State hospital quality · CMS Hospital Compare
Best CMS-rated hospitals in Minnesota
According to PlainHospital's state average CMS-star ranking, Minnesota ranks #4 of 54 states and territories by average overall star rating among rated hospitals (highest = #1).
- 136
- Hospitals
- #4 of 54
- Corpus placement
- 3.8★
- Avg (57 rated)
- 13
- Five-star
- 117
- With ER
Minnesota 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)
136 14th of 56 higher than 42 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, Minnesota ranks #4 of 54 states and territories by average overall star rating among rated hospitals (highest = #1). Among 57 rated hospitals, the state averages 3.8 of 5 stars.
- 3.8 / 5
- state average among rated (above 3.2 national)
- #4 of 54
- state corpus placement by avg star
- 13
- five-star hospitals
- 57 of 136 rated
- hospitals with a CMS overall rating
CMS star ratings are composite quality scores; 57 of 136 Minnesota hospitals had enough reporting volume to receive one. Not medical advice.
Minnesota hospital quality
Minnesota averages 3.8/5 CMS stars across 57 rated hospitals (above the 3.2 national average), with 13 five-star facilities of 136 Medicare-certified hospitals.
PlainHospital ranks Minnesota hospitals from CMS Hospital Compare overall star ratings (mortality, safety, readmission, patient experience, timely care). Corpus placement: #4 of 54 states and territories by average overall star among rated hospitals. 57 of 136 facilities had enough volume to receive a star; the rest stay unrated. Not medical advice - open a hospital page for the measure-level detail.
CMS star-rating mix in Minnesota
How 57 rated Minnesota hospitals break down across the 1–5 star scale
- 5★
5-star hospitals
13 hospitals
- 4★
4-star hospitals
23 hospitals
- 3★
3-star hospitals
17 hospitals
- 2★ 3
2-star hospitals
3 hospitals
- 1★ 1
1-star hospitals
1 hospitals
What this shows 13 Minnesota hospitals reach five stars; the state's 3.8-star average sits above the 3.2-star national mark.
What the Data Shows About Hospitals in Minnesota
Minnesota has 136 Medicare-certified hospitals tracked by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare program. Of these, 117 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 3.8 out of 5 , calculated across the 57 of 136 hospitals with enough reporting volume to generate a composite rating.
At the top of the quality distribution, 13 hospitals have earned the highest 5-star CMS overall rating in Minnesota. The single highest-rated facility in the state registry is Buffalo Hospital in Buffalo, 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 100 of 136 hospitals on this page (page 2 of 3). 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 , and nothing on this page is medical advice, consult a qualified clinician before making care decisions.
Top-Rated in Minnesota
Highest CMS star ratings among Medicare-certified hospitals in Minnesota.
- 🥇1 Buffalo Hospital ★★★★★
- 🥈2 Centracare Health System - Melrose Hospital ★★★★★
- 🥉3 M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital ★★★★★
- 4 M Health Fairview St John's Hospital ★★★★★
- 5 Maple Grove Hospital ★★★★★
- 6 Mayo Clinic Health System - Albert Lea and Austin ★★★★★
Compare Buffalo Hospital vs Centracare Health System - Melrose Hospital →
All Hospitals
Showing 51–100 of 136 hospitals
Hospital Quality in Minnesota
Minnesota has 136 Medicare-certified hospitals tracked by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Of these, 13 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 57 rated of 136 Minnesota hospitals is 3.8. 117 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
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Data from CMS Hospital Compare; patient-experience scores from the HCAHPS survey. Last refreshed: . About PlainHospital and our data sources
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
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.