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The best airport in the US in 2026 is Portland International (PDX) in Oregon. It finished second in all three of the 2026 rankings it appears in: J.D. Power’s satisfaction study, the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards and Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards.
That consistency matters because the big rankings never agree. Condé Nast readers picked Savannah, Travel + Leisure readers picked Rhode Island’s T.F. Green, J.D. Power named a different winner for each airport size, and Skytrax rated Houston Bush the best in the country.
So we combined all four 2026 rankings into one score. Minneapolis-Saint Paul is second, Tampa third and Indianapolis fourth, and not one airport made all four lists. Here is the full top 15 as of October 2026.
| Rank | Airport | Points | J.D. Power 2026 | Condé Nast 2026 | T+L 2026 | Skytrax 2026 (world) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland (PDX) | 27 | Large #2 | 2 | 2 | – |
| 2 | Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) | 24 | Mega #1 | 4 | 4 | – |
| 3 | Tampa (TPA) | 22 | Large #1 | 3 | 7 | – |
| 4 | Indianapolis (IND) | 21 | Medium #3 | 6 | 3 | – |
| 5 | New York LaGuardia (LGA) | 14 | – | 5 | – | 38 |
| 6 | Rhode Island T.F. Green (PVD) | 13 | – | 8 | 1 | – |
| 7 | Savannah/Hilton Head (SAV) | 12 | – | 1 | 9 | – |
| 8 | Detroit (DTW) | 10 | Mega #2 | 10 | – | 79 |
| 9 | Salt Lake City (SLC) | 10 | – | 7 | 5 | – |
| 10 | Charleston (CHS) | 10 | Medium #1 | – | – | – |
| 11 | Houston Bush (IAH) | 10 | – | – | – | 29 |
| 12 | Ontario, California (ONT) | 9 | Medium #2 | – | – | – |
| 13 | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (CVG) | 9 | – | – | – | 33 |
| 14 | Dallas Love Field (DAL) | 8 | Large #3 | – | – | – |
| 15 | Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) | 8 | Mega #3 | – | – | – |
How this ranking works
Each airport earns points from four 2026 rankings. Condé Nast and Travel + Leisure each publish a US top 10, worth 10 points for first down to 1 point for tenth. J.D. Power ranks mega, large and medium airports separately, so the top three in each size class score 10, 9 and 8. Skytrax ranks the world’s top 100, so the 10 highest US airports on it score 10 down to 1. Ties are broken by the number of lists an airport appears on, then by its best single placement, then by its J.D. Power score. Every ranking measures how an airport feels to use, not how big or busy it is.
The four sources measure different things. J.D. Power collected 24,710 surveys from recent travelers between July 2025 and July 2026. Condé Nast and Travel + Leisure count votes from their readers, and Skytrax runs a worldwide passenger survey covering more than 565 airports.
Blending them rewards the airports that every kind of traveler rates highly. If you want the airports that handle the most flights instead, our airport rankings by daily departures and destinations rank them on operational data.
1. Portland International Airport (PDX)
Portland International never wins outright, and it still beats every airport that does. It was second among large airports in J.D. Power’s 2026 study with 708 points, second in Condé Nast’s Readers’ Choice Awards and second in Travel + Leisure, where it scored 83.09.
The big change is a new terminal. The Port of Portland spent $2 billion renovating and expanding the main terminal in place, keeping the airport open through five years of phased construction, and the second and final phase opened in 2026.
The result is a one-million-square-foot (about 93,000 m²) terminal under a prefabricated timber roof, the largest mass timber project of its kind according to architect ZGF. It doubles the airport’s passenger capacity and is designed to withstand a magnitude 9.0 earthquake.
Getting there is easy, too. The MAX light rail line runs to the terminal, local brands such as Stumptown Coffee sell inside, and a 17-seat movie theater that screens short films for free, 24 hours a day.
The best airport in America is not in the world's top 100
Portland, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Tampa and Indianapolis, the four airports at the top of this list, are all missing from the 2026 Skytrax World’s Top 100 Airports. The two American reader polls and J.D. Power love them, while Skytrax’s global survey prefers big international gateways such as Houston and LaGuardia.
2. Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP)
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Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the best mega airport in North America for the third year running, with a 2026 J.D. Power score of 684. That is up from 660 in 2025, and it was fourth in both Condé Nast and Travel + Leisure.
In December 2025 the airport and Delta finished a $242 million modernization of six Terminal 1 concourses, covering roughly 75 gate areas.
Shopping is the other draw. At least 50 stores sell brand-name clothing and shoes, and a Prince pop-up shop sells records and tickets to Paisley Park. A concessions overhaul planned to add 47 new venues by 2029 is next.
