ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A recent study analyzing emergency medical service (EMS) response times across 47 states found that New Mexico’s average response time was 12.14 minutes, placing it among the slower states nationwide.
The data, collected from 2018 to 2022 by first aid experts at Fundamental First Aid in Vancouver, Canada, used crash records from the National Highway Transportation Administration. New Mexico’s average was 15% above the national average and nearly twice as long as Rhode Island’s, which led the nation with a response time of 6.21 minutes.
Massachusetts (6.34 minutes) and Nevada (6.44) followed closely behind Rhode Island. On the opposite end, California had the slowest average at 17.85 minutes, followed by Wyoming (17.54), North Dakota (14.36), South Dakota (13.92), and Oklahoma (13.68).
The study also reported that New Mexico recorded 612 fatal crashes and 692 deaths during the five-year period.
Three states — Indiana, South Carolina, and Virginia — were excluded from the rankings due to missing EMS response time data.
