10 best and worst states for nurses

From the ongoing pandemic to industry-wide staffing challenges, nurses are struggling at work for a number of reasons. But could where they’re living be one of them?  

As critical shortages of necessary protective treatment and plummeting mental health continue to plague the industry, providing nurses with more support is critical post-pandemic. Personal finance site WalletHub recently compared the viability of nursing jobs in all 50 states, tracking 21 key metrics from salary and job availability to culture and growth opportunities.

While some states of course outrank others, there’s an agreed-upon consensus: there’s a national nursing shortage, and hospitals across the nation will have to work towards bridging it. 

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“If you went to any hospital today, they are already short 20% of their nurses,” says Rebecca Love, chief clinical officer at nurse staffing platform IntelyCare and a registered nurse. “Worst case, it’s 35%, which means that for every 10 patients, they're short one [nurse].” 

Minnesota has the highest ratio of nurses to hospital beds — nearly five nurses to every bed, meaning that the hospital is appropriately staffed at a rate two times higher than in Wyoming, the lowest staffed state, which has just  2.44 nurses per bed, the survey found. This indicates that nurses in Wyoming are likely more overworked. 

But regardless of locale, hospitals struggling to support their staff are at risk of losing them in the future. Below are the 10 best and worst states for nurses in the U.S.: