New CMS data shows wide variation in emergency department visit times across the country, according to the agency’s latest release.
The agency’s “Timely and Effective Care” dataset covers children and adults treated at hospitals paid under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System or Outpatient Prospective Payment System, as well as those that voluntarily report data on relevant measures. Data was collected in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2025. Learn more about the methodology here.
Nationwide, the median time patients spent in the ED — excluding psychiatric/mental health patients and those transferred to another facility — was 162 minutes for the 12-month period ending September 2025, stable from the same period a year prior, according to CMS data.
State-level averages are influenced by population density and do not account for acuity. States with a higher number of lower-volume, lower-acuity EDs may have shorter visit times, while states with a higher concentration of complex, high-acuity EDs may show longer times than peers.
To effectively assess ED performance, experts recommend evaluating performance against a cohort of similar facilities that account for both patient volume and acuity. For a deeper look at how leaders can build a more accurate picture of ED performance, read more here.
Here’s how each state and Washington, D.C., stacks up in the latest data.
District of Columbia — 303
Maryland — 246
Rhode Island — 223
Delaware — 217
Massachusetts — 214
New York — 194
Connecticut — 192
North Carolina — 187
New Jersey — 186
Pennsylvania — 186
Vermont — 178
Arizona — 176
California — 174
New Mexico — 163
Georgia — 162
Illinois — 162
Tennessee — 162
Virginia — 161
Maine — 160
Michigan — 159
Ohio — 158
South Carolina — 158
Florida — 156
Oregon — 156
Missouri — 155
Washington — 151
Arkansas — 150
Kentucky — 150
Alabama — 149
Indiana — 145
Nevada — 145
Texas — 145
Idaho — 142
Wisconsin — 137
West Virginia — 137
Alaska — 136
Colorado — 134
Utah — 133
Minnesota — 131
Wyoming — 131
Louisiana — 129
Mississippi — 129
Kansas — 125
New Hampshire — 125
Iowa — 123
Montana — 123
Oklahoma — 117
South Dakota — 115
Hawaii — 114
Nebraska — 113
North Dakota — 110
Editor’s note: This article was updated Aug. 24 at 4:30 p.m. CT. A previous version of this article incorrectly included state data for CMS’ OP-18a measure, which does not exclude psychiatric / mental health patients and those transferred to other facilities.
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