3. Tampa International Airport (TPA)
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Tampa International posted the highest J.D. Power score of any airport in 2026, 715 points, to win the large-airport class. It was second behind John Wayne Airport in 2025, and John Wayne dropped off the 2026 podium entirely.
Tampa opened about 50 years ago with what was then a groundbreaking landside-airside layout, which separates the public terminal from the secure gate areas. In 2018, $1 billion of upgrades added the SkyConnect people mover, and travelers are greeted by a 21-foot (6.4 m) flamingo sculpture.
Readers agree with the survey. Tampa was third in Condé Nast and seventh in Travel + Leisure, and its fiscal 2026 capital program funds 34 more projects worth $835.5 million.
4. Indianapolis International Airport (IND)
Indianapolis International won J.D. Power’s medium-airport class four years in a row through 2025. In 2026 its score slipped from 713 to 695 and it finished third, its streak ending as Charleston took over.
Readers did not notice the drop. Indianapolis was third in Travel + Leisure and sixth in Condé Nast, which credits it as the first US airport to earn LEED certification for an entire terminal campus.
It now handles nearly 10 million passengers a year, close to the top of J.D. Power’s medium band, and travelers still praise its design, shopping and local dining.
5. LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
LaGuardia is the most dramatic turnaround on this list. Once one of the world’s most loathed airports, in Condé Nast’s words, it is now fifth in Condé Nast and 38th in the Skytrax world ranking, the third-highest US airport there.
An $8 billion rebuild did it. Delta’s Terminal C opened in June 2022 with floor-to-ceiling windows, and the 1.3-million-square-foot (about 121,000 m²) Terminal B has three times the space for security screening.
The one caution is momentum: LaGuardia fell from 29th to 38th in Skytrax’s 2026 list. It is still the only New York airport in this top 15.
6. Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport (PVD)
T.F. Green is Travel + Leisure’s best airport in the US for the second straight year, with a score of 85.16, up from 84.9 in 2025. Condé Nast readers put it eighth.
Its pitch is the opposite of a hub. It has two well-appointed concourses, it is easy to navigate, and more than two-thirds of New England’s population lives within a 75-minute drive, which has long made it a cheaper alternative to Boston Logan.
It is also growing. Condé Nast reports that Breeze Airways will make it a hub, with 44 weekly departures expected by 2027.
7. Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV)
Savannah/Hilton Head is Condé Nast Traveler’s best airport in the US for the seventh year in a row, from a 2026 poll that drew 798,867 votes across all categories. Travel + Leisure readers ranked it ninth.
The terminal is laid out like a Southern town square, with benches and a large clock. It is not a particularly busy airport, and that smallness is much of the appeal.
Why isn't Savannah No. 1?
Savannah tops the biggest reader poll, but it appears on only one other 2026 list, ninth in Travel + Leisure. It is not on a J.D. Power podium or in the Skytrax world top 100. Reader polls reward airports with loyal fans, while J.D. Power samples recent travelers at random. An airport that only one kind of ranking loves drops behind one that every ranking rates highly, which is why Portland finishes first.
8. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
Detroit is the second-best mega airport in J.D. Power’s 2026 study with 663 points, up from 649. It is also tenth in Condé Nast and 79th in the Skytrax world ranking, which puts it on three of the four lists.
The McNamara Terminal is its signature. A cherry-red ExpressTram runs along a concourse Condé Nast calls the second-longest in the world, past a 39-foot-wide (12 m) fountain that fires water in arcs modeled on a flight map.
9. Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
Salt Lake City was fifth in Travel + Leisure and seventh in Condé Nast. The new airport opened in phases from late 2020, and Condé Nast describes it as the first completely new US hub airport built this century.
One rule wins it fans: a pricing policy bars vendors from charging travelers more than regular street prices for food, drinks and goods. Public transit also runs straight to the terminal.
10. Charleston International Airport (CHS)
Charleston International went from off the podium in 2025 to the best medium airport in North America in 2026, with 712 points. That ended Indianapolis’s four-year run at the top of the class.
Its score was the second-highest of any airport in the 2026 study, behind only Tampa’s 715. Charleston appears on no other list yet, which is what holds it at 10th.
11. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
Houston Bush is the highest-ranked US airport in the 2026 Skytrax world list at 29th, up from 33rd. It also placed in Skytrax’s world top 10 for airport dining and kept its 4-star rating for a ninth year.
It is the strongest pick here for international travel. IAH handled a record 12.4 million international passengers in 2025 and opened a new Terminal E ticketing lobby with 10 more security lanes.
Houston’s second airport just missed this list. Hobby (HOU) is 39th in Skytrax, was voted the cleanest airport in North America, and is the only Skytrax 5-star airport in North America.
