ER Wait Times in Massachusetts: 54 Hospitals Compared
54 hospitals in Massachusetts report how long their emergency room patients stay. The middle value here is 211.5 minutes; national (Medicare): 162 minutes.
What this time means
Each hospital’s number is Medicare measure OP-18b: the median (middle) time from arriving at the emergency room to leaving it, for patients who were treated and went home. Half of these patients left sooner, half later. It is not the time before seeing a doctor, and it leaves out patients who were admitted to the hospital, transferred, or seen for mental health.
Medicare’s name for the measure: “Average (median) time patients spent in the emergency department before leaving from the visit, excluding patients transferred to another facility or psychiatric care/mental health patients. A lower number of minutes is better”. Patients seen October 2024 to September 2025.
Emergency rooms in Massachusetts, shortest time first
Ranked by Medicare's median time (OP-18b), shortest first; hospitals with the same time share a rank. Left without being seen: share of ER patients who left before a doctor or nurse saw them (January 2024 to December 2024; national 2%). ER volume: patients per year, as Medicare groups it.
| # | Hospital | City | Median time in the ER | Left without being seen | ER volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fairview Hospital | Great Barrington | 113 min (1 h 53 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 2 | Nantucket Cottage Hospital | Nantucket | 120 min (2 h) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 3 | Boston Medical Center-Brighton | Brighton | 146 min (2 h 26 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 4 | Cambridge Health Alliance | Cambridge | 153 min (2 h 33 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 5 | North Adams Regional Hospital Corporation | North Adams | 154 min (2 h 34 min) | Not reported | — |
| 6 | Martha's Vineyard Hospital Inc | Oak Bluffs | 157 min (2 h 37 min) | 1% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 7 | Falmouth Hospital | Falmouth | 160 min (2 h 40 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 8 | Athol Memorial Hospital | Athol | 174 min (2 h 54 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 8 | Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary - | Boston | 174 min (2 h 54 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 10 | Anna Jaques Hospital | Newburyport | 188 min (3 h 8 min) | 23% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 11 | Melrosewakefield Healthcare | Melrose | 190 min (3 h 10 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 11 | Northeast Hospital Corporation | Beverly | 190 min (3 h 10 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 11 | Southcoast Hospitals Group | Fall River | 190 min (3 h 10 min) | 4% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 14 | Heywood Hospital - | Gardner | 192 min (3 h 12 min) | 3% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 15 | Baystate Franklin Medical Center | Greenfield | 194 min (3 h 14 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 15 | Saint Anne's Hospital | Fall River | 194 min (3 h 14 min) | 5% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 15 | Sturdy Memorial Hospital | Attleboro | 194 min (3 h 14 min) | 3% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 18 | Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Needham | Needham | 196 min (3 h 16 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 19 | Cape Cod Hospital | Hyannis | 201 min (3 h 21 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 20 | Metrowest Medical Center | Framingham | 205 min (3 h 25 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 20 | Mount Auburn Hospital | Cambridge | 205 min (3 h 25 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 22 | St Vincent Hospital | Worcester | 206 min (3 h 26 min) | 4% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 23 | Emerson Hospital - | W Concord | 208 min (3 h 28 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 23 | Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital | Brockton | 208 min (3 h 28 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 23 | Tufts Medical Center | Boston | 208 min (3 h 28 min) | 4% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 26 | Brown University Health Morton Hospital | Taunton | 209 min (3 h 29 min) | 7% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 26 | UMass Memorial Health - Harrington Hospital | Southbridge | 209 min (3 h 29 min) | 3% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 28 | Baystate Wing Hospital | Palmer | 214 min (3 h 34 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 29 | Baystate Noble Hospital | Westfield | 215 min (3 h 35 min) | 6% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 30 | Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Milton | Milton | 218 min (3 h 38 min) | 4% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 31 | Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington | Burlington | 226 min (3 h 46 min) | 5% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 31 | Marlborough Hospital | Marlborough | 226 min (3 h 46 min) | 5% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 33 | Boston Medical Center | Boston | 227 min (3 h 47 min) | 7% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 34 | South Shore Hospital | South Weymouth | 233 min (3 h 53 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 34 | Winchester Hospital | Winchester | 233 min (3 h 53 min) | 3% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 36 | Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Plymouth | Plymouth | 237 min (3 h 57 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 37 | Holy Family Hospital | Methuen | 238 min (3 h 58 min) | 5% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 38 | Merrimack Health Lawrence Hospital | Lawrence | 241 min (4 h 1 min) | 5% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 39 | Holyoke Medical Center | Holyoke | 253 min (4 h 13 min) | 3% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 39 | UMass Memorial Healthalliance Hospitals | Leominster | 253 min (4 h 13 min) | 6% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 41 | Berkshire Medical Center | Pittsfield | 254 min (4 h 14 min) | 5% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 42 | Brigham and Women Faulkner Hospital | Jamaica Plain | 256 min (4 h 16 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 43 | The Cooley Dickinson Hospital Inc | Northampton | 261 min (4 h 21 min) | 4% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 44 | Good Samaritan Medical Center | Brockton | 264 min (4 h 24 min) | 6% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 45 | Newton-Wellesley Hospital | Newton | 265 min (4 h 25 min) | 3% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 46 | Lowell General Hospital | Lowell | 267 min (4 h 27 min) | 9% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 47 | North Shore Medical Center - | Salem | 271 min (4 h 31 min) | 7% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 48 | Milford Regional Medical Center | Milford | 274 min (4 h 34 min) | 3% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 49 | Mercy Medical Ctr | Springfield | 275 min (4 h 35 min) | 8% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 50 | Baystate Medical Center | Springfield | 286 min (4 h 46 min) | 4% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 51 | Massachusetts General Hospital | Boston | 288 min (4 h 48 min) | 4% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 52 | UMass Memorial Medical Center/University Campus | Worcester | 291 min (4 h 51 min) | 8% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 53 | Brigham and Women's Hospital | Boston | 300 min (5 h) | 5% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 54 | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center | Boston | 336 min (5 h 36 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
ER wait times by city in Massachusetts
Common questions
Which ER in Massachusetts has the shortest wait?
In Medicare's data for October 2024 to September 2025, Fairview Hospital had the shortest median time patients spent in the emergency room before going home: 113 minutes. This is the total time of the visit, not the time before seeing a doctor, and it is an average of past patients, not a promise for your visit.
What is the average ER wait time in Massachusetts?
The middle value of the 54 hospitals listed here is 211.5 minutes. The national figure published by Medicare is 162 minutes. Each hospital's number is the median time from arriving at the emergency room to leaving it, for patients who were treated and went home.
Should I drive to a farther ER to wait less?
No. In an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. These times are past averages; emergency rooms see the sickest patients first, and minutes lost on the road can matter more than minutes in a waiting room.
Does a shorter time mean a better emergency room?
Not by itself. Busier emergency rooms and hospitals that treat more serious cases usually have longer times, so the ER volume is shown next to each time. The time is one measure among many on each hospital’s page.
Sources and dates
- Timely and Effective Care - Hospital — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), data updated July 22, 2026, retrieved October 31, 2026. Times: patients seen October 2024 to September 2025; left without being seen: January 2024 to December 2024.
- Timely and Effective Care - National — CMS, data updated July 22, 2026 (the national figures).
Only open hospitals that list an emergency room and report this time are included. The state and city figures are the median of the hospitals listed, calculated by us from the same CMS hospital file. Wording last revised November 11, 2026. Not medical advice.