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Emergency rooms · South Dakota

ER Wait Times in South Dakota: 50 Hospitals Compared

50 hospitals in South Dakota report how long their emergency room patients stay. The middle value here is 112 minutes; national (Medicare): 162 minutes.

In an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Do not drive farther to save a few minutes: these are averages of past visits, and the sickest patients are always seen first.

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 South Dakota, 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.

ER wait times in South Dakota
#HospitalCityMedian time in the ERLeft without being seenER volume
1 Coteau Des Prairies Health Care System Sisseton 44 min 0% Low (under 20,000)
2 Bennett County Hospital and Nursing Home - CAH Martin 80 min (1 h 20 min) 1% Low (under 20,000)
2 Mobridge Regional Hospital - CAH Mobridge 80 min (1 h 20 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
2 Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center Chamberlain 80 min (1 h 20 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
5 Hans P Peterson Memorial Hospital - CAH Philip 88 min (1 h 28 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
6 Monument Health Lead-Deadwood Hospital Deadwood 90 min (1 h 30 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
7 Sanford Clear Lake Medical Center Clear Lake 93 min (1 h 33 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
8 Brookings Health System Brookings 97 min (1 h 37 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
9 Fall River Hospital - CAH Hot Springs 98 min (1 h 38 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
10 Huron Regional Medical Center Huron 100 min (1 h 40 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
11 Madison Regional Health System Madison 101 min (1 h 41 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
12 Bowdle Hospital - CAH Bowdle 102 min (1 h 42 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
12 Community Memorial Hospital Redfield 102 min (1 h 42 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
14 Avera Queen of Peace Mitchell 104 min (1 h 44 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
15 Marshall County Healthcare Center - CAH Britton 105 min (1 h 45 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
16 Avera Dells Area Hospital - CAH Dell Rapids 106 min (1 h 46 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
16 Sanford Vermillion Medical Center Vermillion 106 min (1 h 46 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
18 Avera Flandreau Hospital - CAH Flandreau 108 min (1 h 48 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
19 Avera St Benedict Health Center - CAH Parkston 109 min (1 h 49 min) Not reported —
19 Winner Regional Healthcare Center - CAH Winner 109 min (1 h 49 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
21 Avera Heart Hospital of South Dakota Sioux Falls 110 min (1 h 50 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
21 Sanford Hospital Webster - CAH Webster 110 min (1 h 50 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
23 Avera Hand County Memorial Hospital and Clinic Miller 111 min (1 h 51 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
24 Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center Sioux Falls 112 min (1 h 52 min) 0% High (40,000–59,999)
24 Avera Missouri River Health Center Gettysburg 112 min (1 h 52 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
24 St Michael's Hospital - CAH Tyndall 112 min (1 h 52 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
27 Wagner Community Memorial Hospital - CAH Wagner 114 min (1 h 54 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
28 Avera Sacred Heart Hospital Yankton 117 min (1 h 57 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
28 Eagle Butte Indian Health Service Hospital Eagle Butte 117 min (1 h 57 min) 5% Low (under 20,000)
28 Eureka Community Health Services - CAH Eureka 117 min (1 h 57 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
28 Prairie Lakes Healthcare System, Inc Watertown 117 min (1 h 57 min) 1% Low (under 20,000)
32 Douglas County Memorial Hospital-Cah Armour 118 min (1 h 58 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
33 Avera de Smet Memorial Hospital - CAH De Smet 120 min (2 h) Not reported —
33 Sanford Medical Center Aberdeen Aberdeen 120 min (2 h) 1% Low (under 20,000)
35 Pioneer Memorial Hospital - CAH Viborg 121 min (2 h 1 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
36 Faulkton Area Medical Center Faulkton 122 min (2 h 2 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
37 Freeman Medical Center - CAH Freeman 123 min (2 h 3 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
38 Sanford Canton-Inwood Medical Center - CAH Canton 124 min (2 h 4 min)† 0% Low (under 20,000)
39 Avera St Lukes Aberdeen 126 min (2 h 6 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
39 Avera Weskota Memorial Medical Center - CAH Wessington Springs 126 min (2 h 6 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
39 Milbank Area Hospital/Avera Health Milbank 126 min (2 h 6 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
42 Avera St Mary's Hospital Pierre 127 min (2 h 7 min) 1% Low (under 20,000)
43 Community Memorial Hospital Burke 128 min (2 h 8 min) Not reported —
43 Platte Health Center Platte 128 min (2 h 8 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
45 Monument Health Custer Hospital Custer 132 min (2 h 12 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
45 Monument Health Sturgis Hospital Sturgis 132 min (2 h 12 min)† 0% Low (under 20,000)
47 Avera Gregory Hospital Gregory 139 min (2 h 19 min) 0% Low (under 20,000)
48 Monument Health Spearfish Hospital Spearfish 144 min (2 h 24 min) 1% Low (under 20,000)
49 Monument Health Rapid City Hospital Rapid City 172 min (2 h 52 min) 1% High (40,000–59,999)
50 Sanford Usd Medical Center Sioux Falls 207 min (3 h 27 min) 4% High (40,000–59,999)

† Medicare footnote 3: the result is based on a shorter period than required.

ER wait times by city in South Dakota

Best-rated hospitals in South Dakota ER wait times, every state ERs near me ER or urgent care? Best-rated care by city

Common questions

Which ER in South Dakota has the shortest wait?

In Medicare's data for October 2024 to September 2025, Coteau Des Prairies Health Care System had the shortest median time patients spent in the emergency room before going home: 44 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 South Dakota?

The middle value of the 50 hospitals listed here is 112 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

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.