Washington ranked as the best state for nurses while Louisiana ranked as the worst, according to a report released by personal finance social network WalletHub.
WalletHub compared the all US states and the District of Columbia across 15 metrics that speak to the nursing job opportunities existing in each market. The data set includes such metrics as the monthly median starting salary for nurses, the number of healthcare facilities per capita and nursing job openings per capita.
Best states for nurses:
1. Washington
2. Colorado
3. Minnesota
4. Wisconsin
5. Texas
6. Wyoming
7. Alaska
8. New Hampshire
9. New Mexico
10. Oklahoma
Worst states for nurses:
42. Tennessee
43. Alabama
44. Delaware
45. District of Columbia
46. Mississippi
47. New Jersey
48. West Virginia
49. Kentucky
50. Hawaii
51. Louisiana
Additional findings include:
- Registered nurses in Nevada earn twice as much as those in Connecticut, when average annual wages are adjusted for cost of living.
- The District of Columbia has three times as many nurses per capita as Nevada. The district is also projected to have three times as many nurses per capita as Nevada by 2022.
- By 2030, the percentage of people age 65 and older will be twice as high in Florida as in Utah.
- The number of healthcare facilities per capita is five times higher in Oregon than in Delaware.
- The average commute time is twice as long in Maryland than in South Dakota.
