Registered nurses employment and wages by state and metropolitan area

In May 2014, there were 2,687,310 employed registered nurses in the United States, more than any other healthcare occupation. Nationwide, registered nurses accounted for nearly 2 of out every 100 employed persons. Some metropolitan areas have a higher concentration of employment in this occupation than other areas. We measure this concentration with the location quotient. A location quotient greater than 1 means the occupation has a higher share of area employment than the national average.

In May 2014, Rochester, Minnesota, had the highest concentration of employed registered nurses — more than 3 times the national average (a location quotient of 3.24). La Crosse-Onalaska, Wisconsin-Minnesota (2.42); Rome, Georgia (2.35); and Cape Girardeau, Missouri-Illinois (2.32) also had high concentrations of registered nurses.

Registered nurses earned an annual median wage of $66,640 in May 2014. They earned the most in California ($96,470), Hawaii ($90,220), Alaska ($85,530), Oregon ($83,650), and Massachusetts ($81,380).

These data are from the Occupational Employment Statistics program. For more information, see the Registered Nurses profile.