The average American will visit the emergency room 34.5 times in their life. From accidents to chronic illnesses, each year, there are 4 ER visits per 10 people. With such high numbers of visitors to the hospital’s busiest department, long waits are expected. But which states have the longest emergency room waits?
Per diem healthcare staffing platform Nursa.com analyzed emergency room visit data from every state to reveal the states with the longest and shortest ER waits.
Study Highlights:
- Florida ER wait times are 1.3% longer than the US average, at 2 hours and 37 minutes.
- Americans spend an average of 2 hours and 35 minutes in the emergency department.
- Maryland emergency rooms have the longest waits, averaging 4 hours and 11 minutes.
- North Dakota residents wait the shortest, at 1 hour and 50 minutes.
- West Virginia residents visit emergency rooms the most (596 visits per 1k people).
- Nevada residents visit the least (226 visits per 1k people).
Florida holds the 29th spot nationally for the shortest ER wait times, but the average wait was around 2 hours and 37 minutes – 1.3% higher than the national average of 2 hours and 35 minutes. Florida has the 17th most ER visits per 1K people, with 455, and 1% of patients leave the ER before being seen.
Nursa’s previous study, The 2025 Health Recovery Index, which reveals the best and worst states to recover from illness, ranks Florida as the 5th worst state for recovery from illness. With a nurse supply of 9.07 per 1k people, 3.27 physician supply per 1k people, and just 2.46 hospital beds per 1k people, all contributing to Florida’s ER waits. Lakeland Regional Medical Center in Lakeland was the 2nd most visited emergency department in the US for 2024, with 211,801 visits.
According to Nursa, Americans spend an average of 2 hours and 35 minutes in the emergency department, which is less than half the wait time in the UK, as a study averages 5 hours and 18 minutes. The nation’s nursing shortage impacts the healthcare system, straining nurses themselves and prolonging patient waiting times. Staffing shortages significantly impact the speed and quality of care in ERs, from initial triage to bed turnover, which is a potential factor contributing to why 2.5% of Americans leave the ER before being seen.
The top principal reasons that Americans visit the ER include: stomach and abdominal pain, cramps and spasms (8.9%), chest pain and related symptoms (5.6%), shortness of breath (4.2%), cough (3.3%), fever (3.3%), and headache, pain in head (2.8%).
