South Dakota ER wait times by hospital
How long a typical emergency room visit lasts at 50 South 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.
South Dakota median
1 hr 52 min
−36 min vs US US median is 2 hr 28 min
Under 2 hours
32 ERs
0 take 4 hours or more
South 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 South 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 50 hospitals
| # | Hospital | Median visit | Left before seen | ER volume | CMS rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coteau Des Prairies Health Care SystemSisseton 0% left before seen Low volume ★ 4/5 CMS | 44 min 1 hr 8 min faster | 0% | Low | |
| 2 | Bennett County Hospital and Nursing Home - CAHMartin 1% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 20 min 32 min faster | 1% | Low | Not rated |
| 3 | Mobridge Regional Hospital - Critical Access HospMobridge 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 20 min 32 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 4 | Sanford Mid-Dakota Hospital - CAHChamberlain 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 20 min 32 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 5 | Hans P Peterson Memorial Hospital - CAHPhilip 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 28 min 24 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 6 | Lead - Deadwood Regional Hospital - CAHDeadwood 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 30 min 22 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 7 | Sanford Clear Lake Medical CenterClear Lake 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 33 min 19 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 8 | Brookings HospitalBrookings 0% left before seen Low volume ★ 4/5 CMS | 1 hr 37 min 15 min faster | 0% | Low | |
| 9 | Fall River Hospital - Critical Access HospitalHot Springs 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 38 min 14 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 10 | Huron Regional Medical CenterHuron 0% left before seen Low volume ★ 2/5 CMS | 1 hr 40 min 12 min faster | 0% | Low | |
| 11 | Madison Community Hospital - Critical Access HospMadison 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 41 min 11 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 12 | Community Memorial Hospital - Critical Access HospRedfield 0% left before seen Low volume ★ 4/5 CMS | 1 hr 42 min 10 min faster | 0% | Low | |
| 13 | Bowdle Hospital - Critical Access HospitalBowdle 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 42 min 10 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 14 | Avera Queen of PeaceMitchell 0% left before seen Low volume ★ 4/5 CMS | 1 hr 44 min 8 min faster | 0% | Low | |
| 15 | Marshall County Healthcare Center - CAHBritton 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 45 min 7 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 16 | Sanford Vermillion HospitalVermillion 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 46 min 6 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 17 | Avera Dells Area Health Center - CAHDell Rapids 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 46 min 6 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 18 | Avera Flandreau Medical Center Hospital - CAHFlandreau 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 48 min 4 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 19 | Avera St Benedict Health Center - CAHParkston ★ 5/5 CMS | 1 hr 49 min 3 min faster | Not reported | Not reported | |
| 20 | Winner Regional Healthcare Center - CAHWinner 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 49 min 3 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 21 | Sanford Hospital Webster - CAHWebster 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 50 min 2 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 22 | Avera Heart Hospital of South DakotaSioux Falls 0% left before seen Low volume ★ 5/5 CMS | 1 hr 50 min 2 min faster | 0% | Low | |
| 23 | Avera Hand County Memorial Hospital and ClinicMiller 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 51 min 1 min faster | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 24 | St Michael's Hospital - CAHTyndall 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 52 min At state median | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 25 | Avera Missouri River Health CenterGettysburg 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 52 min At state median | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 26 | Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health CenterSioux Falls 0% left before seen High volume ★ 4/5 CMS | 1 hr 52 min At state median | 0% | High | |
