These 3 hospitals are the best in the Lowcountry, US News & World Report says. One is best in SC
The 2025–26 U.S. News & World Report evaluated 89 hospitals in South Carolina to find the best locations across the state. Of these, three Lowcountry hospitals scored within the top five locations in the Palmetto State.
Here are the top hospitals in the South Carolina Lowcountry region, the ones that are top performers in certain specialty areas and what to know about the U.S. News & World Report evaluation process.
Top 3 hospitals in the Lowcountry
MUSC Health-University Medical Center, Charleston
- #1 in the national South Carolina rankings.
- Nationally ranked in obstetrics and gynecology, pediatric cancer, pediatric cardiology and heart surgery, pediatric gastroenterology and GI surgery and pediatric nephrology.
- Patient experience score: 3 out of 5 stars.
- #2 in the national South Carolina rankings.
- Nationally ranked in rehabilitation.
- Patient experience score: 4 out of 5 stars.
Trident Medical Center, Charleston
- #5 in the national South Carolina rankings.
- High performing in heart attack, heart bypass, pacemaker implantations, heart arrhythmia, diabetes, kidney failure, back surgery, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease procedures and conditions.
- Patient experience score: 3 out of 5 stars.
The best Lowcountry region hospitals for each specialty
According to this report, the MUSC Health-University Medical Center in Charleston ranked as the top hospital for the following specialty fields:
- Cancer
- Cardiology, heart and vascular surgery
- Diabetes and endocrinology
- Ear, nose and throat
- Gastroenterology gastrointestinal surgery
- Geriatrics
- Obstetrics and gynecology
- Neurology and neurosurgery
- Psychiatry
- Pulmonology and lung surgery
- Rheumatology
- Urology
Other hospitals and that performed as the top location in certain medical specialty areas included:
- Orthopedics: East Cooper Medical Center in Mount Pleasant
- Rehabilitation: Roper Hospital
Two specialties that did not have a top location in the Lowcountry region were long-term care and ophthalmology.
How do these regional rankings work?
The U.S. News first published Best Regional Hospitals in 2011. To be considered for these rankings, the hospital must meet the following criteria:
- Offer a full range of general medical and surgical services.
- Earned eight or more ratings of high performing in the 22 total procedures and conditions.
- Have at least five more “High Performing” procedures and conditions, rather than ”Evaluated” ratings across all procedures and conditions measured.
To be considered for an evaluation for any given specialty, a hospital has to meet at least one of the following criteria:
- It was a teaching hospital.
- It was affiliated with a medical school.
- It had at least 200 beds set up and staffed.
- It had at least 100 beds and offered at least four out of eight advanced technologies associated with high-quality care.
All hospitals in the Lowcountry region from the 2025–26 U.S. News & World Report
The following list shows all the hospitals in the ranking located in the Lowcountry region and their patient satisfaction ratings, according to the U.S. News & World Report:
- Beaufort Memorial Hospital: 3/5
- Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital: 4/5
- Coastal Carolina Hospital: 3/5
- Colleton Medical Center: 3/5
- East Cooper Medical Center: 4/5
- Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Bluffton: Not available
- Hilton Head Hospital: 2/5
- MUSC Health Rehabilitation Hospital: Not available
- MUSC Health-University Medical Center: 3/5
- MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital: Not available
- Naval Hospital Beaufort: Not available
- Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health-Charleston: Not available
- Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center: Not available
- Roper Hospital: 4/5
- Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital: Not available
- Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital: 4/5
- Trident Medical Center: 3/5
