North Dakota ER wait times by hospital
How long a typical emergency room visit lasts at 43 North Dakota hospitals, from arrival to going home, ranked shortest to longest.
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.
North Dakota median
1 hr 45 min
−43 min vs US US median is 2 hr 28 min
Under 2 hours
31 ERs
1 take 4 hours or more
North Dakota emergency rooms ranked by median visit time
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 North Dakota 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 43 hospitals
| # | Hospital | Median visit | Left before seen | ER volume | CMS rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Towner County Medical CenterCando 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 8 min 37 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 2 | Hillsboro Medical Center - CAHHillsboro 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 12 min 33 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 3 | St Aloisius Medical CenterHarvey 0% left before seen Low volume ★ 1/5 CMS | 1 hr 16 min 29 min faster | 0% | Low | |
| 4 | Pembina County Memorial HospitalCavalier 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 19 min 26 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 5 | Tioga Medical CenterTioga 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 22 min 23 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 6 | Mountrail County Medical CenterStanley 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 23 min 22 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 7 | Ashley Medical CenterAshley 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 26 min 19 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 8 | St Luke's HospitalCrosby 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 26 min 19 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 9 | Northwood Deaconess Health CenterNorthwood 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 26 min 19 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 10 | Cavalier County Memorial Hospital AssociationLangdon 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 30 min 15 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 11 | Nelson County Health SystemMcVille 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 31 min 14 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 12 | Standing Rock Service UnitFort Yates 3% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 33 min 12 min faster | 3% | Low | Not rated |
| 13 | South Central HealthWishek 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 38 min 7 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 14 | Sanford MayvilleMayville 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 39 min 6 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 15 | CHI Mercy HealthValley City 0% left before seen Low volume ★ 5/5 CMS | 1 hr 40 min 5 min faster | 0% | Low | |
| 16 | Presentation Medical CenterRolla 4% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 41 min 4 min faster | 4% | Low | Not rated |
| 17 | Garrison Memorial HospitalGarrison 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 42 min 3 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 18 | Trinity Kenmare Community HospitalKenmare 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 42 min 3 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 19 | CHI St Alexius Health Turtle LakeTurtle Lake 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 44 min 1 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 20 | Heart of America Medical CenterRugby 0% left before seen Low volume ★ 2/5 CMS | 1 hr 44 min 1 min faster | 0% | Low | |
| 21 | Carrington Health CenterCarrington 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 44 min 1 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 22 | St Andrews Health Center - CAHBottineau 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 45 min At state median | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 23 | CHI Oakes HospitalOakes 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 47 min 2 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 24 | Essentia Health-FargoFargo 1% left before seen Medium volume ★ 3/5 CMS | 1 hr 48 min 3 min slower | 1% | Medium | |
| 25 | Linton Hospital - CAHLinton 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 48 min 3 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 26 | Jamestown HospitalJamestown 1% left before seen Low volume ★ 4/5 CMS | 1 hr 49 min 4 min slower | 1% | Low | |
| 27 | Lisbon Area Health ServicesLisbon 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 50 min 5 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 28 | First Care Health CenterPark River 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 51 min 6 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 29 | Jacobson Memorial Hospital & Care CenterElgin 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 51 min 6 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 30 | Sakakawea Medical Center - CAHHazen 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 52 min 7 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 31 | Southwest Healthcare ServicesBowman 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 58 min 13 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 32 | Cooperstown Medical CenterCooperstown 1% left before seen Low volume | 2 hr 1 min 16 min slower | 1% | Low | Not rated |
| 33 | West River Regional Medical Center-CAHHettinger 0% left before seen Low volume ★ 4/5 CMS | 2 hr 2 min 17 min slower | 0% | Low | |
| 34 | Unity Medical CenterGrafton 0% left before seen Low volume | 2 hr 6 min 21 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 35 | McKenzie County Healthcare SystemsWatford City 0% left before seen Low volume | 2 hr 10 min 25 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 36 | CHI St Alexius Health Devils LakeDevils Lake 2% left before seen Low volume ★ 2/5 CMS | 2 hr 13 min 28 min slower | 2% | Low | |
| 37 | CHI St Alexius Health WillistonWilliston 3% left before seen Low volume ★ 3/5 CMS | 2 hr 36 min 51 min slower | 3% | Low | |
| 38 | St Joseph's Hospital & Health CenterDickinson 1% left before seen Low volume ★ 2/5 CMS | 2 hr 54 min 1 hr 9 min slower | 1% | Low | |
| 39 | St Alexius Medical CenterBismarck 1% left before seen Low volume ★ 4/5 CMS | 2 hr 56 min 1 hr 11 min slower | 1% | Low | |
| 40 | Altru HospitalGrand Forks 2% left before seen Medium volume ★ 3/5 CMS | 2 hr 57 min 1 hr 12 min slower | 2% | Medium | |
| 41 | Sanford Medical Center BismarckBismarck 6% left before seen Medium volume ★ 4/5 CMS | 3 hr 1 hr 15 min slower | 6% | Medium | |
| 42 | Sanford Medical Center FargoFargo 2% left before seen Very high volume ★ 4/5 CMS | 3 hr 1 min 1 hr 16 min slower | 2% | Very high | |
| 43 | Trinity HospitalsMinot 8% left before seen Medium volume ★ 3/5 CMS | 4 hr 7 min 2 hr 22 min slower | 8% | Medium |
No North Dakota hospitals match that search. Try a city name, or .
ER wait times in North Dakota's largest cities
Median visit time across the hospitals listed in each city. Pick a city to filter the list above.
| City | ERs | Median | Shortest in the city |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 hr 24 min | Essentia Health-Fargo · 1 hr 48 min | |
| 2 | 2 hr 58 min | St Alexius Medical Center · 2 hr 56 min |
Questions about North Dakota ER wait times
Which North Dakota ER has the shortest wait?
Towner County Medical Center in Cando, with a median visit of 1 hr 8 min. Hillsboro Medical Center - CAH in Hillsboro is next at 1 hr 12 min.
Which North Dakota ER has the longest wait?
Trinity Hospitals, at 4 hr 7 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 North Dakota?
The median is 1 hr 45 min, 43 min shorter than the US median of 2 hr 28 min. 31 of 43 North Dakota ERs come in under two hours and 1 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.
ER wait times in neighboring states
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 North Dakota hospital directory. Campuses that CMS reports under one facility number appear once. Not affiliated with CMS.