With National Nurses Week kicking off this week, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024’s Best & Worst States for Nurses, to help nurses, especially new graduates, find the best markets for their profession.
The site compared the relative attractiveness of the 50 states across 20 key metrics. The data set ranges from job openings for nurses per capita and average salaries to mandatory overtime restrictions and the quality of nursing homes.
South Carolina ranked among the worst in America, coming in at #43 overall, considerably below North Carolina (#27) and Georgia (#29).
Best Places to Work as a Nurse
Overall Rank | State | Total Score | Opportunity & Competition Rank | Work Environment Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Washington | 66.84 | 5 | 1 |
2 | Maine | 60.77 | 9 | 6 |
3 | New Hampshire | 59.53 | 16 | 5 |
4 | Montana | 59.11 | 2 | 30 |
5 | New Mexico | 58.80 | 1 | 44 |
6 | Oregon | 58.00 | 15 | 9 |
7 | Minnesota | 57.19 | 28 | 7 |
8 | Wyoming | 57.18 | 3 | 33 |
9 | Connecticut | 56.85 | 35 | 4 |
10 | Arizona | 56.77 | 6 | 29 |
11 | Alaska | 55.83 | 40 | 3 |
12 | Florida | 55.03 | 4 | 40 |
13 | West Virginia | 54.58 | 20 | 16 |
14 | New York | 54.57 | 23 | 14 |
15 | Texas | 54.30 | 21 | 17 |
16 | Missouri | 54.25 | 11 | 25 |
17 | Massachusetts | 53.78 | 47 | 2 |
18 | Rhode Island | 53.54 | 36 | 10 |
19 | Nevada | 52.83 | 10 | 31 |
20 | Idaho | 52.82 | 17 | 27 |
21 | California | 52.71 | 26 | 23 |
22 | Iowa | 52.58 | 19 | 28 |
23 | Illinois | 52.50 | 27 | 21 |
24 | Wisconsin | 52.21 | 31 | 19 |
25 | Pennsylvania | 51.98 | 30 | 22 |
26 | Kansas | 51.62 | 32 | 20 |
27 | North Carolina | 51.53 | 8 | 41 |
28 | North Dakota | 51.53 | 41 | 11 |
29 | Georgia | 51.37 | 7 | 43 |
30 | Utah | 51.35 | 44 | 8 |
31 | Indiana | 50.95 | 12 | 36 |
32 | Kentucky | 50.78 | 13 | 37 |
33 | South Dakota | 50.47 | 42 | 12 |
34 | Ohio | 50.35 | 18 | 35 |
35 | Virginia | 49.17 | 22 | 38 |
36 | Colorado | 48.84 | 39 | 24 |
37 | Michigan | 48.46 | 14 | 46 |
38 | New Jersey | 48.44 | 43 | 18 |
39 | Maryland | 48.44 | 48 | 13 |
40 | Vermont | 47.28 | 49 | 15 |
41 | Nebraska | 46.83 | 38 | 32 |
42 | Louisiana | 46.74 | 25 | 45 |
43 | South Carolina | 46.69 | 24 | 47 |
44 | Delaware | 45.89 | 45 | 26 |
45 | Tennessee | 45.49 | 37 | 39 |
46 | Mississippi | 44.94 | 29 | 50 |
47 | Oklahoma | 44.44 | 33 | 48 |
48 | Alabama | 43.96 | 34 | 49 |
49 | Arkansas | 42.20 | 46 | 42 |
50 | Hawaii | 41.37 | 50 | 34 |
Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of each state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that category.