Where Nurses Make Up the Biggest Share of Jobs: RNs, LPNs and CNAs per 1,000 Workers in Every State
By NurseCompensation Research Team · 2026-11-09 · 7 min read
RNs hold 21.7 of every 1,000 U.S. jobs. West Virginia has the highest concentration at 33.4; Utah has the lowest at 15.8. States with more nurses per worker tend to pay less, and the RN-LPN-CNA mix varies widely.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 3,379,720 registered nurses in May 2025, about 21.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the country. Add licensed practical nurses, nursing assistants and nurse practitioners, and nursing accounts for 5,800,080 jobs, or roughly 37 of every 1,000.
That share isn't the same everywhere. In a few states RNs make up a far larger part of the workforce than the national average; in others they're well below it. This piece ranks every state by how concentrated its RN workforce is, then looks at how that lines up with pay and with the mix of RNs, LPNs and CNAs.
How to read "per 1,000 jobs"
BLS divides the number of people in an occupation by total employment in the state, then multiplies by 1,000. The "vs. national" column is what BLS calls the location quotient: 1.50x means RNs make up a 50% larger share of jobs in that state than they do nationally. This measures the makeup of a state's workforce. It isn't a nurse-to-patient ratio and doesn't measure staffing on any unit.
Every state, ranked by RN concentration
| Rank | State | RNs per 1,000 jobs | vs. national | RNs employed | LPNs per 1,000 jobs | CNAs per 1,000 jobs | RN median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Virginia | 33.4 | 1.54x | 23,430 | 8.6 | 13.4 | $80,130 |
| 2 | South Dakota | 32.2 | 1.48x | 14,710 | 4.5 | 15.0 | $78,060 |
| 3 | Delaware | 29.5 | 1.36x | 14,290 | 4.6 | 11.4 | $99,520 |
| 4 | North Dakota | 26.4 | 1.21x | 11,340 | 4.5 | 15.9 | $80,730 |
| 5 | Missouri | 26.0 | 1.20x | 76,310 | 5.0 | 11.6 | $81,780 |
| 6 | Ohio | 25.9 | 1.19x | 143,730 | 7.2 | 11.4 | $82,510 |
| 7 | Maine | 25.8 | 1.19x | 16,540 | 1.2 | 13.3 | $86,990 |
| 8 | Alabama | 25.7 | 1.18x | 54,340 | 5.5 | 11.9 | $77,080 |
| 9 | Louisiana | 25.3 | 1.16x | 48,970 | 9.1 | 10.7 | $80,230 |
| 10 | Kentucky | 25.1 | 1.16x | 50,300 | 4.3 | 11.7 | $81,040 |
| 11 | Mississippi | 25.0 | 1.15x | 29,060 | 8.5 | 12.2 | $77,090 |
| 12 | Vermont | 24.4 | 1.12x | 7,410 | 3.7 | 10.0 | $97,460 |
| 13 | Massachusetts | 24.2 | 1.12x | 88,200 | 3.6 | 10.5 | $104,550 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | 24.2 | 1.11x | 146,520 | 6.3 | 11.2 | $96,430 |
| 15 | Nebraska | 24.1 | 1.11x | 24,720 | 4.5 | 16.1 | $84,730 |
| 16 | Michigan | 23.8 | 1.10x | 104,950 | 2.5 | 9.8 | $94,300 |
| 17 | Minnesota | 23.8 | 1.09x | 70,110 | 4.3 | 9.9 | $101,510 |
| 18 | Connecticut | 23.6 | 1.09x | 40,110 | 5.0 | 12.6 | $102,740 |
| 19 | Kansas | 23.5 | 1.08x | 33,800 | 5.2 | 17.1 | $79,320 |
| 20 | Florida | 23.2 | 1.07x | 229,940 | 3.9 | 9.8 | $84,190 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 23.1 | 1.06x | 68,060 | 2.5 | 9.6 | $95,530 |
| 22 | Alaska | 23.1 | 1.06x | 7,510 | 0.9 | 6.3 | $109,480 |
| 23 | Illinois | 22.8 | 1.05x | 138,910 | 2.9 | 11.3 | $95,990 |
| 24 | Arizona | 22.6 | 1.04x | 73,150 | 2.0 | 6.3 | $99,500 |
| 25 | Arkansas | 22.6 | 1.04x | 29,400 | 7.7 | 13.2 | $78,940 |
| 26 | New Hampshire | 22.5 | 1.04x | 15,390 | 3.2 | 11.4 | $99,700 |
| 27 | North Carolina | 22.5 | 1.03x | 111,120 | 3.6 | 12.9 | $84,350 |
| 28 | Oklahoma | 22.4 | 1.03x | 38,270 | 6.8 | 11.4 | $82,920 |
| 29 | Iowa | 22.1 | 1.02x | 34,420 | 3.5 | 14.5 | $78,630 |
| 30 | Tennessee | 22.0 | 1.01x | 72,200 | 6.3 | 8.2 | $81,500 |
| 31 | New Jersey | 21.6 | 0.99x | 92,680 | 4.1 | 7.6 | $106,500 |
| 32 | South Carolina | 21.6 | 0.99x | 49,750 | 4.1 | 9.4 | $82,360 |
| 33 | Indiana | 21.6 | 0.99x | 68,980 | 4.5 | 10.5 | $83,500 |
| 34 | Montana | 21.4 | 0.99x | 10,950 | 3.2 | 8.6 | $85,280 |
| 35 | New York | 21.2 | 0.98x | 205,810 | 4.1 | 9.1 | $109,440 |
| 36 | Georgia | 20.6 | 0.95x | 100,950 | 4.3 | 8.9 | $93,550 |
