Which U.S. States are experiencing the worst nursing shortages this National Nurses Month?

It’s National Nurses Month in the U.S., a month dedicated to celebrating our hardworking nurses. However, in some states, they are under more pressure than in others. New research has revealed the states with the worst nurse shortages.

Florida personal injury attorneys at Injured In Florida analyzed data from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing on the total number of registered nurses and nurse practitioners in each state. They compared these figures to population data to reveal the number of nurses per 100,000 people in each state. The states with the lowest rate of nurses were identified as having the worst nursing shortages.

The Top Ten States with the Worst Nurse Shortages 

Rank	State	Nurses per 100,000 people
1	Utah	1,340
2	Washington	1,462
3	Georgia	1,533
4	Wyoming	1,543
5	Maryland	1,615
6	Colorado	1,637
7	Texas	1,667
8	North Carolina	1,675
9	Virginia	1,677
10	Arizona	1,686

Utah ranks number one, with just 1,340 nurses per 100,000 people. The state has 44,238 registered nurses and 2,712 nurse practitioners, a total of 46,950.

Washington is second, with 1,462 nurses per 100,000 people. There are 116,382 nurses in Washington overall, with 106,126 being registered nurses and 10,256 being nurse practitioners.

Georgia comes third, with 1,533 nurses per 100,000 residents. This figure includes 144,055 registered nurses and 27,293 nurse practitioners, which is 171,348 overall.

Wyoming is next, with 1,543 nurses per 100,000 people. There are 8,357 registered nurses and 712 nurse practitioners in Wyoming, a total of 9,069.

Maryland places fifth, with 1,615 nurses per 100,000 residents. Overall, Maryland has 101,145 nurses, with 89,957 being registered nurses and 11,188 being nurse practitioners.

Colorado follows, with 1,637 nurses per 100,000 residents. Colorado is home to 90,002 registered nurses and 7,511 nurse practitioners, which is 97,513 in total.

Texas takes seventh place, with 1,667 nurses per 100,000 people. There are 420,581 registered nurses and 101,149 nurse practitioners in the state, equal to a total of 521,730.

North Carolina is up next, with 1,675 nurses per 100,000 people. North Carolina has 185,007 nurses overall, including 162,197 registered nurses and 22,810 nurse practitioners.

Virginia is ninth, with 1,677 nurses per 100,000 people. In this state, there are 121,591 registered nurses and 26,197 nurse practitioners, which is 147,788 in total.

Arizona rounds out the top ten, with 1,686 nurses per 100,000 residents. This is equal to a total of 127,834 nurses in Arizona, with 116,708 being registered nurses and 11,126 being nurse practitioners.

The state with the highest rate of nurses is Hawaii, with 2,967 per 100,000 residents. Closely following are New York and Alaska, at 2,918 and 2,801, respectively.

A spokesperson from Injured In Florida has commented:

“The top ten ranking is evenly split between states in the West and states in the South, suggesting a pattern of nurse shortages in these areas, while the bottom ten states are primarily in the Northeast and Midwest, highlighting a clear difference in the number of nurses between regions.”

“Utah has the fewest nurses by far, at 1,340 per 100,000 people, which is a shocking 55% lower than Hawaii, the state with the highest rate of nurses, and 35% lower than the national average of 2,057.”

“Nurse shortages can lead to many problems, such as higher wait times for patients and increased pressure on existing nurses. With that being said, the states with the worst nurse shortages will likely have plenty of job opportunities for nurses or aspiring nurses, so if you are a nurse looking to relocate for work, these states might be a good starting point.”

See the Full Ranking of How All the States Fall with Their Nursing Shortages

Rank	State	Number of registered nurses	Number of nurse practitioners	Total nurses	Nurses per 100,000 people
1	Utah	44,238	2,712	46,950	1,340
2	Washington	106,126	10,256	116,382	1,462
3	Georgia	144,055	27,293	171,348	1,533
4	Wyoming	8,357	712	9,069	1,543
5	Maryland	89,957	11,188	101,145	1,615
6	Colorado	90,002	7,511	97,513	1,637
7	Texas	420,581	101,149	521,730	1,667
8	North Carolina	162,197	22,810	185,007	1,675
9	Virginia	121,591	26,197	147,788	1,677
10	Arizona	116,708	11,126	127,834	1,686
11	Idaho	30,686	3,277	33,963	1,697
12	New Mexico	34,163	2,421	36,584	1,717
13	California	564,726	114,108	678,834	1,722
14	Oklahoma	53,885	16,778	70,663	1,725
15	South Carolina	86,374	12,439	98,813	1,804
16	Nebraska	31,662	5,406	37,068	1,848
17	New Jersey	152,028	24,561	176,589	1,859
18	Louisiana	66,770	21,363	88,133	1,917
19	Vermont	10,884	1,575	12,459	1,921
20	Florida	386,639	66,084	452,723	1,937
21	Michigan	177,435	20,662	198,097	1,954
22	Kentucky	77,260	12,579	89,839	1,958
23	Arkansas	48,233	13,683	61,916	2,005
24	Tennessee	116,614	29,123	145,737	2,016
25	Nevada	61,182	4,773	65,955	2,019
26	Alabama	88,383	15,892	104,275	2,022
27	Iowa	58,237	8,699	66,936	2,065
28	Rhode Island	20,676	2,375	23,051	2,072
29	Illinois	240,569	23,690	264,259	2,079
30	Kansas	53,075	9,013	62,088	2,090
31	Wisconsin	117,232	9,681	126,913	2,129
32	Maine	28,771	1,639	30,410	2,164
33	New Hampshire	27,403	3,166	30,569	2,170
34	Pennsylvania	234,579	49,786	284,365	2,174
35	Missouri	115,530	22,948	138,478	2,217
36	Indiana	134,371	20,495	154,866	2,237
37	Oregon	89,268	6,595	95,863	2,244
38	Mississippi	52,155	14,375	66,530	2,261
39	West Virginia	34,531	7,642	42,173	2,383
40	Montana	24,995	2,138	27,133	2,386
41	Delaware	21,993	3,135	25,128	2,389
42	Ohio	237,173	51,426	288,599	2,429
43	South Dakota	20,056	2,754	22,810	2,467
44	North Dakota	17,136	2,653	19,789	2,484
45	Massachusetts	161,919	20,339	182,258	2,554
46	Connecticut	81,259	12,705	93,964	2,557
47	Minnesota	135,491	17,408	152,899	2,639
48	Alaska	20,002	730	20,732	2,801
49	New York	502,726	76,912	579,638	2,918
50	Hawaii	40,632	2,282	42,914	2,967

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Sources:

• Injured In Florida       
• Number of Nurses in U.S. and by Jurisdiction – 2024 – National Council of State Boards of Nursing

Methodology:

1. The number of registered nurses and nurse practitioners was sourced from the NCSBN.
2. The totals for each state were compared to their populations to calculate the number of nurses per 100,000 people in each state.
3. The states with the lowest number of nurses per 100,000 people were revealed as having the worst nurse shortages.

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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