The Best in the US: the No. 1 restaurants, hotels, cities, universities, employers and soccer players

America's rankings season is in full swing. Forbes named Delta Air Lines the best U.S. airline of 2026 and LaGuardia the best U.S. airport for the third year running, while WalletHub crowned Juneau, Alaska the safest city in the country, ahead of Warwick, Rhode Island and Overland Park, Kansas. In Milwaukee, the 1893 Pfister Hotel was voted the best hotel in the Midwest by Condé Nast Traveler readers, and in food, SingleThread in Healdsburg is the only American restaurant in places 51 to 100 of this year's 50 Best, ahead of the top 50 reveal in Lima on November 4.

At work and in health, the usual names keep winning. Wegmans leads Fortune's Best Workplaces in Retail for the 11th year in a row, Cisco tops the large tech workplaces ahead of Nvidia, and Newsweek's new smart-hospital ranking puts Mayo Clinic in Rochester at No. 1 in the world, with three more Mayo sites in the list.

On the field, Lionel Messi scored twice in Inter Miami's 3-1 win at Atlanta and became the first player with 15 assists in three straight MLS seasons, days after the champions clinched their playoff place. In the NWSL, the Shield goes to the final weekend: Gotham FC on 55 points, San Diego Wave on 54 and Washington Spirit on 52, with ten teams still fighting for eight playoff places.