| 37 | New Mexico | 20.6 | 0.95x | 17,980 | 2.8 | 5.5 | $94,340 |
| 38 | Hawaii | 20.6 | 0.95x | 12,940 | 1.3 | 8.1 | $136,320 |
| 39 | Oregon | 20.2 | 0.93x | 39,730 | 2.2 | 7.5 | $129,010 |
| 40 | Rhode Island | 20.1 | 0.93x | 10,090 | 2.6 | 20.4 | $100,640 |
| 41 | Idaho | 19.7 | 0.91x | 16,880 | 2.2 | 9.2 | $92,460 |
| 42 | Washington | 19.5 | 0.90x | 69,260 | 1.9 | 8.5 | $124,200 |
| 43 | Texas | 19.3 | 0.89x | 271,380 | 4.1 | 6.3 | $95,970 |
| 44 | Maryland | 19.1 | 0.88x | 52,910 | 3.5 | 10.0 | $99,790 |
| 45 | Wyoming | 19.0 | 0.87x | 5,330 | 1.7 | 10.1 | $83,760 |
| 46 | Colorado | 19.0 | 0.87x | 54,490 | 1.7 | 7.7 | $100,260 |
| 47 | Virginia | 18.9 | 0.87x | 77,490 | 3.8 | 9.9 | $93,600 |
| 48 | California | 18.6 | 0.86x | 338,940 | 4.5 | 6.0 | $140,270 |
| 49 | Nevada | 17.4 | 0.80x | 27,070 | 2.2 | 5.2 | $103,670 |
| 50 | District of Columbia | 16.3 | 0.75x | 11,440 | 1.5 | 5.0 | $102,540 |
| 51 | Utah | 15.8 | 0.73x | 27,420 | 1.0 | 7.1 | $84,600 |
West Virginia leads with 33.4 RNs per 1,000 jobs, 1.54 times the national share. South Dakota (32.2) and Delaware (29.5) follow. At the other end, Utah has 15.8 RNs per 1,000 jobs, followed by the District of Columbia (16.3) and Nevada (17.4).
More nurses per worker usually means lower pay
Across the 50 states and DC, RN concentration and RN median pay move in opposite directions. The correlation is -0.41: a moderate relationship, not a rule. California shows the pattern most clearly. It has the highest RN pay in the country ($140,270) and ranks 48 of 51 for concentration, with 18.6 RNs per 1,000 jobs. West Virginia has the most RNs per worker and a median of $80,130.
The data shows the pattern, not the cause. Keep in mind that this measure depends on the size of the rest of a state's job market as well as on the number of nurses, so a state with fewer jobs outside health care will show a higher nursing share.
The staffing mix: RNs, LPNs and CNAs
States also differ in how they divide nursing work. Nationally there are 19.2 LPNs for every 100 RNs, and RNs make up 58.3% of the four nursing occupations combined. The six states with the most and fewest LPNs relative to RNs:
| State | LPNs per 100 RNs | RN share of nursing workforce |
|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 35.9 | 52.9% |
| Arkansas | 34.0 | 48.5% |
| Mississippi | 33.9 | 50.3% |
| Oklahoma | 30.2 | 52.5% |
| Tennessee | 28.9 | 54.6% |
| Ohio | 27.8 | 54.8% |
| Wyoming | 9.0 | 58.7% |
| Arizona | 8.9 | 68.2% |
| Hawaii | 6.5 | 66.8% |
| Utah | 6.1 | 62.2% |
| Maine | 4.6 | 60.2% |
| Alaska | 3.9 | 71.1% |
Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi employ roughly one LPN for every three RNs. Alaska and Maine employ fewer than five LPNs per 100 RNs. Louisiana has the highest LPN concentration of any state, at 9.1 per 1,000 jobs. Rhode Island has the lowest RN share of the nursing workforce (44.3%), mainly because it has the most CNAs per 1,000 jobs of any state (20.4). Alaska has the highest RN share (71.1%).
The pay check on our homepage shows where LPN and CNA pay falls in every state, too.
About the data
OEWS wages are straight-time pay. They include base pay, on-call pay and incentive pay, but they leave out overtime, shift differentials and one-time bonuses such as sign-on bonuses. For nurses who work nights or pick up extra shifts, actual earnings can be well above these figures. Annual figures are the hourly rate multiplied by 2,080 hours. Employment is counted where people work, not where they live, and the survey covers wage and salary workers only, so self-employed nurses are not included. Concentration figures for the District of Columbia count jobs located in DC, whether or not the worker lives there.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national and state data (SOC 29-1141 Registered Nurses, 29-2061 Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses, 31-1131 Nursing Assistants, 29-1171 Nurse Practitioners). Ratios, shares and the correlation calculated by NurseCompensation from the published BLS figures.