State hospital quality · CMS Hospital Compare

Best CMS-rated hospitals in North Carolina

According to PlainHospital's state average CMS-star ranking, North Carolina ranks #19 of 54 states and territories by average overall star rating among rated hospitals (highest = #1).

120
Hospitals: #19 of 54
Corpus placement: 3.3★
Avg (90 rated): 12
Five-star: 105
With ER

North Carolina 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)

120 18th of 56 higher than 38 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, North Carolina ranks #19 of 54 states and territories by average overall star rating among rated hospitals (highest = #1). Among 90 rated hospitals, the state averages 3.3 of 5 stars.

3.3 / 5
state average among rated (above 3.2 national): #19 of 54
state corpus placement by avg star: 12
five-star hospitals: 90 of 120 rated
hospitals with a CMS overall rating

CMS star ratings are composite quality scores; 90 of 120 North Carolina hospitals had enough reporting volume to receive one. Not medical advice.

North Carolina hospital quality

North Carolina averages 3.3/5 CMS stars across 90 rated hospitals (above the 3.2 national average), with 12 five-star facilities of 120 Medicare-certified hospitals.

PlainHospital ranks North Carolina hospitals from CMS Hospital Compare overall star ratings (mortality, safety, readmission, patient experience, timely care). Corpus placement: #19 of 54 states and territories by average overall star among rated hospitals. 90 of 120 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★

12
4★

28
3★

29
2★

17
1★

4

What this shows 12 North Carolina hospitals reach five stars; the state's 3.3-star average sits above the 3.2-star national mark.

What the Data Shows About Hospitals in North Carolina

North Carolina has 120 Medicare-certified hospitals tracked by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare program. Of these, 105 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 3.3 out of 5 , calculated across the 90 of 120 hospitals with enough reporting volume to generate a composite rating.

At the top of the quality distribution, 12 hospitals have earned the highest 5-star CMS overall rating in North Carolina. The single highest-rated facility in the state registry is Adventhealth Hendersonville in Hendersonville, 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 120 of 120 hospitals on this page (page 3 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 2026-08-14, and nothing on this page is medical advice, consult a qualified clinician before making care decisions.

120

Hospitals

3.3

Avg (90 rated)

Five-Star

105

With ER

Top-Rated in North Carolina

Highest CMS star ratings among Medicare-certified hospitals in North Carolina.

🥇1 Adventhealth Hendersonville Hendersonville, NC · Acute Care Hospitals ★★★★★
🥈2 Duke Regional Hospital Durham, NC · Acute Care Hospitals ★★★★★
🥉3 Duke University Hospital Durham, NC · Acute Care Hospitals ★★★★★
4 Fayetteville Nc VA Medical Center Fayetteville, NC · Acute Care - Veterans Administration ★★★★★
5 Novant Health Matthews Medical Center Matthews, NC · Acute Care Hospitals ★★★★★
6 Novant Health Medical Park Hospital Winston-Salem, NC · Acute Care Hospitals ★★★★★

Compare Adventhealth Hendersonville vs Duke Regional Hospital →

All Hospitals

Showing 101–120 of 120 hospitals

Hospital	City	Type	Rating	ER
Triangle Springs Raleigh	Raleigh	Psychiatric	N/A	No
Unc Health Care Wayne Goldsboro	Goldsboro	Acute Care Hospitals	3	Yes
Unc Health Nash Rocky Mount	Rocky Mount	Acute Care Hospitals	4	Yes
Unc Hospitals Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill	Acute Care Hospitals	5	Yes
Unc Lenoir Health Care Kinston	Kinston	Acute Care Hospitals	4	Yes
Unc Rockingham Eden	Eden	Acute Care Hospitals	4	Yes
Vidant Chowan Hospital Edenton	Edenton	Critical Access Hospitals	3	Yes
Vidant Duplin Hospital Kenansville	Kenansville	Acute Care Hospitals	3	Yes
Vidant Edgecombe Hospital Tarboro	Tarboro	Acute Care Hospitals	3	Yes
Vidant Roanoke Chowan Hospital Ahoskie	Ahoskie	Acute Care Hospitals	2	Yes
W.G. (Bill) Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center (Salsbury) Salisbury	Salisbury	Acute Care - Veterans Administration	4	Yes
Wakemed, Cary Hospital Cary	Cary	Acute Care Hospitals	5	Yes
Wakemed, Raleigh Campus Raleigh	Raleigh	Acute Care Hospitals	4	Yes
Walter B Jones Center Lakeside Psychiatric Hospita Greenville	Greenville	Psychiatric	N/A	No
Washington County Hosp Inc Plymouth	Plymouth	Critical Access Hospitals	N/A	Yes
Watauga Medical Center Boone	Boone	Acute Care Hospitals	3	Yes
Wilkes Regional Medical Center North Wilkesboro	North Wilkesboro	Acute Care Hospitals	3	Yes
Wilmington Treatment Center Wilmington	Wilmington	Acute Care Hospitals	N/A	No
Wilson Medical Center Wilson	Wilson	Acute Care Hospitals	1	Yes
Womack Amc (Ft Bragg) Fort Bragg	Fort Bragg	Acute Care - Department of Defense	N/A	Yes

Hospital Quality in North Carolina

North Carolina has 120 Medicare-certified hospitals tracked by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Of these, 12 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 90 rated of 120 North Carolina hospitals is 3.3. 105 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 North Carolina? ▼

The highest-rated hospital in North Carolina is Adventhealth Hendersonville in Hendersonville with a CMS star rating of 5/5. There are 12 five-star hospitals in the state out of 120 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 North Carolina, the average star rating is 3.3 across rated hospitals.

How many hospitals are in North Carolina? ▼

North Carolina has 120 Medicare-certified hospitals, of which 105 have emergency departments. 12 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.