Plentiful job openings and potential six-figure incomes are drawing young Americans to nursing, while prospects in other fields are declining, The Wall Street Journal reported April 1.
While factory work and office jobs were once the most reliable path to the middle class in the U.S., automation, globalized manufacturing and, most recently, artificial intelligence have threatened some of these pathways. Amid this, healthcare has remained largely insulated from the effects of AI on job prospects.
Throughout an uncertain U.S. labor market, nursing offers stability and, for some, prosperity, the Journal reported.
The median annual income for registered nurses is nearly double that of all occupations, at $93,600 compared to $49,500, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It rises to $132,050 for nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and nurse anesthetists.
Healthcare was the largest driver of job growth in the U.S. in 2025, while many other industries cut jobs. The trend does not seem likely to change anytime soon: Healthcare could become the largest private-sector employment category within the next decade, according to a March report. Employment of advanced-degree nurses and registered nurses is projected to increase by 35% and 5%, respectively, from 2024 to 2034, according to the Labor Department.
Further, healthcare workers’ earnings have increased nearly twice as fast as non-healthcare workers between 1980 and 2022, especially for nurses, according to an October 2025 research paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Healthcare employee earnings increased 60.1% between 1980 and 2022, compared to 34.1% for non-healthcare workers. For nurses, earnings rose 81.7%.
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