60 Key Nursing Statistics and Trends for 2024

Nursing Demographics in 2024

Let’s start with a look at statistics in nursing related to the people who work in one of the country’s most populous professions.

• There are almost 5,239,499 RNs and 973,788 LPNs/LVNs in the United States.¹
• Over 385,000 nurse practitioners (NPs) are licensed in the United States.²
• There are nearly 5x as many nurses in the United States as physicians.^{1 ,3}
• Nursing careers make up the largest portion of America’s healthcare professions.⁴
• The median age of a registered nurse is 46 years old.¹
• The RN workforce is¹: 80% Caucasian, 7.4% Asian, 6.3% Black, 0.4% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.4% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 3% Other, 2.5% More than one race category selected
• 2% of the RN and 10.2% of the LPN/LVN workforce are men.¹
• The LPN/LVN workforce is:¹9% Caucasian, 6.3% Asian, 17.6% Black, 0.6% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 5.4% Other, 3.0% More than one race category selected
• The number of male nurses has tripled over the past 50 years.⁵
• In the Pacific region of the U.S., 30.5% of nurses are people of color, the largest percentage in the country.⁶

Nursing Statistics on Job Satisfaction

Nursing is a well-respected profession that requires dedication, ethics and compassion. Here, we examine nurse statistics about how nurses feel about their profession, as well as how American society perceives nurses.

• In Gallup polls, nurses have been identified as the most honest and ethical professionals for the past 19 years. They won 89% of the vote in 2020.⁷
• The job of nurse practitioner is ranked #1 on U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best Jobs list.⁸
• 72% of nurses say they would follow the same educational path as a nurse and 40% said they would go into the same practice setting.⁹
• If they had to do it over again, 79% of nurses say they would still choose their current career.¹⁰
• 5% of new RNs leave their first job within one year.¹¹
• Registered nurse is ranked #10 and nurse anesthetist is ranked #6 on U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best Health Care Jobs list.¹²

Nursing Salary Statistics

Knowing the potential financial benefits and job opportunities can be a powerful motivator for beginning a nursing career. Here are some key statistics in nursing about earning power.

• The median annual salary for registered nurses in May 2023 was $86,070.¹³
• The median annual salary for an LPN/LVN was $59,730 in May 2023.¹⁴
• Advanced practice nurses (including NPs, nurse anesthetists and nurse midwives) earned a median annual salary of $129,480 in May 2023.¹⁵
• Registered nursing is one of the highest-paying large occupations.¹⁶
  
• There are 194,500 open registered nursing jobs projected each year, on average, over the decade in the United States. The projected growth of registered nurses is expected to be 6% between 2023 and 2033.¹⁷
• 58% of RNs work in hospitals, with 19% in ambulatory care, 5% in nursing and residential care facilities, 6% in government and 3% in educational services.¹⁸
• Registered nursing is the fourth most in-demand profession in the American workforce today.¹⁹
  
• 2% of currently employed RNs and 71% of LPNs/LVNs work in nursing full-time.¹
• Arizona is ranked the best state for nurses based on its average annual salary, projected job growth and cost of living index.

Statistics in Nursing Shortage

The current nursing shortage is a major factor in understanding the state of American healthcare. Below are some key statistics in nursing shortages around the country.

• Federal authorities project a shortage of 78,610 full-time RNs by 2025 and a shortage of 63,720 full-time RNs by 2030.²⁰
• More than 85% of California hospitals report that demand for RNs is greater than supply.²¹
• The nursing shortage is due in part to the rapid 73% increase of the 65+ population, which grew from 41 million in 2011 to 71 million in 2019.⁴
  
• Retiring nurses also means retiring nursing faculty, translating to fewer nurses being trained to fill in the gaps.⁴
  • StatPearls, February 2023
• 7% of all registered nurses and 25.6% of all LPNs/LVNs plan to retire within the next five years.¹
• Nursing shortages can lead to errors, higher morbidity and higher mortality rates.⁴

Statistics About Nurses’ Injuries

Nurses spend many hours on their feet and are exposed to potentially harmful health risks, which can lead to injuries on the job.

