State Nursing Education and RN Demand
National nursing degree output changed little, but state education pipelines, award mix, wages, growth, and projected openings moved in sharply different ways.
How did national associate and bachelor’s nursing degree output change after 2019–20?
US-plus-DC first-major registered-nursing degrees changed only slightly across the endpoints, from 231,310 in 2019–20 to 234,882 in 2024–25. Output peaked at 238,214 in 2020–21 and reached a low of 225,197 in 2022–23. The last two award periods are provisional; the four earlier periods are revised.
Which states lead recent nursing degree output, and where did output or credential mix shift?
Texas led 2024–25 output with 19,337 associate and bachelor’s degrees, followed by Florida and California. Utah had the largest endpoint decline, while Minnesota had the largest drop in associate-degree share. State totals use same-cycle college locations and do not show student residence, licensure, or entry into nursing.
Where are registered-nurse employment, wages, growth, and projected openings largest?
California led May 2025 RN employment, median annual wage, and projected annual openings. Utah had the fastest published state growth projection at 24.5% for 2024–34. State projection values preserve their source period and measure; openings include growth and replacement needs rather than current vacancies.
Do degree output and projected openings identify a state nursing shortage?
No. Minnesota and Utah paired high degree output with comparatively modest projected openings, while Washington, Massachusetts, and Missouri paired fewer than 4,000 degrees with at least 4,700 openings. Degrees and openings cover different populations and cannot be subtracted or treated as evidence of shortages, placement, migration, or worker flows.
What does the combined state education, workforce, and licensing evidence show?
Registered-nursing education and labor patterns vary sharply by state
US-plus-DC associate and bachelor’s nursing degrees were only slightly higher in 2024–25 than in 2019–20. State education and labor patterns varied much more.
Colleges reported 234,882 degrees in 2024–25, compared with 231,310 in 2019–20.
The analysis covers first-major degrees in Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse under CIP 2020.
It uses corrected award periods and same-cycle state assignments. The population covers the 50 states and District of Columbia.
National output fluctuated within a narrow range
The six national totals were 231,310, 238,214, 233,409, 225,197, 228,331, and 234,882.
The series peaked at 238,214 degrees in 2020–21. It reached 225,197 degrees in 2022–23.
The 2024–25 total included 88,103 associate degrees and 146,779 bachelor’s degrees.
The 2023–24 and 2024–25 figures are provisional. The four earlier periods use revised releases.
The provisional 2024–25 figures correspond to the 2025–26 collection cycle. They were published on July 21, 2026.
Territories are excluded from US-plus-DC totals. Their degree counts appear separately in the national table.
State pipelines and award mixes diverged
Texas reported 19,337 degrees in 2024–25, the largest state pipeline. Florida followed with 18,053.
California reported 17,174 degrees. Minnesota reported 13,828, while Illinois reported 12,506.
Utah declined by 3,949 degrees from 2019–20. Illinois declined by 2,474.
Ohio declined by 1,649 degrees, Pennsylvania by 1,292, and New York by 734.
Minnesota’s associate-degree share fell 17.9 percentage points. South Dakota’s share increased 15.2 points.
Utah’s associate share increased 9.6 points, despite its decline in combined degrees.
Employment scale, wages, growth, and openings tell different stories
California employed 338,940 registered nurses in May 2025, the largest state employment count.
California’s annual median RN wage was $140,270 in May 2025, the highest among the states and DC.
California also had 22,890 projected average annual openings for 2024–34, the largest state count.
Utah had the highest projected RN employment growth rate, at 24.5% from 2024 through 2034.
The bubble chart covers all 50 states and DC. Every jurisdiction had numeric values for all three plotted measures.
The horizontal axis compares provisional 2024–25 degrees with May 2025 RN employment. The vertical axis shows projected growth for 2024–34.
Bubble area represents projected average annual openings for 2024–34. State projections come from the August 29, 2026 snapshot.
The degree rate does not track graduates into jobs. It is not a measure of nurse supply or licensing capacity.
Output and projected openings do not follow one pattern
Minnesota reported 13,828 degrees and 3,840 projected annual openings. Utah reported 10,679 degrees and 2,240 openings.
These states meet the selected high-output threshold of 10,000 degrees. Their annual openings did not exceed 3,840.
