North American airport rankings (2024)

Being among the best North American airports is still quite relative, as anyone who has ever traveled even slightly knows that the airport experience (and really everything in terms of travel) is better outside North America, of course. But even within the worst region, Canadian airports rank pretty badly (unsurprisingly).

For many travelers, airports are a necessary evil — although savvy travelers who have NEXUS and VIP airport lounge access (both are free when you’re a savvy traveler) enjoy their experience a whole lot more.

Some airports are clearly better than others, though.

Here’s the ranking of the best airports in North America for 2024.

Overview of North American airport rankings

J.D. Power ranked 62 North American airports, including 4 Canadian airports, based on passenger satisfaction.

Like all rankings and studies, it’s still somewhat subjective, but it’s interesting to know how North American airports compare to each other and is a good indicator of an airport’s general experience.

Here’s an infographic that summarizes the position for 3 of the 4 Canadian airports included… at the bottom of the ranking:

Here are the full rankings in the 3 categories (by airport size).

Ranking of 20 MEGA airports in North America 

For airports with over 33 million passengers per year, here is the ranking and their score:

1. Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) — 671
2. Detroit (DTW) — 643
3. Phoenix (PHX) — 633
4. New York-Kennedy (JFK) — 628
5. Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) — 623
6. Las Vegas (LAS) — 611
7. San Francisco (SFO) — 611
8. Orlando (MCO) — 596
9. Fort Lauderdale (FLL) — 593
10. Boston (BOS) — 591
11. Miami (MIA) — 590
12. Denver (DEN) — 588
13. Los Angeles (LAX) — 588
14. Houston-Bush (IAH) — 586
15. Charlotte (CLT) — 585
16. Seattle (SEA) — 575
17. Atlanta (ATL) — 574
18. Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) — 560
19. Toronto-Pearson (YYZ) — 559
20. New York-Newark (EWR) — 552

Toronto is almost last, really nothing surprising there.

I visited all 20 of these airports (on multiple trips for most of them), and the ranking seems to make sense to me. That said, since I have airport lounge access (in my case, it’s with the American Express Platinum Card to have unlimited access because I travel a lot), the quality of the lounges counts more for me than the “regular” airport experience, obviously.

Ranking of 27 LARGE airports in North America 

For airports between 10 and 33 million passengers per year, here is the ranking and their score:

1. Orange County (SNA) — 687
2. Tampa (TPA) — 685
3. Kansas City (MCI) — 683
4. Dallas-Love (DAL) — 675
5. Nashville (BNA) — 668
6. Houston-Hobby (HOU) — 667
7. Sacramento (SMF) — 663
8. Portland (PDX) — 659
9. Salt Lake City (SLC) — 659
10. San Jose (SJC) — 655
11. Austin (AUS) — 650
12. New Orleans (MSY) — 647
13. Raleigh (RDU) — 647
14. Baltimore-Washington (BWI) — 641
15. Vancouver (YVR) — 634
16. Washington-National (DCA) — 633
17. New York-LaGuardia (LGA) — 631
18. San Antonio (SAT) — 617
19. Oakland (OAK) — 614
20. Washington-Dulles (IAD) — 611
21. San Diego (SAN) — 610
22. Calgary (YYC) — 598
23. Chicago-Midway (MDW) — 598
24. Honolulu (HNL) — 587
25. St. Louis (STL) — 583
26. Montreal (YUL) — 576
27. Philadelphia (PHL) — 541

Montreal is also second-last in its category. Calgary is not doing much better. Vancouver is the only Canadian airport that is not in the basement, although it’s still in the worst half.

I’ve visited only 17 of these 27 airports (with an 18^th Monday, if you want to follow my trip to San Antonio in stories on my personal Instagram), but here too, the ranking seems okay.

Ranking of 15 MEDIUM airports in North America 

For airports with 4.5 to 10 million passengers per year, here is the ranking and their score:

1. Indianapolis (IND) — 687
2. Jacksonville (JAX) — 686
3. Fort Myers (RSW) — 675
4. Ontario (ONT) — 672
5. Buffalo (BUF) — 670
6. Milwaukee (MKE) — 669
7. Palm Beach (PBI) — 669
8. Cincinnati (CVG) — 665
9. Columbus (CMH) — 658
10. Hartford (BDL) — 654
11. Omaha (OMA) — 653
12. Albuquerque (ABQ) — 646
13. Burbank (BUR) — 626
14. Pittsburgh (PIT) — 625
15. Cleveland (CLE) — 580

There’s no Canadian airport in this category (Edmonton has more than 4.5 million passengers but was simply not included).

I’ve not yet had the chance to visit some of these exciting destinations (or I’ve visited them without using the airport for 4 of them), but the 6 airports among these I did visit seem to be about where I’d rank them.

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Summary

J.D. Power ranked 62 North American airports according to passenger satisfaction, and 3 of the 4 Canadian airports ranked pretty badly! Considering that North American airports are already not among the best in the world… this is not a performance to brag about!

What would you like to know about the North American airport rankings? Tell us in the comments below.

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Featured image: Toronto-Pearson airport, Canada (photo credit: Toronto Pearson)

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