(The Center Square) – The Pacific Northwest is the place to be for nurses, according to a new study from personal finance platform WalletHub that ranks Washington state and Oregon No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, as the best states for nurses.
National Nurses Week begins on May 6.
WalletHub’s rankings are based on comparing all 50 states across 20 metrics, including work environment, job openings per capita, annual salary, health care facilities per capita, opportunity and competition.
Washington scored well in several categories to earn its top spot.
The Evergreen State ranked No. 4 in both average annual salary and monthly average starting salary, both adjusted for cost of living.
According to digital nurse hiring platform Incredible Health, registered nurses in Washington earn an average salary of $95,350 per year, or $45.84 per hour. This is 15.2% higher than the national average salary for RNs, which is $82,750.
While “nurse” is a general term referring to anyone providing patient care, “registered nurse” is a specific credential earned by completing a nursing program and passing an exam. In other words, all RNs are nurses, but not all nurses are RNs.
Per WalletHub’s study, Washington ranks No. 5 in nurses per capita, No. 6 in share of best nursing homes, No. 6 in projected competition by 2032 and No. 25 in healthcare facilities per capita.
“Washington is the best state for nurses, in part because nurses have very high median earnings and one of the highest job growth rates,” Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst, said in an email. “The Evergreen State has some of the highest-ranked nursing schools in the country, too. In addition, nurses can avoid burnout because Washington restricts mandatory overtime.”
Washington’s neighbor to the south, Oregon, took the bronze medal in WalletHub’s study.
Like in Washington, pay was a significant factor in Oregon’s No. 3 ranking. WalletHub reports Oregon has the fourth-highest median earnings for registered nurses.
According to Incredible Health, Oregon RNs earn an average of $98,630 annually, or $47.42 per hour. This is 19% higher than the national average.
Oregon’s restrictions on mandatory overtime, which can help keep nurses sharp and help them avoid burnout, are also a factor cited by WalletHub in the state’s high ranking.
WalletHub also notes that Oregon “[boasts] the largest number of nursing and residential care facilities per capita. In addition, the Beaver State has the third-highest share of nursing homes rated five stars.”
The future looks bright for nursing in Oregon.
“In fact, by 2050, the state is projected to have the 13th-highest percentage of the population that will be aged 65+,” according to WalletHub.
The 10 best states for nurses are Washington, New Hampshire, Oregon, Arizona, Maine, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Illinois and Connecticut.
Oklahoma, Alabama, North Dakota, Hawaii, Louisiana, South Dakota, Mississippi, Vermont, Tennessee, and Nebraska are the 10 worst states for nurses.
