Emergency Room Visit Cost by State and Facility Type (2026)

Creator: John Caruso, FSA, MAAA
Published: 2026-05-19T19:10:44.009Z
Keywords: emergency room visit cost, emergency room visit price, hospital price transparency, healthcare costs by state

Typical cost

$279–$531

Sticker price is almost never what patients actually pay.

Your actual cost depends on your deductible, coinsurance, and where you are in your plan.

👉 The same Emergency Room Visit could cost you $0 or $531.

Find out what YOU will pay ↓

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CostKits Data — Emergency Room Visit

$170–$250

National typical range

Median across all 50 states

6×

National price spread

Cheapest vs. most expensive market

3,440

Facilities in our database

93% have observed negotiated rates

States with cost data

Updated 2026

CostKits Market Intelligence — Emergency Room Visit

Confidence: High

Sources Used

CMS Medicare fee schedules (MPFS, OPPS, ASC)
Hospital price transparency files
Commercial rate relativity model

Estimate Composition

Observed negotiated rates		95%
Medicare baseline		5%
Estimated relativity		0%

261 geographic markets analyzed

3,440 facilities in dataset

50 states + 211 metros

Emergency Room Visit Cost by Type

Which type your doctor orders changes the billing code — and what you pay. Here's how the common types differ.

Level 1 — Minor

A recognized variation that can change the billing code and what you owe. Minor complaint, minimal resources used.

Level 2

A recognized variation that can change the billing code and what you owe.

Level 3 — Moderate

A recognized variation that can change the billing code and what you owe. Most common. Moderate complexity.

Level 4 — High

A recognized variation that can change the billing code and what you owe.

Level 5 — Critical

A recognized variation that can change the billing code and what you owe. Highest acuity. Full evaluation and high-complexity decision making.

What's Actually on an Emergency Room Visit Bill?

A single emergency room visit can generate multiple separate bills. Each provider bills independently and they often arrive weeks apart. Here's what to expect at a Emergency Department:

Billing Component	Always?	Typical Amount	Separate Bill?	Notes
Ed Facility Fee	Always	$186–$242	Often	Based on acuity level 1–5. Level 3–4 is most common. Medicare OPPS pays $86–$608 by level.
Emergency Physician Professional Fee	Always	—	Usually	Billed separately by EM physician group. Major source of out-of-network bills.
Labs	Sometimes	—	Sometimes	Ordered based on clinical presentation. Common: CBC, BMP, troponin.
Imaging	Sometimes	—	Sometimes	X-ray, CT, or ultrasound billed separately. Each generates its own set of bills.
Medications Pharmacy	Sometimes	—	Sometimes
Procedures	Sometimes	—	Sometimes	Laceration repair, splinting, IV placement — each CPT billed separately.

Data note

This page shows facility and allowed-amount price data — not your personal cost after insurance. What you'll actually pay depends on your deductible, coinsurance rate, and plan type.

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Emergency room (ER) visit costs are billed using Evaluation & Management (E/M) levels 1–5, with level 3–4 visits being most common. The facility fee (hospital charge) is separate from the physician fee.

How to Use This Data

These prices come from hospital price transparency files that hospitals are required by law to publish. They represent the range of what hospitals declare as their charges — actual negotiated rates with insurers are typically 40–60% lower.

If you have insurance: Your out-of-pocket cost is determined by your deductible, coinsurance, and your insurer's negotiated rate with the specific facility. Call your insurer for a pre-service cost estimate before scheduling.

If you are uninsured: Call 2–3 facilities directly and ask for their self-pay or cash-pay rate. Most facilities offer 20–50% discounts off list prices for upfront payment.

If you received a bill: Upload it to CostKits to compare what you were charged against what other facilities in your state reported.

Watch for Separate Bills from These Providers

A emergency room visit involves multiple providers: the facility, the operating physician, and often some ancillary providers. These providers bill independently — and each one may or may not be in your network, even if the facility is.

Action step: Before your procedure, ask the facility coordinator to confirm that all participating providers are in-network on your plan. The No Surprises Act (2022) protects you from unexpected out-of-network bills in many scenarios — but not all. Request a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) if you ask for one.

Common Emergency Room Visit Billing Surprises

The sticker price is rarely the whole story. These are the charges that most often surprise people after a emergency room visit — knowing them in advance is how you catch errors and avoid out-of-network bills.

You May Receive Several Separate Bills

A single emergency room visit can generate 5 separate bills — emergency department facility, emergency physician, radiology, laboratory, specialist consultation. Each provider bills independently and may arrive on its own statement, so the first bill you see is rarely the full total.

One Visit, Five or More Separate Bills

One ER visit can generate five or more separate bills - facility, ER physician, radiology, lab, and any specialist - each arriving on its own.

Reads Arrive Weeks Later as Their Own Bills

Radiology and lab reads often arrive weeks later as their own bills, so the real total comes well after the first statement.

Observation vs. Admission Changes What You Owe

Being kept for 'observation' rather than formally admitted can raise your out-of-pocket cost even though it feels like an inpatient stay.

Explore Emergency Room Visit Costs

Emergency Room Visit by Type & Body Area

CT Abdomen CT Head CT Chest

Emergency Room Visit Cost by Metro

New York, NY Los Angeles, CA Chicago, IL Dallas, TX Houston, TX Washington, DC Miami, FL Philadelphia, PA Atlanta, GA Phoenix, AZ Boston, MA San Francisco, CA Riverside, CA Detroit, MI Seattle, WA Minneapolis, MN San Diego, CA Tampa, FL Denver, CO St Louis, MO

Emergency Room Visit by State — Lowest Cost

Michigan Utah New Hampshire Tennessee Nebraska North Dakota Oregon Iowa West Virginia Georgia Montana Missouri

Emergency Room Visit by State — Most Searched

California Texas Florida New York Illinois Pennsylvania Ohio Georgia North Carolina Michigan

CostKits Tools

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Healthcare Cost Guide EOB Explained

How Insurance Affects the Cost of This Procedure

Understanding these insurance concepts can help you estimate what you may actually pay for this procedure.

Emergency Room Visit by Type & Body Part

Costs vary significantly by which emergency room visit variant you need. Select a type to see state-by-state pricing and billing details:

Cheapest States for Emergency Room Visit

The 10 lowest-cost states for emergency room visit, by typical facility price range. Use these as a benchmark — even within a low-cost state, an independent imaging center usually beats a hospital outpatient department.

1. Michigan $154–$173
2. Utah $172–$172
3. New Hampshire $162–$184
4. Tennessee $166–$204
5. Nebraska $168–$212
6. North Dakota $168–$212
7. Oregon $167–$214
8. Iowa $164–$220
9. West Virginia $171–$213
10. Georgia $157–$231

Most Expensive States for Emergency Room Visit

The 10 highest-cost states for emergency room visit. If you're in one of these, shopping facilities and asking for the cash-pay rate matters most.

1. Massachusetts $209–$953
2. Delaware $345–$430
3. Rhode Island $172–$584
4. Hawaii $346–$391
5. New York $182–$539
6. Arkansas $183–$455
7. California $197–$417
8. Arizona $214–$393
9. South Dakota $229–$376
10. Nevada $195–$386