You hope your child never needs specialized medical care, but if they do, the D.C. region seems to be a good place to be.

According to an annual list from U.S. News and World Report, Maryland, Virginia and D.C. are home to top hospitals that specialize in pediatric care. Leading the pack is Children’s National Hospital in D.C.

“Children’s National Hospital — it ranked among the best in the country for all 11 specialties that we looked at,” said Ben Harder, chief of health care analytics at U.S. News and World Report.

In the 2025 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings, Children’s National shared the honor roll with nine other top hospitals across the country. Among them were Boston Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Hospitals were ranked based on their ability to address a wide range of pediatric specialties. These include pediatric cancer, neonatology, cardiology, orthopedics, behavioral health and more.

Researchers considered how well hospitals treat medically complex children, how many patients recover without complications and how closely hospitals follow best practices.

“Some hospitals are really good at adhering to best practices … from every nurse washing their hands before they touch a patient to making sure every patient gets the right medication at the right time,” Harder said.

Harder said Children’s National stood out for its outstanding patient outcomes, strict adherence to best practices and robust clinical resources.

While Children’s National earned the highest marks, the D.C. region is also home to several other highly ranked children’s hospitals.

In Maryland, Harder highlighted Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. In Virginia, he pointed to the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital in Charlottesville, the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, and Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital in Falls Church.

Harder said the fact that the Greater Washington and Baltimore region has five nationally ranked hospitals is something to be proud of.

“For families, it’s reassuring that there are a lot of good options if they do have a child who has a complex medical need,” he said.

The rankings also break down hospitals by region and specialty. Harder said the goal is to help parents choose the best hospital for their child’s specific condition.

“We want to make sure that the data we have worked so hard to obtain and analyze is available and useful to families who depend on it,” he said.