Longest Emergency Room Wait Times by State (2024)

Comparing ER wait times by country? America has notoriously long waits. The average ER wait time in the U.S. is 2.5 hours. Washington, D.C. and Maryland have the longest emergency room wait times by state at over four hours. ER wait times in Delaware and Rhode Island are 3.5 hours.

The COVID-19 pandemic increased the average wait time in emergency rooms across the country. However, COVID-19 isn’t the only thing sending people to the ER — traffic fatalities are also on the rise. Find out if you need medical payments coverage on your auto insurance.

Read on to get emergency room wait time statistics by state, then enter your ZIP code above to start comparing rates now.

Longest Emergency Room Wait Times by State

Visiting an ER is never a pleasant experience, whether you’re experiencing a medical emergency or you’re there as support.

How long does the ER take? According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the average ER wait time in America is a little over 2.5 hours, but you’ll have to wait much longer in some states.

Here are the top 15 longest ER wait times by state. These times include the average length of an ER visit, from arrival to treatment:

• Washington, D.C.: 5.5 hours
• Maryland: 4 hours
• Rhode Island: 3.5 hours
• Delaware: 3.5 hours
• New York: 3.25 hours
• Arizona: 3.25 hours
• New Jersey: 3 hours
• Connecticut: 3 hours
• Pennsylvania: 3 hours
• California: 3 hours
• Vermont: 3 hours
• North Carolina: 3 hours
• Illinois: 3 hours
• Virginia: 3 hours
• Michigan: 3 hours

The reason behind wait times varies by state. For example, Maryland lacks other types of healthcare. Maryland experts report that the state lacks primary and behavioral healthcare options that would keep people out of the ER.

Other states, like New York and New Jersey, have dense populations that increase wait times. On average, ER wait times in NYC and other NY cities are three hours or longer. The average ER wait time in California is also three hours or more due to population size.

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Shortest Emergency Room Wait Times by State

While some states have abnormally long ER wait times, others stay well below the national average.

Here are the top 10 shortest ER times by state: 

• North Dakota: 108 minutes
• Nebraska: 115 minutes
• South Dakota: 115 minutes
• Hawaii: 116 minutes
• Iowa: 119 minutes
• Oklahoma: 119 minutes
• Kansas: 124 minutes
• Montana: 127 minutes
• Mississippi: 129 minutes
• Idaho: 132 minutes

Like states with long wait times, there are many reasons for faster ER lines. The population density in many of these states is lower, meaning fewer people visit the ER. Others have invested in alternative healthcare methods, such as urgent care facilities and primary care doctors.

An unfortunate reason some states have shorter ER wait times is higher rates of uninsured residents. For example, more than 10% of people in South Dakota do not have health insurance, and 13% of Mississippi residents are uninsured.

While a hospital can’t deny you life-saving treatment if you don’t have health insurance, many Americans avoid going to the hospital until it’s absolutely necessary to avoid costly bills.

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Why Emergency Rooms Are So Slow

Why do ERs take so long? A variety of reasons cause long wait times in American ERs. To understand why wait times seem to stretch forever, you need to know how the ER prioritizes patients.

When you arrive at the ER, you receive a priority rating based on your health situation. There are five priority levels in the ER:

• Resuscitation. This level is the highest priority and means the patient will die if they don’t get immediate help. ERs aim to respond to this level within five minutes of arrival.
• Emergent. While not quite as urgent as the first level, emergent patients still need immediate help. The ER staff tries to help these patients within 15 minutes.
• Urgent. This level is not immediately life-threatening but could quickly become so. Urgent patients should be seen within 30 minutes.
• Less urgent. For non-life-threatening conditions, the ER staff will try to see you within 60 minutes.
• Nonurgent. Many people go to the ER because they have nowhere else to get treatment. If you need non-emergency care, the hospital will try to see you within 120 minutes.

Why do hospitals take so long? Well, this system of prioritization explains why you might see that people who arrive after you are taken to a room before you.

Of course, the most significant impact on recent ER wait times has been COVID-19. Although fewer people are winding up in the hospital today, hospitals struggled for two years to keep up. Before the pandemic, the average wait time in an emergency room was a short 40 minutes.

Increased patient numbers weren’t the only way COVID-19 affected ER wait times. Hospitals around the country are experiencing staff shortages that make it difficult to keep up with healthcare demands.

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How Long to Wait in the ER Before Leaving

How long is the wait in the emergency room? While the average ER wait time in the U.S. is slightly longer than 2.5 hours, studies show that many patients are willing to wait as long as it takes to receive care. In an emergency room near you, patients can wait between two and six hours before they see a doctor. 

How long is too long to wait in the ER? You should wait between four and six hours to receive care. Leaving the ER early is not recommended. You will miss out on receiving the proper care you need to heal and this could increase medical costs later as symptoms worsen. 

How to Reduce Average ER Wait Times by State

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot that you can do to reduce the average time spent in the ER. However, you can do the following to try and spend the least amount of time waiting as possible:

• Bring someone with you. Having someone who can communicate clearly while you deal with your injury or illness can make the check-in process much quicker.
• Bring your ID with you. Most hospitals require your information before you can see a doctor. Having your ID and insurance card with you can save you time.
• Check if you can book online. Hospitals are increasingly offering the option to virtually check in to the ER room so you can come when your room is ready. Check the hospital website to see if this option is available.

You can also avoid long wait times by making sure you visit the ER for the right reason. If you have symptoms like a sore throat, coughing, earaches, mild injuries, or rashes, you can skip the ER and visit urgent care instead.

When to Go to the Emergency Room

No matter how long the real-time ER wait times are near you, you should never hesitate to go to the hospital if you’re experiencing the following symptoms:

• Chest pain
• Fainting or dizziness
• Wheezing, difficulty breathing, or shortness of breath
• Unstoppable bleeding
• Coughing or vomiting blood
• Blood in your urine or diarrhea
• Abdominal pain, especially in a localized spot
• Displaced or open wound fractures
• Sudden numbness or weakness
• Confusion or other sudden changes in your mental status
• Severe headache or head injury
• Sudden loss of your ability to see, hear, walk, or move
• Fever with convulsions
• Fever in an infant under three months old

Of course, you should never downplay your symptoms. If you think you need to go to the ER, you should go. Check current ER wait times near you online if possible to see how long other patients have been waiting and prepare accordingly.

Get the Right Auto Insurance to Cover Emergency Room Visits

What is the average ER wait time? The typical ER wait time is between two and three hours, but the longest emergency room wait times by state are in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. The average wait time in emergency rooms across D.C. is 5.5 hours and 4.5 hours in Maryland.

Like car insurance, health coverage offers invaluable protection in case of an emergency. Having the right insurance will make a difference between staying in the hospital as long as you need to and leaving early.

Health insurance is much more expensive than the coverage for your vehicle, especially if you don’t get it through your employer. You can find the best price possible by reading company reviews, like this Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance Review, and comparing rates with as many companies as possible.

Fortunately, if you are in a car accident, medical payments coverage (MedPay) or personal injury protection (PIP) insurance will pay for ER visits and other medical costs up to the limits of your policy. Not all states require this kind of coverage, so check your policy to confirm you have it. If not, enter your ZIP code below to start comparing auto insurance rates from companies near you.