ER Wait Times in New Jersey: 57 Hospitals Compared
57 hospitals in New Jersey report how long their emergency room patients stay. The middle value here is 183 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 New Jersey, 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 | Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Rahway | Rahway | 114 min (1 h 54 min) | 0% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 2 | Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center | Livingston | 129 min (2 h 9 min) | 0% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 3 | Monmouth Medical Center | Long Branch | 136 min (2 h 16 min) | 0% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 4 | St Luke's Warren Hospital | Phillipsburg | 140 min (2 h 20 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 5 | Monmouth Medical Center-Southern Campus | Lakewood | 141 min (2 h 21 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 6 | Clara Maass Medical Center | Belleville | 142 min (2 h 22 min) | 0% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 6 | Hackensack Meridian Health Pascack Valley Medical | Westwood | 142 min (2 h 22 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 6 | Ocean Medical Center | Brick | 142 min (2 h 22 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 9 | Bergen New Bridge Medical Center | Paramus | 145 min (2 h 25 min) | 0% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 9 | West Jersey Hospital | Voorhees | 145 min (2 h 25 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 11 | Shore Medical Center | Somers Point | 148 min (2 h 28 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 12 | Bayshore Medical Center | Holmdel | 161 min (2 h 41 min) | 0% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 13 | Southern Ocean Medical Center | Manahawkin | 163 min (2 h 43 min) | 0% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 14 | Hudson Regional Hospital | Secaucus | 166 min (2 h 46 min) | 2% | Low (under 20,000) |
| 14 | Saint Clare's Hospital/ Denville Campus | Denville | 166 min (2 h 46 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 16 | Newton Medical Center | Newton | 168 min (2 h 48 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 16 | Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital | Camden | 168 min (2 h 48 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 18 | Saint Michael's Medical Center | Newark | 169 min (2 h 49 min) | 3% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 19 | Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton | Hamilton | 172 min (2 h 52 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 20 | Atlanticare Regional Medical Center - City Campus | Atlantic City | 174 min (2 h 54 min) | 3% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 21 | Carewell Health Medical Center | East Orange | 176 min (2 h 56 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 21 | Newark Beth Israel Medical Center | Newark | 176 min (2 h 56 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 23 | Raritan Bay Medical Center | Perth Amboy | 178 min (2 h 58 min) | 3% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 23 | Virtua Willingboro Hospital | Willingboro | 178 min (2 h 58 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 25 | Capital Health Regional Medical Center | Trenton | 180 min (3 h) | 4% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 25 | Community Medical Center | Toms River | 180 min (3 h) | 0% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 27 | Ahs Hospital Corp | Hackettstown | 182 min (3 h 2 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 27 | St Mary's General Hospital | Passaic | 182 min (3 h 2 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 29 | Englewood Hospital and Medical Center | Englewood | 183 min (3 h 3 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 30 | Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill | Elmer | 187 min (3 h 7 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 30 | Jersey City Medical Center | Jersey City | 187 min (3 h 7 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 32 | Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital - Somerset… | Somerville | 188 min (3 h 8 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 33 | Overlook Medical Center | Summit | 192 min (3 h 12 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 34 | JFK University Medical Center | Edison | 197 min (3 h 17 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 35 | Virtua Mount Holly Hospital | Mount Holly | 198 min (3 h 18 min) | 4% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 36 | Inspira Medical Center Vineland | Vineland | 201 min (3 h 21 min) | 3% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 37 | Hackensack University Medical Center | Hackensack | 202 min (3 h 22 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 37 | Riverview Medical Center | Red Bank | 202 min (3 h 22 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 39 | Holy Name Medical Center | Teaneck | 204 min (3 h 24 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 40 | Cooper University Hospital | Camden | 205 min (3 h 25 min) | 3% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 41 | Palisades Medical Center | North Bergen | 206 min (3 h 26 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 41 | Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital | New Brunswick | 206 min (3 h 26 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 43 | Chilton Medical Center | Pompton Plains | 207 min (3 h 27 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 44 | Saint Peter's University Hospital | New Brunswick | 208 min (3 h 28 min) | 3% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 45 | Capital Health Medical Center - Hopewell | Pennington | 209 min (3 h 29 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 45 | Trinitas Regional Medical Center | Elizabeth | 209 min (3 h 29 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 47 | Jersey Shore University Medical Center | Neptune | 210 min (3 h 30 min) | 2% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 48 | Jefferson Stratford Hospital | Stratford | 215 min (3 h 35 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 49 | St Joseph's University Medical Center Inc | Paterson | 217 min (3 h 37 min) | 5% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 50 | Centrastate Medical Center | Freehold | 219 min (3 h 39 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 51 | University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro | Plainsboro | 221 min (3 h 41 min) | 1% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 52 | Cape Regional Medical Center Inc | Cape May Court House | 222 min (3 h 42 min) | 2% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 53 | Valley Hospital | Paramus | 227 min (3 h 47 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 54 | Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical | Montclair | 229 min (3 h 49 min) | 2% | High (40,000–59,999) |
| 55 | Hunterdon Medical Center | Flemington | 230 min (3 h 50 min) | 1% | Medium (20,000–39,999) |
| 56 | Morristown Medical Center | Morristown | 250 min (4 h 10 min) | 1% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
| 57 | The University Hospital | Newark | 307 min (5 h 7 min) | 8% | Very high (60,000 or more) |
ER wait times by city in New Jersey
Common questions
Which ER in New Jersey has the shortest wait?
In Medicare's data for October 2024 to September 2025, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Rahway had the shortest median time patients spent in the emergency room before going home: 114 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 New Jersey?
The middle value of the 57 hospitals listed here is 183 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.