Emergency room wait times by state
The typical hospital in the United States keeps emergency department patients 2 hr 30 min from arrival to departure. That is the median across 4,438 hospitals that report the measure, using CMS data published July 2026.
These are medians over a full year, not live queues, and they cover patients treated and discharged rather than admitted. A longer wait is not automatically worse — busy trauma centres treat sicker patients. How this measure works.
| State | Median wait | vs national | Hospitals | Shortest wait in the state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 1 hr 47 min | -43 min | 45 | Towner County Medical Center · 1 hr 8 min |
| Nebraska | 1 hr 54 min | -36 min | 84 | Genoa Community Hospital · 1 hr 20 min |
| South Dakota | 1 hr 54 min | -36 min | 53 | Coteau Des Prairies Health Care System · 44 min |
| Montana | 1 hr 55 min | -35 min | 56 | McCone County Health Center · 1 hr 10 min |
| Kansas | 1 hr 58 min | -32 min | 124 | Kiowa District Hospital · 1 hr 12 min |
| Iowa | 2 hr | -30 min | 115 | Marengo Memorial Hospital · 55 min |
| Wyoming | 2 hr | -30 min | 23 | North Big Horn Hospital District · 58 min |
| Oklahoma | 2 hr 2 min | -28 min | 105 | McBride Clinic Orthopedic Hospital, L L C · 57 min |
| Mississippi | 2 hr 6 min | -24 min | 76 | Covington County Hospital CAH · 1 hr 14 min |
| Minnesota | 2 hr 8 min | -22 min | 129 | Mille Lacs Health System · 42 min |
| Idaho | 2 hr 9 min | -21 min | 39 | Power County Hospital District · 1 hr 25 min |
| Louisiana | 2 hr 10 min | -20 min | 96 | Lady of the Sea General Hospital · 1 hr 2 min |
| Utah | 2 hr 12 min | -18 min | 53 | Cache Valley Speciality Hospital · 1 hr 26 min |
| Arkansas | 2 hr 13 min | -17 min | 74 | Summit Medical Center · 1 hr 11 min |
| Alaska | 2 hr 14 min | -16 min | 19 | Bristol Bay Dba Kanakanak Hospital · 1 hr 38 min |
| Colorado | 2 hr 15 min | -15 min | 81 | Rio Grande Hospital · 45 min |
| Hawaii | 2 hr 15 min | -15 min | 21 | Kula Hospital · 54 min |
| Texas | 2 hr 18 min | -12 min | 366 | Mitchell County Hospital District · 48 min |
| Wisconsin | 2 hr 18 min | -12 min | 124 | Edgerton Hospital and Health Services · 1 hr 11 min |
| Indiana | 2 hr 21 min | -9 min | 111 | St Mary's Warrick Hospital INC · 1 hr 32 min |
| Kentucky | 2 hr 22 min | -8 min | 92 | Saint Joseph Martin · 1 hr 24 min |
| Alabama | 2 hr 27 min | -3 min | 82 | Wiregrass Medical Center · 59 min |
| Florida | 2 hr 29 min | -1 min | 202 | Lake Butler Hospital · 1 hr 32 min |
| West Virginia | 2 hr 33 min | +3 min | 48 | Grafton City Hospital · 1 hr 13 min |
| Ohio | 2 hr 37 min | +7 min | 151 | Paulding County Hospital · 1 hr 14 min |
| Oregon | 2 hr 37 min | +7 min | 56 | St Alphonsus Medical Center - Baker City, INC · 1 hr 32 min |
| Maine | 2 hr 38 min | +8 min | 31 | Charles a Dean Memorial Hospital · 1 hr 26 min |
| Michigan | 2 hr 38 min | +8 min | 129 | Sheridan Community Hospital · 55 min |
| Nevada | 2 hr 38 min | +8 min | 38 | Mount Grant General Hospital · 1 hr 22 min |
| South Carolina | 2 hr 40 min | +10 min | 63 | Edgefield County Hospital · 1 hr 20 min |
| New Hampshire | 2 hr 42 min | +12 min | 28 | Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital · 1 hr 25 min |
| Missouri | 2 hr 43 min | +13 min | 109 | Northwest Medical Center · 1 hr 12 min |
| Virginia | 2 hr 44 min | +14 min | 94 | Dickenson Community Hospital · 1 hr 49 min |
| Tennessee | 2 hr 47 min | +17 min | 114 | Trousdale Medical Center · 1 hr 13 min |
| New Mexico | 2 hr 48 min | +18 min | 33 | Holy Cross Hospital a Div of Taos Health Systems · 1 hr 32 min |
| Georgia | 2 hr 49 min | +19 min | 137 | Optim Medical Center - Tattnall · 1 hr 6 min |
| Washington | 2 hr 51 min | +21 min | 79 | Garfield County Public Hospital District #1 · 1 hr 22 min |
| Illinois | 2 hr 54 min | +24 min | 168 | Pinckneyville Community Hospital · 49 min |
| Vermont | 2 hr 55 min | +25 min | 11 | Grace Cottage Hospital · 1 hr 47 min |
| California | 2 hr 56 min | +26 min | 285 | Trinity Hospital · 1 hr 9 min |
| Arizona | 2 hr 58 min | +28 min | 62 | Page Hospital · 1 hr 18 min |
| New Jersey | 3 hr 7 min | +37 min | 67 | Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Rahway · 1 hr 54 min |
| North Carolina | 3 hr 7 min | +37 min | 106 | Dlp Swain County Hospital LLC · 1 hr 21 min |
| Pennsylvania | 3 hr 12 min | +42 min | 154 | Highlands Hospital · 1 hr 8 min |
| Connecticut | 3 hr 18 min | +48 min | 27 | Sharon Hospital · 2 hr 10 min |
| New York | 3 hr 24 min | +54 min | 152 | Cuba Memorial Hospital, INC · 48 min |
| Massachusetts | 3 hr 29 min | +59 min | 63 | Fairview Hospital · 1 hr 53 min |
| Rhode Island | 3 hr 32 min | +1 hr 2 min | 11 | Westerly Hospital · 2 hr 22 min |
| Delaware | 3 hr 42 min | +1 hr 12 min | 6 | Nanticoke Memorial Hospital · 2 hr 47 min |
| Maryland | 4 hr 4 min | +1 hr 34 min | 46 | Garrett County Memorial Hospital · 2 hr 6 min |
Source: CMS measure OP_18b, median time from emergency department arrival to departure for discharged patients, published July 2026. Not affiliated with CMS. For a medical emergency, call 911.