Washington reported 3,455 degrees and 5,800 annual openings. Massachusetts reported 3,562 degrees and 4,930 openings.
Missouri reported 3,648 degrees and 4,700 projected annual openings.
These examples pair fewer than 4,000 degrees with at least 4,700 annual openings.
Degrees and openings describe different populations. They cannot be subtracted or treated as evidence of a shortage.
These comparisons do not establish placement, causality, licensure, migration, or worker flows.
Licensing records add limited regulatory context
CareerOneStop published 124 distinct RN-linked records across the 50 states and District of Columbia.
Delaware had seven records, the most. Sixteen jurisdictions shared the minimum of one record.
The publisher’s occupation code matched Registered Nurses exactly in O*NET 31.0.
The licensing source was updated October 14, 2024, and retrieved August 20, 2026.
These are published regulatory records, not nurses or licenses issued. They are not a labor-market measure.
Supporting data
US-plus-DC registered-nursing degree series
| Award period | Collection cycle | US+DC associate degrees | US+DC bachelor’s degrees | US+DC combined degrees | Territories: associate degrees | Territories: bachelor’s degrees | Territories: combined degrees | Release status | Publication date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 82,519 | 148,791 | 231,310 | 1,072 | 3,392 | 4,464 | revised | 2022-11-09 |
| 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 83,799 | 154,415 | 238,214 | 651 | 3,121 | 3,772 | revised | 2023-12-07 |
| 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 81,364 | 152,045 | 233,409 | 652 | 2,975 | 3,627 | revised | 2024-11-22 |
| 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 81,013 | 144,184 | 225,197 | 652 | 2,495 | 3,147 | revised | 2025-12-30 |
| 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 83,244 | 145,087 | 228,331 | 719 | 2,258 | 2,977 | provisional | 2025-12-30 |
| 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 88,103 | 146,779 | 234,882 | 737 | 2,085 | 2,822 | provisional | 2026-07-21 |
Selected state contrasts
| State | Why shown | Associate degrees, 2024–25 | Bachelor’s degrees, 2024–25 | Combined degrees, 2024–25 | Change since 2019–20 | Associate-share change | RNs employed, May 2025 | Annual median wage, May 2025 | Projected growth, 2024–34 | Average annual openings, 2024–34 | Degree-data status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | One of the five largest latest pipelines | 6,945 | 12,392 | 19,337 | 1,490 | 0.4% | 271,380 | $95,970 | 14.5% | 17,710 | provisional |
| Florida | One of the five largest latest pipelines | 9,187 | 8,866 | 18,053 | 1,295 | 0.5% | 229,940 | $84,190 | 12.6% | 14,390 | provisional |
| California | One of the five largest pipelines; largest employment, wage, and openings values | 6,610 | 10,564 | 17,174 | 2,948 | -3.1% | 338,940 | $140,270 | 13.5% | 22,890 | provisional |
| Minnesota | One of the five largest pipelines; largest associate-share decline; high output with modest openings | 1,637 | 12,191 | 13,828 | 6,546 | -17.9% | 70,110 | $101,510 | 8.2% | 3,840 | provisional |
| Illinois | One of the five largest pipelines; notable degree decline | 2,579 | 9,927 | 12,506 | -2,474 | 1% | 138,910 | $95,990 | 11.2% | 9,490 | provisional |
| New York | Notable degree decline | 5,731 | 6,706 | 12,437 | -734 | 3.4% | 205,810 | $109,440 | 7.1% | 12,080 | provisional |
| Utah | Largest degree decline; fastest projected growth; high output with modest openings | 1,994 | 8,685 | 10,679 | -3,949 | 9.6% | 27,420 | $84,600 | 24.5% | 2,240 | provisional |
| Ohio | Notable degree decline | 4,162 | 5,163 | 9,325 | -1,649 | 8.7% | 143,730 | $82,510 | 1.5% | 7,190 | provisional |
| Pennsylvania | Notable degree decline | 2,308 | 4,169 | 6,477 | -1,292 | 4.3% | 146,520 | $96,430 | 4.2% | 8,580 | provisional |
| Missouri | Lower output with larger openings | 1,534 | 2,114 | 3,648 | -283 | 6.1% | 76,310 | $81,780 | 6.4% | 4,700 | provisional |
| Massachusetts | Lower output with larger openings | 1,168 | 2,394 | 3,562 | -702 | -3.6% | 88,200 | $104,550 | 3.3% | 4,930 | provisional |
| Washington | Lower output with larger openings | 1,750 | 1,705 | 3,455 | 567 | -4.8% | 69,260 | $124,200 | 17.5% | 5,800 | provisional |
| South Dakota | Large increase in associate share | 199 | 595 | 794 | -175 | 15.2% | 14,710 | $78,060 | 13.5% | 950 | provisional |
State nursing-degree intensity and projected RN growth vary sharply
Fifty states and the District of Columbia are compared. The horizontal axis shows provisional 2024–25 associate and bachelor’s nursing degrees per 1,000 registered nurses employed in May 2025. The vertical axis shows projected RN employment growth from 2024 to 2034. Bubble area shows projected average annual openings.
