Best healthcare jobs in 2026: US News

01/13/2026|Source Author|Breaking News

For the third consecutive year, nurse practitioner earned the No. 1 spot in U.S. News & World Report‘s annual best jobs rankings.

The media company released the rankings Jan. 13, highlighting the best jobs across 17 categories, including healthcare.

To determine the best jobs, U.S. News examined data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify jobs with the greatest hiring demand. Analysts then scored jobs using five component measures: future prospects, wage potential, employment, job safety and stability, and work-life balance.

The media company said nurse practitioner took the No. 1 spot as the best job in the U.S. and also topped the healthcare list due to the continuous need for professionals in healthcare roles. Following nurse practitioner on the overall best jobs list is financial manager at No. 2, IT manager at No. 3, information security analyst at No. 4 and physician assistant at No. 5. Read more about the methodology here.

Here are the top 25 jobs in healthcare, listed with links to more information about each job:

Note: This list includes jobs in the healthcare category only.

1. Nurse practitioner

2. Physician assistant

3. Speech-language pathologist

4. Respiratory therapist

5. Nurse anesthetist

6. Occupational therapist

7. Dental hygienist

8. Psychiatrist

9. Ophthalmic medical technician

10. Oral and maxillofacial surgeon