This is how long ER wait times are in GA now. See how they rank to other states

For many patients, long stretches in crowded waiting rooms have become a familiar part of seeking urgent care. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the median time patients spent in the ER was 161 minutes nationwide, and Georgia falls right in the middle of the pack.

Wait times for Georgia ERs

Georgia ER wait times average around 2 hours 26 minutes to 2 hours 40 minutes, raising questions about quality of care.

Data is based on analytics by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) from 2025.

The data:

• Wait time: 2 hours 26 minutes
• Time from the ER to an inpatient bed: 3 hours
• Patients who left without being seen: 2-5%
• Returns within 72 hours: 3-5%
• Admission rate: 11-12%

States with the highest and lowest wait times

National data ranks states by median ER time and Georgia sits mid-range.

Longest waits:

• Maryland: 3 hours 48 minutes
• Delaware: 3 hours 15 minutes
• Massachusetts: 3 hours 9 minutes
• Rhode Island: 3 hours 4 minutes
• New York: 3 hours 

Shortest waits:

• North Dakota: 1 hour 44 minutes
• South Dakota: 1 hour 53 minutes
• Nebraska: 1 hour 55 minutes
• Oklahoma: 1 hour 55 minutes
• Kansas: 1 hour 57 minutes 

Contributing factors to wait times

According to a report by Axios, the length of emergency room visits have been increasing since before the pandemic, and this is a key factor in assessing a hospital’s performance.

Key factors:

• Staffing shortages 
• More patients than beds
• Spikes in non-urgent visits 
• Longer turnaround for diagnostics
• Regional closures 

Data compilation process:

• CMS data from more than 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals 
• Time between admitted to bed assignment (ED-2b)
• Cross-checks via Care Compare downloads

How to lower ER wait times

Healthbeat Atlanta offers advice about how to lower the wait times for Georgia residents.

Tips:

• Use acute or urgent care facilities for non-life-threatening issues.
• Check wait times at hospitals that offer them. 
• Visit during low-traffic times, such as weekday mornings between 8 and 11 a.m.
• Avoid evenings, weekends and holidays.
• Come prepared with documents, medication list and a specific description of symptoms.

Although Georgia falls in the middle rankings for wait times, it can still be a vital metric about capacity, access and what patients should realistically expect.

This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 6:00 AM.