Central North Carolina hospitals have the longest ER wait times in the state, study shows

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Central North Carolina’s hospitals have the longest average emergency room wait times in the state, a study has found.

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Price comparison website Compare the Market reviewed 102 hospitals in North Carolina with data from HospitalStats.org to determine the ER wait times of each.

According to the study, Duke University Hospital in Durham has the longest average ER wait time in North Carolina at seven hours and 34 minutes. Duke Regional Hospital ranks second at six hours.

At four hours and 46 minutes, according to the study, UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill has the fourth-longest average ER wait time.

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The study found the ER wait times at the following central North Carolina hospitals also ranked among the longest:

• ECU Health North Hospital in Roanoke Rapids, which has the eighth-longest at four hours and four minutes
• Wayne Memorial Hospital in Goldsboro, which has the 10th-longest at four hours and three minutes
• Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, which has the 11th longest at four hours
• Granville Health Systems in Oxford, which has the 13th longest at three hours and 57 minutes

In Raleigh, WakeMed Raleigh Campus has an average ER wait time of three hours and 29 minutes, and UNC Rex Hospital has an average ER wait time of three hours and 28 minutes. Both are longer than the 2024 national average of two hours and 42 minutes, according to the study.

No central North Carolina hospitals ranked in the top 15 of the shortest average ER wait times. The study found the shortest length is held by DLP Swain County Hospital LLC in Bryson City at one hour and 32 minutes.

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