HPI Ranks Patient Satisfaction in 100 U.S. Cities

Study of 46,300 online doctor reviews nationwide yields comparative snapshot of satisfaction with healthcare

Patients in San Francisco and Oakland appear to be happiest with their doctors, while the least satisfied American healthcare consumers live in other California cities as well as in New York State locales, according to an in-depth evaluation of the ever-contentious online reviews that many physicians denounce.

[Learn more: The best cities for patient satisfaction]

[Learn more: The worst cities for patient satisfaction]

In a nationwide study, Denver-based Vanguard Communications deployed special software to analyze Internet reviews of 46,300 healthcare providers on Google+ and Yelp.com websites.

Vanguard’s software collected ratings of individual doctors, group medical practices, clinics and hospitals in the 100 largest U.S. cities. Vanguard then ranked each city according to its average patient rating on the five-star scale used by both Google+ and Yelp.com.

Vanguard tabulated the results in what the firm is calling the U.S. Happy Patient Index (HPI), providing a comparative snapshot of the state of satisfaction with American healthcare.

[Learn more: Vanguard Analysis Finds Online Doctor Reviews Overwhelmingly Positive]

HPI rank	City	Average star rating
1	San Francisco, CA*	4.15
2	Oakland, CA*	4.14
3	Honolulu, HI	4.14
4	Madison, WI**	4.09
5	Indianapolis, IN	4.05
6	Seattle, WA	4.05
7	St. Louis, MO**	4.02
8	Cleveland, OH**	4.02
9	San Jose, CA	4.00
10	Austin, TX	3.98
11	New Orleans, LA	3.97
12	Boise, ID	3.95
13	Birmingham, AL	3.93
14	Kansas City, MO	3.91
15	Nashville, TN	3.90
16	Lexington, KY	3.89
17	Plano, TX	3.88
18	Portland, OR	3.88
19	Anchorage, AK	3.86
20	Colorado Springs, CO	3.85
21	Garland, TX	3.82
22	San Antonio, TX	3.81
23	Santa Ana, CA	3.81
24	Los Angeles, CA	3.80
25	Stockton, CA	3.80
26	Lincoln, NE	3.79
27	Chicago, IL	3.79
28	Long Beach, CA	3.79
29	Cincinnati, OH	3.79
30	Miami, FL	3.79
31	Chula Vista, CA	3.79
32	St. Paul, MN	3.79
33	Durham, NC	3.78
34	Houston, TX	3.78
35	Akron, OH	3.78
36	Reno, NV	3.78
37	San Diego, CA	3.77
38	Dallas, TX	3.76
39	Columbus, OH	3.76
40	Milwaukee, WI	3.74
41	Raleigh, NC	3.74
42	Baton Rouge, LA	3.74
43	Jacksonville, FL	3.73
44	Minneapolis, MN	3.73
45	Scottsdale, AZ	3.72
46	Phoenix, AZ	3.72
47	Atlanta, GA	3.71
48	Hialeah, FL	3.71
49	Albuquerque, NM	3.71
50	Anaheim, CA	3.71
51	Pittsburgh, PA	3.70
52	Memphis, TN	3.69
53	Tucson, AZ	3.69
54	Philadelphia, PA	3.69
55	Arlington, TX	3.69
56	St. Petersburg, FL	3.69
57	Oklahoma City, OK	3.68
58	Boston, MA	3.68
59	Omaha, NE	3.68
60	Charlotte, NC	3.67
61	Tampa, FL	3.66
62	Henderson, NV	3.66
63	Glendale, AZ	3.64
64	Tulsa, OK	3.64
65	Mesa, AZ	3.63
66	Chesapeake, VA	3.62
67	Newark, NJ	3.61
68	Norfolk, VA	3.61
69	Fresno, CA	3.61
70	Wichita, KS	3.61
71	Baltimore, MD	3.61
72	Fort Worth, TX	3.61
73	Jersey City, NJ	3.60
74	Lubbock, TX	3.60
75	Rochester, NY	3.60
76	Denver, CO	3.57
77	Virginia Beach, VA	3.57
78	Detroit, MI	3.57
79	Aurora, CO	3.55
80	Chandler, AZ	3.55
81	Montgomery, AL	3.54
82	New York, NY	3.53
83	Las Vegas, NV	3.52
84	Arlington, VA	3.50
85	Huntington, NY	3.50
86	Fort Wayne, IN**	3.49
87	Washington, DC	3.49
88	San Bernardino, CA	3.48
89	Riverside, CA***	3.45
90	Orlando, FL***	3.45
91	Sacramento, CA***	3.44
92	Buffalo, NY***	3.44
93	North Hempstead, NY	3.42
94	Corpus Christi, TX**	3.40
95	Modesto, CA	3.39
96	Greensboro, NC**	3.38
97	El Paso, TX**	3.34
98	Bakersfield, CA	3.34
99	Toledo, OH**	3.21
100	Laredo, TX**	3.20

 

*   Due to their close proximity, San Francisco and Oakland jointly hold first place in the top 10 list

**  Cities with less than 50 healthcare providers represented were eliminated from the top 10 and bottom 10 lists

*** For tied cities, cities with fewer healthcare provider reviews are ranked lower