With National Nurses Week kicking off May 6, the personal finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2018’s Best and Worst States for Nurses.
In order to help new nursing graduates find the best markets for their profession, WalletHub compared the relative attractiveness of the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 21 key metrics. The data set ranges from monthly average starting salary for nurses to health care facilities per capita to nursing job openings per capita.
Best States for Nurses
1. Maine
2. Montana
3. Washington
4. Wyoming
5. New Mexico
6. Minnesota
7. Arizona
8. New Hampshire
9. Oregon
10. Colorado
Worst States for Nurses
42. Ohio
43. Mississippi
44. Oklahoma
45. New York
46. Tennessee
47. Louisiana
48. Alabama
49. Vermont
50. Hawaii
51. District of Columbia
Best vs. Worst
- Nevada has the highest annual mean wage for registered nurses (adjusted for cost of living), $81,165, which is about 1.6 times higher than in Hawaii, the lowest at $51,508.
- Utah has the lowest current competition (number of nurses per 1,000 residents), 8.52, which is 2.4 times lower than in the District of Columbia, the highest at 20.58.
- Nevada has the lowest future competition (projected number of nurses per 1,000 residents by 2024), 7.02, which is 4.4 times lower than in the District of Columbia, the highest at 30.71.
- Minnesota has the highest ratio of nurses to hospital beds, 4.78, which is 2.2 times higher than in District of Columbia, the lowest at 2.19.
To view the full report, visit wallethub.com/edu/best-states-for-nurses/4041/.