ER visit times: Here’s how long patients spend in emergency rooms in each state

Data released this summer from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) indicated the average emergency room (ER) visit times for each of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Patients in Washington, D.C. had the longest average visit — at 5 hours and 29 minutes.

The shortest median visit was in North Dakota, where patients spent an average of 1 hour and 48 minutes in the ER.

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The data came from the CMS “Timely and Effective Care” measurements, collected between October 2021 and September 2022.

They were released on July 26.

Emergency room waiting

Data released this summer from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) indicated the average emergency room visit times for each of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. There were some surprises. (iStock)

The numbers included visits of children and adults whose care was covered by Medicare’s Inpatient Prospective Payment System or Outpatient Prospective Payment System.

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Also included were visits from hospitals that chose to report visit information for Medicare patients, Medicare managed care patients and non-Medicare patients. 

Emergency room

The data came from the CMS “Timely and Effective Care” measurements, which were collected between October 2021 and September 2022 and were released this summer. (iStock)

Below are the average visit times by state, from shortest to longest, as compiled by Becker’s Hospital Review:

  1. North Dakota — 1 hour and 48 minutes
  2. Nebraska — 1 hour and 55 minutes
  3. South Dakota — 1 hour and 55 minutes
  4. Hawaii — 1 hour and 56 minutes
  5. Iowa — 1 hour and 59 minutes
  6. Oklahoma — 1 hour and 59 minutes
  7. Kansas — 2 hours and 4 minutes
  8. Montana — 2 hours and 7 minutes
  9. Mississippi — 2 hours and 9 minutes
  10. Idaho — 2 hours and 12 minutes
  11. Louisiana — 2 hours and 12 minutes
  12. Arkansas — 2 hours and 14 minutes
  13. Minnesota — 2 hours and 14 minutes
  14. Wyoming — 2 hours and 15 minutes
  15. Utah — 2 hours and 17 minutes
  16. Indiana — 2 hours and 18 minutes
  17. Colorado — 2 hours and 21 minutes
  18. Alaska — 2 hours and 23 minutes
  19. Kentucky — 2 hours and 23 minutes
  20. Texas — 2 hours and 24 minutes
  21. Alabama — 2 hours and 25 minutes
  22. Wisconsin — 2 hours and 26 minutes
  23. Nevada — 2 hours and 27 minutes
  24. Washington — 2 hours and 27 minutes
  25. West Virginia — 2 hours and 33 minutes
  26. Missouri — 2 hours and 35 minutes
  27. Georgia — 2 hours and 37 minutes
  28. Ohio — 2 hours and 37 minutes
  29. Tennessee — 2 hours and 40 minutes
  30. Florida — 2 hours and 44 minutes
  31. New Hampshire — 2 hours and 44 minutes
  32. Maine — 2 hours and 45 minutes
  33. New Mexico — 2 hours and 46 minutes
  34. South Carolina — 2 hours and 48 minutes
  35. Oregon — 2 hours and 51 minutes
  36. Michigan — 2 hours and 52 minutes
  37. Virginia — 2 hours and 52 minutes
  38. Illinois — 2 hours and 54 minutes
  39. North Carolina — 2 hours and 54 minutes
  40. Vermont — 2 hours and 58 minutes
  41. California — 3 hours
  42. Pennsylvania — 3 hours
  43. Connecticut — 3 hours and 2 minutes
  44. New Jersey — 3 hours and 11 minutes
  45. Arizona — 3 hours and 13 minutes
  46. New York — 3 hours and 21 minutes
  47. Delaware — 3 hours and 30 minutes
  48. Massachusetts — 3 hours and 33 minutes
  49. Rhode Island — 3 hours and 34 minutes
  50. Maryland — 4 hours and 2 minutes
  51. District of Columbia — 5 hours and 29 minutes

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Median visit times have been on the rise amid staffing shortages and an increase in patient volume.

George Washington University Hospital

Patients in Washington, D.C., had the longest average visit at 5 hours and 29 minutes, according to a new report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).  (iStock)

The average visit time nationwide is 160 minutes, up from 155 minutes as of September 2021 and 143 minutes in 2020, per CMS data.

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Between 2011 and 2021, emergency department visits among patients less than 65 years old that were paid by Medicaid rose from 34% to 45.3%, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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