Michigan ER Patients Wait 2 Hours 48 Minutes on Average, Study Finds
Photo by RDNE Stock project
Article courtesy of LawyerSEO.Marketing
- Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are the worst states to be injured in, with patients spending anywhere from three hours and 45 minutes to four hours and 13 minutes in the emergency room.
- Michigan ranks 17th in the US for time spent in the emergency department, with patients staying a median of two hours and 48 minutes before leaving
- One in 20 patients in Delaware leaves before being seen – the worst rate of any US state.
- Hawaii, North Dakota, Nebraska and South Dakota have the fastest emergency processing times, all averaging under two hours.
Americans spend two hours and 40 minutes, on average, in the emergency department, though 2.2% leave before being seen.
This is according to new research from LawyerSEO.Marketing, which analyzed data on timely and effective care from the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, published on February 25th, 2026. The report ranks US states based on the median time patients spent in the emergency department before departing following the visit, whether they were discharged or transferred to another facility. This includes psychiatric and mental health patients. The time was measured between April 1st, 2024, and March 31st, 2025.
Michigan ranks 17th in the US for time spent in the emergency department, with patients staying a median of two hours and 48 minutes before leaving, eight minutes above the national average of two hours and 40 minutes. Around 3% of Michigan ER visitors leave before being seen, slightly above the 2.2% national rate.
Maryland is the worst state to be injured in, where the median time a patient spends in an emergency room (ER) before leaving is four hours and 13 minutes. 3% of visitors leave before being seen.
Massachusetts is the second worst state to be injured in. Patients spend three hours and 49 minutes in the ER, on average, though one in 25 leaves without being seen.
Rhode Island ranks third in terms of excessive time spent in the ER, averaging three hours and 45 minutes. 4% leave before being seen.
Delaware is the fourth worst state to be injured in, with patients spending three hours and 43 minutes in the ER, on average. This is a two-minute difference compared to Rhode Island, but Delaware patients are more likely to give up on being seen than those in any other state. One in 20 leaves before getting the care they came for.
New York records the fifth longest time patients spend in the ER, averaging three hours and 20 minutes. Unlike the top four worst-ranking states, New Yorkers have below-average rates of giving up, with just one in 50 patients leaving before being seen.
The next worst states to be injured in are Connecticut, North Carolina, Vermont, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arizona and California. Their residents can expect to spend at least three hours in the ER.
On the other hand, Hawaii has the lowest times in the study when it comes to patients needing urgent care, averaging one hour and 53 minutes. North Dakota, Nebraska and South Dakota all deal with their patients in under two hours.
Top 10 Worst States to Be Injured In: Median Time Patients Spend in the ER
|
#
|
State
|
Time Spent in the ER (hours:minutes)
|
ER Visitors Who Left Before Being Seen (%)
|
|
1
|
Maryland
|
4:13
|
3
|
|
2
|
Massachusetts
|
3:49
|
4
|
|
3
|
Rhode Island
|
3:45
|
4
|
|
4
|
Delaware
|
3:43
|
5
|
|
5
|
New York
|
3:20
|
2
|
|
6
|
Connecticut
|
3:18
|
2
|
|
7
|
North Carolina
|
3:15
|
2
|
|
8
|
Vermont
|
3:11
|
3
|
|
9
|
Pennsylvania
|
3:10
|
2
|
|
10
|
New Jersey
|
3:09
|
2
|
“Notably, ER processing times in the US do not account for patients who may need urgent care but do not, for whatever reason, visit a hospital,” says Dr M Mansoor Siddique, Director of LawyerSEO.Marketing. “A key factor is the potential financial burden medical bills can pose, especially for the 8.2% of US residents without health insurance.
“When someone gets injured in a car crash, for example, and does not appear serious at first, a four-hour wait time in the ER can be life-threatening.
“If you are visiting Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware or New York, in particular, and unfortunately need urgent care, please be extra cautious and persistent in advocating for yourself. You could, at the very least, ask a triage nurse for a time estimate. Hospitals in these states need intervention to become better resourced to deal with higher demand in densely-populated areas and to cut down on valuable patient and medical staff time.