• In 2020, RNs experienced 78,740 incidences of nonfatal workplace injuries or illnesses.²²
• In 2016, 1% of RNs’ nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses happened in hospitals.²³
• The most common occupational injury for RNs in 2016 was overexertion and bodily reaction, accounting for 45.6% of cases²³
• Of nurses’ workplace injuries in 2016, falls, slips, and trips represented 25%.²³
• In 2016, 8% of the injuries and illnesses sustained by RNs were caused by patients.²³

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COVID-19 Statistics for Nurses

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the country’s ongoing need for more nurses to meet the demands of a global health crisis. Here are some key nurse statistics from that period in healthcare.

• In a 2020 survey, 41% of nurses reported experiencing high exposure to COVID-19.²⁴
• A 2021 study showed that nurses suffered the highest death count among U.S. healthcare workers at the beginning of the pandemic.²⁵
• High numbers of nurses reported feelings of being overwhelmed (51%), anxious (48%) and irritable (48%) amid the pandemic.²⁶
• In an ANA survey during the pandemic, 60% of nearly 11,000 nurses reported difficulty sleeping.²⁶
• Over 25% of the nurses who died from COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic were Filipino American, even though only 4% of American nurses identify as Filipino.²⁷
• In a survey by American Nurse Journal conducted at the beginning of the pandemic, 85% of nurses said they do not plan to change careers because of the COVID-19 pandemic.²⁸
• Nurses were less likely to receive emotional support to deal with the stresses of COVID-19 than other healthcare workers.²⁴
• The demand for skilled nurses during the pandemic revealed the need for more nursing faculty.²⁹

Current Trends in Nursing

The challenges and strain facing nurses from the pandemic has led to these growing trends in nursing in 2024.

• In 2023, 61% of nurses surveyed by the American Nursing Journal reported a pay raise in the previous 12 months.¹⁰
• The demand for travel nurses has rapidly increased in recent years, with 91% of nurse staffing agencies reporting revenue growth from 2019 to 2020.³⁰
• COVID-19 led to an emergency allowance of cross-state medical practice through an enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact.³¹
• Telehealth is here to stay, with usage having stabilized at levels 38 times higher than the pre-pandemic baseline.³²

Nurse Statistics in Education

From certificate programs to advanced nursing degrees like a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), education is a critical step in every nursing career path. Here are some RN statistics about education in the field.

• 1% of RNs have earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, while 1.6% have earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree.¹
• Within four to six months of completing their programs, 95% of BSN graduates and 93% of MSN graduates have secured job offers.³³
• 76% of new BSN graduates and 74% of entry-level MSN graduates had a job offer upon graduation.³⁴
• A bachelor’s degree is now a requirement for new hires by 28% of employers, and strongly preferred by 72% of employers.¹⁶
• Nurse educators are predominantly women, with a ratio of: 93% female, 7% male.²⁹
• In 2021-2022, more than 39,000 people graduated from nurse practitioner programs.²
• Black nurses outpace white nurses in securing advanced nursing degrees, 14.6% to 13.4%.⁶
• Only 6% of full-time nurse educators are people of color: Black 9%, Hispanic 3.4%, Asian 2.9%, Native American 0.4%, Multiracial 0.8%.²⁹

Trends in Nursing Education

As the landscape of education adjusted to increased remote learning in 2020-2021, students have encountered some new and ongoing trends in nursing study.

• Expect the online education opportunities to continue post-pandemic, as reports show that a blend of in-person and distance learning can be pedagogically beneficial to nursing students.³⁵
• Advanced nursing degrees will attract more new students, based on recent enrollment increases in master’s and doctoral programs.³⁶
• More clinical sites are needed at nursing educational institutions. 65,766 qualified applications were turned away from schools of nursing due to a shortage of sites and other resources in 2023.³⁷
• The search for more nursing faculty continues. 82% of schools surveyed said they are seeking to hire new faculty.²⁹

The nursing industry is a foundational aspect of healthcare in America. With the heightened need for nurses at every level, as well as nurse educators, the time is right to explore the opportunities that a career in nursing offers.

The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) offers a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program, a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, and Post-Graduate Nursing Certificates designed for working nurses. Our nursing degrees are offered online , with optional on-campus immersions. Role specialties include Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), Nurse Educator,**, Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (AGNP), Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP), and Nurse Executive. The MSN has several options  to accelerate your time to degree completion. Earn your advanced nursing degree while keeping your work and life in balance.

*The FNP role specialty includes one required hands-on clinical intensive as part of the curriculum.

**The Nurse Educator role specialty is not available for the DNP program, and we are currently not enrolling new students.

Salary data may not reflect starting pay for recent graduates.

Sources

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