Washington	Washington	Acute Care Hospitals	2	Yes
Howard University Hospital Corp Washington	Washington	Acute Care Hospitals	1	No
Medstar Georgetown University Hospital Washington	Washington	Acute Care Hospitals	3	Yes
Medstar Washington Hospital Center Washington	Washington	Acute Care Hospitals	3	Yes
Psychiatric Institute of Washington Washington	Washington	Psychiatric	N/A	No
Sibley Memorial Hospital Washington	Washington	Acute Care Hospitals	5	Yes
St Elizabeths Hospital Washington	Washington	Psychiatric	N/A	No
United Medical Center Washington	Washington	Acute Care Hospitals	3	Yes
Washington DC VA Medical Center Washington	Washington	Acute Care - Veterans Administration	3	Yes

Hospital Quality in District of Columbia

District of Columbia has 10 Medicare-certified hospitals tracked by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Of these, 1 have earned the highest 5-star overall quality rating, reflecting strong performance across mortality, safety of care, readmission rates, patient experience, and timely and effective care measures.

The average CMS star rating across the 7 rated of 10 District of Columbia hospitals is 2.9. 7 facilities have emergency departments, an important factor for communities that depend on nearby acute care. Hospital quality can vary significantly within a state, so comparing individual facility ratings before choosing care is recommended.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best hospital in District of Columbia? ▼

The highest-rated hospital in District of Columbia is Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington with a CMS star rating of 5/5. There are 1 five-star hospitals in the state out of 10 Medicare-certified facilities.

How are hospitals rated? ▼

CMS rates hospitals on a 1-to-5 star scale based on quality measures including mortality, safety, patient experience, readmission rates, and timely care. In District of Columbia, the average star rating is 2.9 across rated hospitals.

How many hospitals are in District of Columbia? ▼

District of Columbia has 10 Medicare-certified hospitals, of which 7 have emergency departments. 1 hospitals have earned the highest 5-star CMS rating.

Data from CMS Hospital Compare; patient-experience scores from the HCAHPS survey. Last refreshed: 2026-08-14. About PlainHospital and our data sources

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Compiled by PlainHospital, Hospital Quality Editorial Process · August 14, 2026

Every figure on PlainHospital is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.