facebook tracking Colorado ER Wait Times 2026: Shortest & Longest of 78 Hospitals

Colorado ER wait times by hospital

In an emergency, call 911. These are yearly medians, not live wait times. Don't pick an ER from this list when someone needs help now.

According to HospitalsInEachState.com's analysis of the July 2026 CMS release, the median emergency room visit in Colorado for patients treated and sent home lasts 2 hr 14 min, 14 min shorter than the US median of 2 hr 28 min, across 78 reporting hospitals. Colorado ranks #17 of 50 states in the HospitalsInEachState.com State ER Wait Rankings, where #1 has the shortest visits. The shortest is at Rio Grande Hospital in Del Norte (45 min) and the longest at Centura Health-St Anthony Central Hospital (3 hr 32 min). 24 of 78 come in under two hours and 0 take four hours or more; 52 (67%) are faster than the US median.

CMS data published July 202678 hospitals12-month medians
Colorado median 2 hr 14 min −14 min vs US US median is 2 hr 28 min
Shortest 45 min Rio Grande Hospital, Del Norte
Longest 3 hr 32 min Centura Health-St Anthony Central Hospital, Denver
Under 2 hours 24 ERs 0 take 4 hours or more
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Report: Maryland has the longest ER visits: 4 hr 1 min at the typical hospital (Oct 25, 2026)

Fastest to slowest ER wait times in Colorado, by hospital

Times are for patients treated and sent home, not admitted. The bar shows each ER against the slowest in the state; the tick marks the Colorado median.

How to read this list

Each time is the median for a full year, so half of visits were shorter and half longer. Busy hospitals treat sicker patients, so a longer time is not by itself a mark against a hospital. "Left before seen" is the share of patients who walked out before a clinician saw them. How this measure works.

Showing the 25 shortest of 78 hospitals

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ER wait times in Colorado's largest cities

Median visit time across the hospitals listed in each city. Open a city's page, or filter the list above.

CityERsMedianShortest in the city
Colorado Springs 4 1 hr 50 min UCHealth Grandview Hospital · 1 hr 41 min
Fort Collins 2 2 hr 2 min Banner Fort Collins Medical Center · 1 hr 58 min
Durango 2 2 hr 12 min Animas Surgical Hospital · 1 hr 39 min
Aurora 3 2 hr 14 min University of Colorado Hospital Anschutz Inpatient · 1 hr 42 min
Greeley 2 2 hr 14 min UCHealth Greeley Hospital · 2 hr 12 min
Longmont 2 2 hr 22 min Longs Peak Hospital · 2 hr 10 min
Grand Junction 2 2 hr 48 min Community Hospital · 2 hr 15 min
Denver 6 3 hr 2 min Presbyterian/St Luke's Medical Center · 2 hr 1 min

Questions about Colorado ER wait times

Which Colorado ER has the shortest wait?

Rio Grande Hospital in Del Norte, with a median visit of 45 min. Family Health West Hospital in Fruita is next at 48 min.

Which Colorado ER has the longest wait?

Centura Health-St Anthony Central Hospital, at 3 hr 32 min. The busiest emergency departments tend to have the longest visits because they treat more patients and more complex cases.

How long is the average ER visit in Colorado?

The median is 2 hr 14 min, 14 min shorter than the US median of 2 hr 28 min. 24 of 78 Colorado ERs come in under two hours and 0 take four hours or more.

Are these live wait times?

No. They are 12-month medians for patients who were treated and sent home, published by CMS. They show what is typical, not what is happening tonight. In an emergency, call 911.

Why are big hospitals slower?

Low-volume Colorado ERs have a median visit of 1 hr 58 min. High and very-high-volume ERs come in at 2 hr 17 min. Large hospitals see more patients and sicker ones, and many are trauma centers.

ER wait times in neighboring states

Cite this data

Journalists, researchers and site owners are welcome to quote and chart these figures. They are free to use under CC BY 4.0: please credit HospitalsInEachState.com and link to this page.

Figures as of the July 2026 CMS release Updated automatically when CMS publishes new data Permanent link: hospitalsineachstate.com/er-wait-times/colorado/

Download the data (CSV) See the State ER Wait Rankings

Source: CMS Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting, measure OP-18b (median time from ED arrival to departure for discharged patients), published July 2026. Updated when CMS publishes new data.

Hospitals with too few cases to report are not listed; they still have a page in the Colorado hospital directory. Campuses that CMS reports under one facility number appear once. Not affiliated with CMS.