diff --git a/esphome/components/rp2040/__init__.py b/esphome/components/rp2040/__init__.py
index e452780d41..4f4244a8d5 100644
--- a/esphome/components/rp2040/__init__.py
+++ b/esphome/components/rp2040/__init__.py
@@ -223,6 +223,10 @@ async def to_code(config):
         for symbol in ("vprintf", "printf", "fprintf"):
             cg.add_build_flag(f"-Wl,--wrap={symbol}")
 
+    # Wrap Arduino's millis() so all callers use our fast accumulator instead of
+    # the expensive time_us_64() + micros_to_millis() 64-bit conversion path.
+    cg.add_build_flag("-Wl,--wrap=millis")
+
     cg.add_platformio_option("board_build.core", "earlephilhower")
     # In testing mode, use all flash for sketch to allow linking grouped component tests.
     # Real RP2040 hardware uses 1MB filesystem + 1MB sketch, but CI tests may combine
diff --git a/esphome/components/rp2040/core.cpp b/esphome/components/rp2040/core.cpp
index b7a9000612..ffd5e65765 100644
--- a/esphome/components/rp2040/core.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/rp2040/core.cpp
@@ -14,8 +14,36 @@
 namespace esphome {
 
 void HOT yield() { ::yield(); }
+// Arduino-pico's millis() uses time_us_64() (64-bit hardware timer read) then
+// micros_to_millis() which does 64-bit multiply-shift conversion on an ARM
+// Cortex-M0+ (~789 ns/call measured). Replace with a simple accumulator that
+// tracks a running millis counter from 32-bit micros() deltas using pure
+// 32-bit ops. ::micros() on RP2040 is a fast 32-bit hardware read (~220 ns).
+//
+// Overflow safety: ::micros() wraps every ~71.6 minutes. Unsigned subtraction
+// handles one wrap correctly. ESPHome calls millis() thousands of times per
+// second, so missing a full wrap is not a realistic concern. At boot, both
+// s_last_us and ::micros() start at 0, so no special initialization needed.
+//
+// Also installed as __wrap_millis (via -Wl,--wrap=millis) so Arduino library
+// code calling ::millis() directly gets the fast version.
+static uint32_t HOT millis_accumulator_() {
+  static uint32_t s_cache = 0;
+  static uint32_t s_remainder = 0;
+  static uint32_t s_last_us = 0;
+  uint32_t now_us = ::micros();
+  uint32_t delta = now_us - s_last_us;
+  s_last_us = now_us;
+  s_remainder += delta;
+  while (s_remainder >= 1000) {
+    s_cache++;
+    s_remainder -= 1000;
+  }
+  return s_cache;
+}
+uint32_t HOT millis() { return millis_accumulator_(); }
+// millis_64() keeps the full 64-bit timer for precision — called once per loop by Scheduler.
 uint64_t millis_64() { return micros_to_millis<uint64_t>(time_us_64()); }
-uint32_t HOT millis() { return micros_to_millis(time_us_64()); }
 void HOT delay(uint32_t ms) { ::delay(ms); }
 uint32_t HOT micros() { return ::micros(); }
 void HOT delayMicroseconds(uint32_t us) { delay_microseconds_safe(us); }
@@ -42,4 +70,8 @@ uint32_t arch_get_cpu_freq_hz() { return RP2040::f_cpu(); }
 
 }  // namespace esphome
 
+// Linker wrap: redirect all ::millis() calls (Arduino libs) to our accumulator.
+// Requires -Wl,--wrap=millis in build flags (added by __init__.py).
+extern "C" uint32_t __wrap_millis() { return esphome::millis(); }
+
 #endif  // USE_RP2040