Typical ER Wait Time by State
How long an emergency room visit takes, from arrival to going home, for Oct 2024 to Sep 2025. The U.S. median is 2 hr 42 min.
The spread across states
Each tick is one state. The highlighted band holds the middle half of them, and the dark line is the median. These are whole visits for patients who were treated and sent home, not the wait to be seen.
Every state, shortest visit first
| State | Median ER visit | Against the U.S. | Mental health visits | Left before being seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 1 hr 50 min | 52 min shorter | 2 hr 44 min | 3% |
| Nebraska | 1 hr 53 min | 49 min shorter | 2 hr 41 min | 1% |
| Hawaii | 1 hr 54 min | 48 min shorter | 3 hr 22 min | 1% |
| South Dakota | 1 hr 55 min | 47 min shorter | 2 hr 27 min | 1% |
| Oklahoma | 1 hr 57 min | 45 min shorter | 2 hr 54 min | 2% |
| Iowa | 2 hr 3 min | 39 min shorter | 3 hr 37 min | 3% |
| Montana | 2 hr 3 min | 39 min shorter | 2 hr 42 min | 2% |
| Kansas | 2 hr 5 min | 37 min shorter | 3 hr 10 min | 2% |
| New Hampshire | 2 hr 5 min | 37 min shorter | 3 hr 54 min | 3% |
| Louisiana | 2 hr 9 min | 33 min shorter | 3 hr 54 min | 2% |
| Mississippi | 2 hr 9 min | 33 min shorter | 2 hr 59 min | 3% |
| Minnesota | 2 hr 11 min | 31 min shorter | 3 hr 24 min | 2% |
| Wyoming | 2 hr 11 min | 31 min shorter | 3 hr 4 min | 1% |
| Utah | 2 hr 13 min | 29 min shorter | 3 hr 25 min | 1% |
| Colorado | 2 hr 14 min | 28 min shorter | 3 hr 55 min | 1% |
| Alaska | 2 hr 16 min | 26 min shorter | 3 hr 18 min | 1% |
| West Virginia | 2 hr 17 min | 25 min shorter | 3 hr 48 min | 2% |
| Wisconsin | 2 hr 17 min | 25 min shorter | 3 hr 23 min | 2% |
| Idaho | 2 hr 22 min | 20 min shorter | 3 hr 23 min | 1% |
| Indiana | 2 hr 25 min | 17 min shorter | 3 hr 51 min | 2% |
| Nevada | 2 hr 25 min | 17 min shorter | 4 hr 3 min | 1% |
| Texas | 2 hr 25 min | 17 min shorter | 3 hr 53 min | 1% |
| Alabama | 2 hr 29 min | 13 min shorter | 3 hr 32 min | 2% |
| Arkansas | 2 hr 30 min | 12 min shorter | 3 hr 46 min | 2% |
| Kentucky | 2 hr 30 min | 12 min shorter | 3 hr 30 min | 2% |
| Washington | 2 hr 31 min | 11 min shorter | 3 hr 58 min | 3% |
| Missouri | 2 hr 35 min | 7 min shorter | 4 hr 23 min | 3% |
| Florida | 2 hr 36 min | 6 min shorter | 3 hr 40 min | 1% |
| Oregon | 2 hr 36 min | 6 min shorter | 3 hr 42 min | 3% |
| Ohio | 2 hr 38 min | 4 min shorter | 4 hr 8 min | 2% |
| South Carolina | 2 hr 38 min | 4 min shorter | 4 hr 4 min | 2% |
| Michigan | 2 hr 39 min | 3 min shorter | 4 hr 26 min | 3% |
| Maine | 2 hr 40 min | 2 min shorter | 4 hr 39 min | 3% |
| Virginia | 2 hr 41 min | 1 min shorter | 4 hr 2 min | 2% |
| Georgia | 2 hr 42 min | the same | 5 hr 8 min | 2% |
| Illinois | 2 hr 42 min | the same | 4 hr 48 min | 3% |
| Tennessee | 2 hr 42 min | the same | 5 hr 8 min | 3% |
| New Mexico | 2 hr 43 min | 1 min longer | 4 hr 34 min | 3% |
| California | 2 hr 54 min | 12 min longer | 4 hr 20 min | 2% |
| Arizona | 2 hr 56 min | 14 min longer | 4 hr 33 min | 2% |
| Vermont | 2 hr 58 min | 16 min longer | 6 hr 42 min | 3% |
| New Jersey | 3 hr 6 min | 24 min longer | 4 hr 52 min | 2% |
| Pennsylvania | 3 hr 6 min | 24 min longer | 4 hr 57 min | 2% |
| North Carolina | 3 hr 7 min | 25 min longer | 5 hr | 2% |
| Connecticut | 3 hr 12 min | 30 min longer | 4 hr 7 min | 2% |
| New York | 3 hr 14 min | 32 min longer | 4 hr 54 min | 2% |
| Massachusetts | 3 hr 34 min | 52 min longer | 5 hr 38 min | 4% |
| Delaware | 3 hr 37 min | 55 min longer | 6 hr 8 min | 5% |
| Rhode Island | 3 hr 43 min | 1 hr 1 min longer | 5 hr 16 min | 4% |
| Maryland | 4 hr 6 min | 1 hr 24 min longer | 6 hr 55 min | 3% |
| District of Columbia | 5 hr 3 min | 2 hr 21 min longer | 6 hr 1 min | 6% |
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Timely and Effective Care, retrieved on October 6, 2026. The visit time is the median from arrival to departure for patients sent home; it leaves out patients who were admitted or transferred.