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The analysis showed that nursing occupations are some of the most lucrative careers with the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S. In fact, the industry is expected to grow at more than double the rate of the average occupation through 2024.
In order to help newly minted nurses find the best markets for their profession, WalletHub’s analysts compared the attractiveness of the 50 states and the District of Columbia to nurses. They did so using 14 key metrics such as “monthly median starting salary for nurses,” “number of health-care facilities per capita” and “nursing job openings per capita.”
Connecticut ranks as the eighth best state for nurses to work. The District of Columbia came in as the worst.
The top 10 included:
- Washington
- Illinois
- Texas
- Oregon
- Iowa
- California
- Minnesota
- Connecticut
- New Hampshire
- Pennsylvania
Some fun facts uncovered during the analysis include:
- Nevada has the highest annual mean wage for registered nurses (adjusted for cost of living), $76,488, which is about 1.44 times as high as in Vermont, the state with the lowest, $53,183.
- Alaska has the lowest future competition (projected number of nurses per 1,000 residents by year 2022), 7.88, which is nearly three times lower than in the District of Columbia.
- Florida has the highest future elderly population (projected percentage of the population aged 65 and older by year 2030), at 27.08 percent.
- Oregon has the highest number of health-care facilities per 100,000 residents, 67.71, which is more than four times higher than in Delaware, the state with the lowest, 15.48.
- South Dakota has the shortest average commute time, 16.9 minutes, which is nearly two times shorter than in Maryland, the state with the longest, 32.2 minutes.
For the full report and to see where your state ranks, click here.
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