National Nurses Week kicks off May 6, with nurses having a mean annual wage of more than $98,000. The personal-finance website WalletHub this week released its report on 2025’s Best & Worst States for Nurses.

To help new nursing graduates find the best markets for their profession, WalletHub compared the relative attractiveness of the 50 states across 20 key metrics. The data set ranges from monthly average starting salary for nurses to health-care facilities per capita to nursing-job openings per capita.

“Nurses are among the most essential workers in the country. Since they work in such a demanding profession, nurses deserve to work in places that will compensate them appropriately and offer them reasonable working conditions. The best states for nurses have high salaries, mandatory overtime limits, high-quality health care facilities and plenty of job opportunities.”

– Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst 

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Washington is the best state for nurses because nurses have very high median earnings and one of the highest job growth rates. 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.

What is the long-term outlook for the field of nursing?

The long-term outlook for the field of nursing is positive and hopeful. There has never been a better point to be innovative and strategic with how nursing degrees are used. In the context of a current and ever looming physician shortage, we have necessitated the advanced practice nursing providers, nursing led clinics, and nursing led teams to ensure the U.S. population has access to medical care. However, in order to ensure this future is a positive one for nurses, we need to fill large gaps of faculty positions in nursing schools, create new graduate nurse professional role transition programs inside of schools of nursing, and must prepare students for advocacy and leadership to shape professional identity for nurses through professional organization partnership.We also need robust nursing mentorship and preceptorship programs. The opportunity is great, and nursing has never been better positioned to lead the helm of the medical field, according to Danielle C. Ellerbe, DNP, FNP-BC, RN – Academic Director, Master of Health Administration Program; Assistant Professor, University of Miami.

In terms of employment opportunities, the long-term outlook for nursing continues to be strong. For employers, the shortage of nurses continues to be a significant problem and even a growing one with the aging of the workforce. There is also a high demand for nursing faculty as the same workforce dynamics plague it and a lack of faculty makes it harder to grow the nursing workforce to meet the considerable demand, says Timothy J. Vogus – Professor, Vanderbilt University.

What can local governments and health systems do to attract and retain high-quality nurses?

First, there is a large pool of registered nurses that possess BSN degrees – this group requires one set of strategies. Second, there is a growing pool of advanced practices nurses that requires additional attention to attract and retain. For both groups, addressing scopes of practice and autonomy is an important place to start. Nurses vary in terms of what is most important to them. However, autonomy is high on the list for many of them.

Nurses want to be able to do their jobs without excessive interference and bureaucracy.This is a major sticking point in many facilities, especially in situations where APRNs have overlapping duties with MDs. If these roles are not well defined and tension exists between the professional groups, it can reduce staff cohesion, quality of care, patient experience scores and job satisfaction among workers.

“We must install systemic changes that allow the work of a nurse to be sustainable long-term. I believe one of the best options is for health systems to create partnerships with universities in order to create a high-quality talent pipeline, and to be able to have a hand in securing jobs for the best and brightest new talent out there.”Danielle C. Ellerbe, DNP, FNP-BC, RN – Academic Director, Master of Health Administration Program; Assistant Professor, University of Miami

Tips for recent nursing school grads looking for a place to live and work

1.  Decide what is important to you. If you enjoy living in a larger city, or prefer a more rural setting with many opportunities for outdoor recreation, consider your needs, preferences, and proximity to friends and family, and the type of healthcare or public health setting you prefer.
2. Explore the most prominent health challenges in locations you are considering. Information from state, county, or local health departments is readily available. National sources, such as America’s Health Rankings, can provide an overview of maternal and infant health, obesity and chronic conditions, and mental health care needs.

Ideally, a new grad will have some basic exposure to various specialties. This can be a starting point to a job search – see if you can find a job in your ideal specialty. A new grad might not need to jump right away at the first offer, and could even look to different geographical areas if they are open to moving.

RN salaries vary greatly by locale… for traditional grads that are perhaps looking for gaining life experience as well as professional experience, travel nursing is a great way to obtain both. The work experience required varies for such opportunities, but working in different locations allows nurses to experience new working cultures and geographies, as well as learning new skills and building the resume. Another important factor in choosing a state in which to work is autonomy and the ease of licensing and credentialing.

43 states now belong to the nursing licensure compact… in addition to a smaller set of states that allow APRNs licensure reciprocity. Working in one of the compact states makes it easier to get up and running once you decide to move and work in another state. Furthermore, with healthcare spending being squeezed, facilities in states with greater autonomy might be inclined to adjust their staffing models and hire more APRNs.

Want to learn more about news that matters in the healthcare industry? Connect with Briana Booker on Linkedin , digital marketing veteran of Johns Hopkins Medicine.