With National Nurses Week kicking off May 6, and nurses having a mean annual wage of more than $89,000, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Best & Worst States for Nurses, as well as expert commentary.
In order to help new nursing graduates find the best markets for their profession, WalletHub compared the relative attractiveness of the 50 states across 20 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 | Worst States for Nurses |
| 1. Washington | 41. Delaware |
| 2. Maine | 42. Vermont |
| 3. New Mexico | 43. Tennessee |
| 4. Oregon | 44. Nebraska |
| 5. New Hampshire | 45. Louisiana |
| 6. Minnesota | 46. Mississippi |
| 7. Montana | 47. Alabama |
| 8. Arizona | 48. Arkansas |
| 9. Texas | 49. Oklahoma |
| 10. Wyoming | 50. Hawaii |
Best vs. Worst
- California has the highest annual mean wage for registered nurses (adjusted for cost of living), $91,719, which is 1.5 times higher than in South Dakota, the lowest at $60,848.
- Utah has the lowest current competition (number of nurses per 1,000 residents), 8, which is 2.5 times lower than in North Dakota, the highest at 20.
- Nevada has the lowest future competition (projected number of nurses per 1,000 residents by 2030), 8, which is three times lower than in North Dakota, the highest at 24.
- Minnesota has the highest ratio of nurses to hospital beds, 5.09, which is 2.1 times higher than in Wyoming, the lowest at 2.44.