| 27 | Wagner Community Mem Hosp - Critical Access HospWagner 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 54 min 2 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 28 | Eureka Community Health Services - CAHEureka 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 57 min 5 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 29 | Eagle Butte Indian Health Service HospitalEagle Butte 5% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 57 min 5 min slower | 5% | Low | Not rated |
| 30 | Prairie Lakes HospitalWatertown 1% left before seen Low volume ★ 3/5 CMS | 1 hr 57 min 5 min slower | 1% | Low | |
| 31 | Avera Sacred Heart HospitalYankton 0% left before seen Low volume ★ 3/5 CMS | 1 hr 57 min 5 min slower | 0% | Low | |
| 32 | Douglas County Memorial Hospital-CAHArmour 0% left before seen Low volume | 1 hr 58 min 6 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 33 | Sanford Medical Center AberdeenAberdeen 1% left before seen Low volume ★ 4/5 CMS | 2 hr 8 min slower | 1% | Low | |
| 34 | Avera Desmet Memorial Hospital - CAHDe Smet | 2 hr 8 min slower | Not reported | Not reported | Not rated |
| 35 | Pioneer Memorial Hospital - CAHViborg 0% left before seen Low volume | 2 hr 1 min 9 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 36 | Faulkton Area Medical CenterFaulkton 0% left before seen Low volume | 2 hr 2 min 10 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 37 | Freeman Medical Center - CAHFreeman 0% left before seen Low volume | 2 hr 3 min 11 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 38 | Sanford Canton-Inwood Medical Center - CAHCanton 0% left before seen Low volume | 2 hr 4 min 12 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 39 | Avera St LukesAberdeen 0% left before seen Low volume ★ 4/5 CMS | 2 hr 6 min 14 min slower | 0% | Low | |
| 40 | Avera Weskota Memorial Medical Center - CAHWessington Springs 0% left before seen Low volume | 2 hr 6 min 14 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 41 | Milbank Area Hospital/Avera Health - CAHMilbank 0% left before seen Low volume | 2 hr 6 min 14 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 42 | St Marys HospitalPierre 1% left before seen Low volume ★ 2/5 CMS | 2 hr 7 min 15 min slower | 1% | Low | |
| 43 | Platte Health Center - Critical Access HospitalPlatte 0% left before seen Low volume | 2 hr 8 min 16 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 44 | Community Memorial HospitalBurke | 2 hr 8 min 16 min slower | Not reported | Not reported | Not rated |
| 45 | Custer Regional Hospital - Critical Access HospCuster 0% left before seen Low volume | 2 hr 12 min 20 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 46 | Sturgis Regional HospitalSturgis 0% left before seen Low volume | 2 hr 12 min 20 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 47 | Avera Gregory Healthcare CenterGregory 0% left before seen Low volume | 2 hr 19 min 27 min slower | 0% | Low | Not rated |
| 48 | Spearfish Regional HospitalSpearfish 1% left before seen Low volume ★ 4/5 CMS | 2 hr 24 min 32 min slower | 1% | Low | |
| 49 | Rapid City Regional HospitalRapid City 1% left before seen High volume ★ 3/5 CMS | 2 hr 52 min 1 hr slower | 1% | High | |
| 50 | Sanford Usd Medical CenterSioux Falls 4% left before seen High volume ★ 5/5 CMS | 3 hr 27 min 1 hr 35 min slower | 4% | High |
No South Dakota hospitals match that search. Try a city name, or .
ER wait times in South 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 hr 52 min | Avera Heart Hospital of South Dakota · 1 hr 50 min | |
| 2 | 2 hr 3 min | Sanford Medical Center Aberdeen · 2 hr |
Questions about South Dakota ER wait times
Which South Dakota ER has the shortest wait?
Coteau Des Prairies Health Care System in Sisseton, with a median visit of 44 min. Bennett County Hospital and Nursing Home - CAH in Martin is next at 1 hr 20 min.
Which South Dakota ER has the longest wait?
Sanford Usd Medical Center, at 3 hr 27 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 South Dakota?
The median is 1 hr 52 min, 36 min shorter than the US median of 2 hr 28 min. 32 of 50 South Dakota 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 South Dakota ERs have a median visit of 1 hr 52 min. High and very-high-volume ERs come in at 2 hr 52 min. Large hospitals see more patients and sicker ones, and many are trauma centers.
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 South Dakota hospital directory. Campuses that CMS reports under one facility number appear once. Not affiliated with CMS.