12. Ontario International Airport (ONT)
Ontario International, east of Los Angeles, was the second-best medium airport in J.D. Power’s study for the second straight year, scoring 705 in 2026 after 709 in 2025.
Neither reader poll has picked it up yet, which is what keeps two straight podium finishes at 12th here.
13. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
CVG was named Skytrax’s Best Regional Airport in North America for 2026 and climbed from 49th to 33rd in the world ranking, second among US airports.
J.D. Power’s travelers were cooler on it. CVG finished seventh of the medium airports with 675 points, three above the class average of 672.
14. Dallas Love Field (DAL)
Dallas Love Field finished third among large airports in J.D. Power’s study for the second year running, with 698 points in 2026 after 705 in 2025.
It ranks ahead of Phoenix on the tiebreak because its J.D. Power score is higher, even though both appear on only one list.
15. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Phoenix Sky Harbor is the third-best mega airport in J.D. Power’s 2026 study, with 642 points, up from 634.
The mega podium did not change at all from 2025: Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Detroit and Phoenix, in that order, both years. Average scores rose in every size class in 2026, so holding a place among the giants is harder than it looks.
The best US airport for every size
J.D. Power is the only ranking that splits airports by size, which makes it the fairest comparison for a hub against a hub. Mega airports handle 33 million or more passengers a year, large airports 10 to 32.9 million and medium airports 4.5 to 9.9 million.
| Size class | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mega (33M+ passengers) | Minneapolis-Saint Paul, 684 | Detroit, 663 | Phoenix Sky Harbor, 642 |
| Large (10M to 32.9M) | Tampa, 715 | Portland, 708 | Dallas Love Field, 698 |
| Medium (4.5M to 9.9M) | Charleston, 712 | Ontario, 705 | Indianapolis, 695 |
Mega airports score lowest: Minneapolis-Saint Paul’s winning 684 would not make the top three in either other class. Even so, satisfaction rose 14 points for mega airports, 13 for large and 16 for medium in 2026, which J.D. Power credits to construction projects finally finishing.
The bottom of the same study tells the other half of the story. Chicago O’Hare, Newark and Denver were the three lowest-rated mega airports, and our ranking of the worst airports in the United States adds federal on-time data to explain why.
Why the busiest airports are not the best
Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson is the busiest airport in the world, with 106.3 million passengers in 2025 according to ACI World’s preliminary count. It is 77th in the Skytrax world ranking and appears in neither reader poll’s top 10.
O’Hare handled more aircraft movements than any airport on Earth in 2025, and travelers ranked it among the three worst mega airports. Traffic tells you little about the experience, which is why our list of the busiest airports in the US is a separate ranking.
The US also trails the rest of the world on quality. No American airport made the Skytrax top 20 in 2026, while Vancouver was 10th, and our ranking of the best airports in the world shows how far ahead Singapore, Seoul and Tokyo are.
FAQ
Sources and references used for research and fact-checking.
- J.D. Power, 2026 North America Airport Satisfaction Study
- J.D. Power, 2025 North America Airport Satisfaction Study
- FOX 10 Phoenix, Ranked: The best and worst airports for 2026, according to JD Power
- Local 12 WKRC, Where CVG ranks in JD Power's 2026 airport satisfaction study
- eTurboNews, 2026 Airport Satisfaction Rankings: Best Airports Revealed
- Condé Nast Traveler, The Best Airports in the US: 2026 Readers' Choice Awards
- WTOC, Savannah/Hilton Head airport named No. 1 in US for 7th year in a row
- PR Newswire, Travel + Leisure Announces 2026 World's Best Awards
- Stuck at the Airport, Best airports, according to Travel + Leisure readers
- Rhode Island Current, Rhode Island's T.F. Green remains America's best airport in national ranking
- Skytrax World Airport Awards, World's Top 100 Airports 2026
- NKY Tribune, CVG named Best Regional Airport in North America by Skytrax
- Houston Airports, Houston Airports earns global honors as record travel powers momentum
- Wood & Panel, Award-winning mass timber Portland International Airport completed
- ACI World, World's busiest airports revealed in latest global rankings
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About the Author
Tim is the owner and lead editor of AeroCorner since 2019, overseeing aviation content covering aircraft, airlines, airports, and the broader aviation industry. Through years of researching, writing, editing, and publishing aviation-focused content, he has developed extensive practical knowledge of commercial aviation and air travel. Based in Asia and a frequent traveler himself, Tim also brings firsthand passenger experience to AeroCorner’s coverage. Outside of publishing, he has also explored aviation firsthand through hands-on flight training in New Zealand.