“Beds are often full because patients who should be moved to step-down care facilities have nowhere to go, so new arrivals are left waiting.”
Sources: LawyerSEO.Marketing, US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Methodology:
- The report uses the Timely and Effective Care – State dataset from the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, published on February 25th, 2026.
- Each state is ranked based on the average (median) time all patients spent in the emergency department before leaving, including psychiatric/mental health patients and patients who were transferred to another facility, measured between April 1st, 2024, and March 31st, 2025.
- Averages across all US states are calculated based on the median values from all 50 states, thus excluding DC and US territories.
- Other details, such as the percentage of patients who left the emergency department before being seen, are added for context and do not factor into the ranking.
Full Ranking: Worst States to Be Injured In: Median Time Patients Spend in the Emergency Department
|
#
|
State
|
Time Spent in the ER (hours:minutes)
|
ER Visitors Who Left Before Being Seen (%)
|
|
1
|
Maryland
|
4:13
|
3
|
|
2
|
Massachusetts
|
3:49
|
4
|
|
3
|
Rhode Island
|
3:45
|
4
|
|
4
|
Delaware
|
3:43
|
5
|
|
5
|
New York
|
3:20
|
2
|
|
6
|
Connecticut
|
3:18
|
2
|
|
7
|
North Carolina
|
3:15
|
2
|
|
8
|
Vermont
|
3:11
|
3
|
|
9
|
Pennsylvania
|
3:10
|
2
|
|
10
|
New Jersey
|
3:09
|
2
|
|
11
|
Arizona
|
3:07
|
2
|
|
12
|
California
|
3:03
|
2
|
|
13
|
Illinois
|
2:55
|
3
|
|
14
|
Tennessee
|
2:48
|
3
|
|
15
|
Georgia
|
2:48
|
2
|
|
16
|
Maine
|
2:48
|
3
|
|
17
|
Michigan
|
2:48
|
3
|
|
18
|
New Mexico
|
2:47
|
3
|
|
19
|
Virginia
|
2:46
|
2
|
|
20
|
South Carolina
|
2:45
|
2
|
|
21
|
Ohio
|
2:44
|
2
|
|
22
|
Missouri
|
2:41
|
3
|
|
23
|
Florida
|
2:40
|
1
|
|
24
|
Kentucky
|
2:36
|
2
|
|
25
|
Washington
|
2:35
|
3
|
|
26
|
Alabama
|
2:33
|
2
|
|
27
|
Nevada
|
2:32
|
1
|
|
28
|
Indiana
|
2:31
|
2
|
|
29
|
Texas
|
2:29
|
1
|
|
30
|
West Virginia
|
2:28
|
2
|
|
31
|
Oregon
|
2:26
|
3
|
|
32
|
Idaho
|
2:26
|
1
|
|
33
|
Alaska
|
2:25
|
1
|
|
34
|
Wisconsin
|
2:23
|
2
|
|
35
|
Arkansas
|
2:20
|
2
|
|
36
|
Wyoming
|
2:18
|
1
|
|
37
|
Colorado
|
2:18
|
1
|
|
38
|
Louisiana
|
2:17
|
2
|
|
39
|
Minnesota
|
2:16
|
2
|
|
40
|
New Hampshire
|
2:16
|
3
|
|
41
|
Utah
|
2:16
|
1
|
|
42
|
Mississippi
|
2:14
|
3
|
|
43
|
Kansas
|
2:11
|
2
|
|
44
|
Iowa
|
2:10
|
3
|
|
45
|
Montana
|
2:09
|
2
|
|
46
|
Oklahoma
|
2:04
|
2
|
|
47
|
South Dakota
|
1:58
|
1
|
|
48
|
Nebraska
|
1:57
|
1
|
|
49
|
North Dakota
|
1:56
|
3
|
|
50
|
Hawaii
|
1:53
|
1
|
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