The 20 biggest US airports ranked from worst to best for passenger satisfaction

Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport is a favorite among passengers.

Davslens Photography/Getty Images JD Power's North America Airport Satisfaction Study ranked "mega" airports on a 1,000-point scale.

Canadian airports were omitted this year because JD Power changed its Canada sampling methodology.

Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport was ranked the top airport for the third year in a row.

There are large airports, and then there are "mega airports." The annual JD Power North America Airport Satisfaction Study measured overall passenger satisfaction at US airports across three size categories: medium (4.5 to 9.9 million passengers a year), large (10 to 32.9 million passengers a year), and mega (33 million or more passengers a year).

The 2026 study was based on 24,710 surveys of US and Canadian residents who traveled through at least one eligible North American airport in the 30 days before completing the survey.

The segment average was 617 on a 1,000-point scale.

While Canadian residents were surveyed for the 2026 study, Canadian airports , including Toronto Pearson, were not included in this year's rankings because the company changed its sampling methodology in Canada, a JD Power spokesperson told Business Insider.

For the ranking, passengers were asked to evaluate their experiences across seven core factors, in order of importance: Ease of travel through the airport Level of trust in the airport Terminal facilities Airport staff Departure/to airport experience Food, beverage, and retail Arrival/from airport experience One takeaway from the 2026 study: airport renovations pay off.

The highest-ranked airports in 2026 have either recently completed or are almost finished with capital improvement projects .

Though these makeovers can cost upward of $1 billion and span multiple years, the results speak for themselves — JD Power found overall passenger satisfaction at mega airports increased 14 points, even as passenger volume remains at record levels.

Minneapolis-St.

Paul International Airport, which ranked first for the third year in a row in 2026, recently underwent a $242 million terminal renovation in December 2025, refreshing gate areas, seating, flooring, lighting, signs, and other post-security spaces.

More satisfied passengers also spend more money, JD Power found.