The average tenure for registered nurses nationwide is 5 years, an ADP Research Institute report found.
Today at Work, a quarterly workforce research report, analyzed data from more than 25 million U.S. workers. The report found the average tenure for workers overall is 5.7 years.
Nurse tenure has been steadily declining since 2019, in part due to more new nurses joining the workforce. Higher turnover is also a contributor — about 18% of newly licensed registered nurses quit within the first year, the American Nurses Association found.
Here are the average registered nurse tenures and the percent change since 2018 for 20 major city areas:
|
Area |
Average RN tenure in years |
Tenure % change since 2018 |
|
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, Calif. |
7.8 |
3 |
|
Charleston-Huntington-Ashland, W.Va.-Ohio-Ky. |
7.5 |
0 |
|
New York-Newmark, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa. |
7.3 |
-16 |
|
Charlotte-Concord, N.C.-S.C. |
6.9 |
-13 |
|
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, Pa.-N.J.-Dela.-Md. |
6.6 |
7 |
|
Harford-West Hartford, Conn. |
6.4 |
13 |
|
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Ohio |
5.6 |
3 |
|
Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, Pa.-Ohio-W.Va. |
5.5 |
-14 |
|
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.-Wisc. |
5.3 |
7 |
|
Chicago-Naperville, lll.-Ind.-Wisc. |
5.1 |
-22 |
|
Seattle-Tacoma, Wash. |
4.9 |
11 |
|
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, Ga. |
4.6 |
-10 |
|
Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif. |
4.5 |
-20 |
|
Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, Ind. |
4.3 |
0 |
|
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, Mich. |
4.1 |
5 |
|
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas-Okl. |
4.1 |
-17 |
|
Boston-Worcester-Providence, Mass.-R.I.-N.H.-Conn. |
3.8 |
-24 |
|
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-Md.-Va.-W.Va.-Pa. |
3.1 |
-27 |
|
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, Fla. |
3 |
-24 |
|
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-Ind. |
2.3 |
9 |