Current Nursing Statistics and Demographics
With 5.2 million nurses currently practicing in the country, nursing is the largest profession in healthcare.
There are over four nurses for every physician. Nurses deliver the majority of hands-on healthcare services received in hospitals and long-term care settings.
Nursing is a stable profession that will be around for many years to come but there are also emerging trends and changes to the field.
Here are some of the most current nursing statistics and demographics.
Employment Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 6% increase in employment of nurses over the coming decade and 203,000 job openings each year.
In many areas, there are not enough qualified nurses to meet the demand. Both nurse leaders and hospital CEOs considered staff shortages to be one of their biggest concerns for the future.
The nursing turnover rate is at 22%, and around 10% of hospital nursing positions are vacant. It takes an average of three months to find a nurse to fill a vacant position.
Increased professional opportunities exist for nurses who are able to travel or gain additional education.
The demand for advanced nurses such as nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, and nurse midwives is expected to increase by 40% this decade.
License Type
All licensed nurses undergo highly standardized training and certification processes to ensure a high standard of care is met but different types of licenses have different educational requirements.
By far the most common type of nursing license is registered nurse (RN) which requires nurses to complete an approved nursing degree and pass the NCLEX-RN exam. RNs make up 94.9% of the nursing workforce.
Licensed practical nurses (LPN) must graduate from an approved nursing education program and pass the NCLEX-PN exam. LPNs make up only 0.8% of nurses.
Finally, advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) must become an RN and then pursue additional education in a specialized area before taking a certification exam. APRNs account for 9.8% of nurses.
Age
The median age of nurses in the US is 46, down from 52 as recently as 2020.
The age of the nurse population has decreased due to the loss of 200,000 experienced nurses from the workforce.
The age makeup of the nursing workforce is expected to continue to change as a large group of nurses nears retirement age.
Age groups containing the most nurses are 30-34 and 65+, both making up 13.2% of the workforce.
Ethnicity
The ethnic background of the nursing community is also gradually changing.
About 80% of nurses identified as White or Caucasian, a very slight decrease from 2020. 6.3% of nurses identify as Black or African American. 6.9% are Hispanic or Latino and 7.4% are Asian.
Minorities account for 20% of nurses. Male nurses are also more likely to be minorities. Diversity is also higher among licensed practical nurses (LPN) with 34% identifying as minorities.
The ethnic background of nurses is expected to continue to shift to reflect the higher diversity among younger nurses.
Around 18% of nurses aged 30-34 are Hispanic or Latino while the highest proportion of White or Caucasian nurses exists in the 65+ group.
Education
The educational background of nurses is one of the most significant trends in nursing. Bachelor's degrees have become an increasingly important qualification, especially for registered nurses.
71.7% of registered nurses now hold bachelor's degrees and the percentage is rising due to explicit initiatives promoting educational attainment.
72% of healthcare employers say they strongly prefer new employees with bachelor's degrees and 28% have begun to require it outright.
17.4% of nurses have earned a master's degree and 2.7% hold doctoral degrees. Nurses with advanced degrees are in extremely high demand and will likely experience numerous professional opportunities.
The overall trend toward increased education is backed by research indicating that patient outcomes are improved by more highly educated nurses.
Gender
The majority of nurses are female. 88.5% of nurses identify as female, 11.2.% as male, and 0.3% as non-binary.
The percentage of male nurses increased from 8.0% in 2015 to 11.2% most recently. The highest percentage of male nurses is in the 30-34 age category.
The number of nurses who identify as non-binary has also seen a significant increase in the 18-29 age group.
Salary
Nurses have seen a gradual but persistent increase in their salaries over the past decade. The median annual salary for registered nurses is now $77,600.
The top 10% earn over $120,250 and the lowest 10% make $59,450 or less.
Nurses working in government settings earned the most with a median annual salary of $85,970 followed by hospital nurses at $78,080. Nurses working in educational services earned the least at $61,780.
Licensed practical nurses earned significantly less with a median salary of $48,070.
By contrast, advanced nurses with additional qualifications commanded highly competitive compensation. Nurse practitioners and other advanced nurses earn $123,780 per year.
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