Patients in Washington, D.C., had the highest median time spent in the emergency department, while patients in North Dakota had the lowest, CMS data shows.
The agency’s “Timely and Effective Care” dataset, updated Nov. 26, tracks the average median time patients spend in the emergency department before leaving. The measures apply to children and adults treated at hospitals paid under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System or the Outpatient Prospective Payment System, as well as those that voluntarily report data on relevant measures for Medicare patients, Medicare managed care patients and non-Medicare patients.
Data was collected in the calendar year 2024. Averages include data for Veterans Health Administration and Department of Defense hospitals. Learn more about the methodology here.
Nationwide, the median time patients spent in the ED was 161 minutes, down from 163 minutes in 2023, according to CMS data.
Here’s how each state and Washington, D.C., stacks up.
District of Columbia — 301 minutes
Maryland — 246
Massachusetts — 220
Rhode Island — 220
Delaware — 216
Connecticut — 196
New York — 192
North Carolina — 190
Vermont — 185
New Jersey — 183
Pennsylvania — 182
Arizona — 179
California — 178
Illinois — 167
Virginia — 162
Georgia — 160
Michigan — 160
New Mexico — 159
South Carolina — 159
Tennessee — 159
Maine — 158
Ohio — 157
Florida — 156
Missouri — 153
Kentucky — 150
Washington — 149
Indiana — 146
Alabama — 145
Texas — 144
West Virginia — 143
Idaho — 142
Nevada — 142
Oregon — 140
Alaska — 137
Wisconsin — 136
Arkansas — 133
Colorado — 133
New Hampshire — 133
Wyoming — 133
Louisiana — 130
Utah — 130
Minnesota — 129
Mississippi — 129
Montana — 125
Iowa — 124
Kansas — 122
Oklahoma — 117
South Dakota — 114
Hawaii — 113
Nebraska — 112
North Dakota — 110