| State Or District | 2024–25 degrees per 1,000 RNs employed in May 2025 | Projected RN employment growth, 2024–34 | Projected average annual openings, 2024–34 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 83.7 | 6.9% | 3,270 |
| Alaska | 25.57 | 10.2% | 410 |
| Arizona | 116.95 | 18.6% | 4,990 |
| Arkansas | 91.97 | 12.2% | 1,890 |
| California | 50.67 | 13.5% | 22,890 |
| Colorado | 53.15 | 19.6% | 4,140 |
| Connecticut | 55.92 | 6.6% | 2,380 |
| Delaware | 52.06 | 14.8% | 930 |
| District of Columbia | 37.15 | 7.2% | 590 |
| Florida | 78.51 | 12.6% | 14,390 |
| Georgia | 52.33 | 12% | 6,140 |
| Hawaii | 41.81 | 9.8% | 830 |
| Idaho | 88.98 | 21.9% | 1,220 |
| Illinois | 90.03 | 11.2% | 9,490 |
| Indiana | 66.12 | 4.8% | 3,890 |
| Iowa | 65.28 | 9.2% | 2,260 |
| Kansas | 58.88 | 4.3% | 1,880 |
| Kentucky | 103.46 | 8.1% | 3,010 |
| Louisiana | 62.43 | 2.2% | 2,580 |
| Maine | 53.81 | 6.7% | 980 |
| Maryland | 58.59 | 5.1% | 2,940 |
| Massachusetts | 40.39 | 3.3% | 4,930 |
| Michigan | 51.6 | 8.3% | 6,510 |
| Minnesota | 197.23 | 8.2% | 3,840 |
| Mississippi | 85.82 | 11.1% | 1,900 |
| Missouri | 47.81 | 6.4% | 4,700 |
| Montana | 57.17 | 10.4% | 690 |
| Nebraska | 57.73 | 6.9% | 1,620 |
| Nevada | 72.07 | 22% | 2,170 |
| New Hampshire | 87.65 | 9.9% | 1,030 |
| New Jersey | 56.38 | 9.9% | 6,210 |
| New Mexico | 75.14 | 9.5% | 1,160 |
| New York | 60.43 | 7.1% | 12,080 |
| North Carolina | 57.55 | 10.1% | 6,930 |
| North Dakota | 68.87 | 10.9% | 710 |
| Ohio | 64.88 | 1.5% | 7,190 |
| Oklahoma | 77.24 | 4.1% | 2,170 |
| Oregon | 44.15 | 9.1% | 2,830 |
| Pennsylvania | 44.21 | 4.2% | 8,580 |
| Rhode Island | 82.26 | 3% | 620 |
| South Carolina | 62.39 | 8.1% | 3,060 |
| South Dakota | 53.98 | 13.5% | 950 |
| Tennessee | 66.69 | 5% | 3,590 |
| Texas | 71.25 | 14.5% | 17,710 |
| Utah | 389.46 | 24.5% | 2,240 |
| Vermont | 53.17 | 4.3% | 400 |
| Virginia | 74.95 | 3.6% | 4,600 |
| Washington | 49.88 | 17.5% | 5,800 |
| West Virginia | 88.56 | 16.4% | 1,720 |
| Wisconsin | 55.52 | 6.1% | 3,840 |
| Wyoming | 74.3 | 12.7% | 340 |