In the 25-26 U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) review of American hospitals, only 152 hospitals earned recognition nationally in one or more of the 15 adult specialties examined in the USNWR review. While multiple teaching hospitals call the six-state Far West region of the U.S. home, four teaching hospitals in the region stand out for being named to the survey's honor roll of the 20 best hospitals in the nation:

Top Rated Teaching Hospitals in the Far West

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Location:  Los Angeles
Nationally Rated Adult Specialties:  11
# of Adult Specialties Rated in the Top 10 Nationally:  6

• Cancer:  #18
• Cardiology & Heart Surgery:  #6
• Diabetes & Endocrinology:  #9
• Ear, Nose & Throat:  #38
• Gastroenterology & GI Surgery:  #2
• Geriatrics:  #16
• Neurology & Neurosurgery:  #18
• Obstetrics & Gynecology:  #8
• Orthopedics:  #5
• Pulmonology & Lung Surgery:  #5
• Urology:  #33
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Stanford Hospital
Location:  Stanford, CA

Nationally Rated Adult Specialties:  11

# of Adult Specialties Rated in the Top 10 Nationally:  3

• Cancer:  #9
• Cardiology & Heart Surgery:  #11
• Diabetes & Endocrinology:  #11
• Ear, Nose & Throat:  #4
• Gastroenterology & GI Surgery:  #17
• Geriatrics:  #13
• Neurology & Neurosurgery:  #12
• Obstetrics & Gynecology:  #23
• Orthopedics:  #7
• Pulmonology & Lung Surgery:  #13
• Urology:  #23
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UCLA Medical Center
Location:  Los Angeles

Nationally Rated Adult Specialties:  14
# of Adult Specialties Rated in the Top 10 Nationally:  10

• Cancer:  #13
• Cardiology & Heart Surgery:  #17
• Diabetes & Endocrinology:  #5
• Ear, Nose & Throat:  #2
• Gastroenterology & GI Surgery:  #8
• Geriatrics:  #7
• Neurology & Neurosurgery:  #14
• Obstetrics & Gynecology:  #24
• Ophthalmology:  #5
• Orthopedics:  #10
• Psychiatry:  #5
• Pulmonology & Lung Surgery:  #4
• Rheumatology:  #8
• Urology:  #7
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UCSF Medical Center

Location:  San Francisco

Nationally Rated Adult Specialties:  13

# of Adult Specialties Rated in the Top 10 Nationally:  7

• Cancer:  #7
• Cardiology & Heart Surgery:  #22
• Diabetes & Endocrinology:  #15
• Ear, Nose & Throat:  #17
• Gastroenterology & GI Surgery:  #16
• Geriatrics:  #2
• Neurology & Neurosurgery:  #2
• Obstetrics & Gynecology:  #25
• Ophthalmology:  #10
• Orthopedics:  #6
• Pulmonology & Lung Surgery:  #3
• Rheumatology:  #7
• Urology:  #15
• See Rating Detailss

To find other teaching hospitals in the Far West and elsewhere, see our U.S. Teaching Hospitals resource page.

Speech Language Pathologist Pay in the Great Lakes Region

Nearly 174,000 speech language pathologists (SLPs) were employed in the United States as of May 2024 according to the latest occupational employment data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  More than 27,460 employed SLPs were living in the five-state Great Lakes region at that time.  BLS data revealed the region to be a subpar one for speech language pathologist pay, as no Great Lakes state recorded a SLP annual mean wage level that topped the national average for the profession.  A further examination of May 2024 BLS data reveals the following state-level details about speech language pathologist pay in the Great Lakes region:

Speech Language Pathologist Pay in the Great Lakes Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IL	9,100	$87,940	27th
IN	3,080	$90,180	22nd
MI	4,410	$84,330	35th
OH	7,660	$89,740	24th
WI	3,210	$84,090	37th
U.S.	173,910	$91,089	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on August 1, 2025