Young nurses are no longer the most burned-out group in the profession, a significant reversal from 2022 when nurses under 35 were the workforce’s most stressed and most likely to quit, according to a study published in the Journal of Nursing Regulation.
The finding offers a rare piece of good news for healthcare leaders who have spent years trying to retain early-career nurses. But the same data show the under-35 workforce shrank by an estimated 200,000 RNs between 2022 and 2024 — and roughly 15% of young nurses plan to leave the profession within five years, with inadequate pay driving exits at higher rates among younger nurses than older ones.
The study is a focused analysis of a 2024 survey of more than 800,000 nurses in the U.S. Here are five key findings:
1. The under-35 nursing workforce shrank sharply between 2022 and 2024.
Nurses younger than 35 made up 18% of the registered nursing workforce in 2024, down from 24.3% in 2022 — an estimated net loss of roughly 200,000 young RNs. Supply of young licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses declined similarly, from 20.7% to 15.9% of that workforce, a net loss of more than 44,000. The proportion of nurses aged 50 or older grew by 24% over the same period.
The decline raises concern about long-term pipeline stability, particularly as older nurses approach retirement, though researchers note that 2022 figures were likely inflated by pandemic-driven enrollment surges.
2. Burnout among younger nurses fell significantly, and the age gap largely closed.
In 2022, nurses under 35 reported markedly higher emotional exhaustion than their middle-aged counterparts across all five burnout measures. By 2024, that gap had largely disappeared.
Among RNs, 43% of those under 35 reported feeling emotionally drained at least a few times per week in 2024, compared to 44% of nurses aged 35-49, which is a near-complete reversal from 2022, when those figures were 58% and 52%, respectively.
The burnout rate among young RNs who reported feeling burned out dropped from 54% in 2022 to 37% in 2024, while the rate among middle-aged RNs fell from 47% to 37%.
Researchers caution that the pattern may reflect multiple factors: improved conditions in settings where younger nurses are concentrated, selective attrition of the most burned-out young nurses or targeted early-career interventions.
3. Intent to leave narrowed but remains elevated.
In 2022, young RNs were 44% more likely than middle-aged nurses to report planning to exit the profession within five years. By 2024, that gap had decreased to 10%. Young LPNs/LVNs bucked that trend — in 2024, they were actually less likely than middle-aged peers to report intent to leave, a reversal from 2022, when the two groups were roughly equal.
4. Salary is a bigger driver of exit intent for younger nurses than for older ones.
Among young RNs planning to leave, 60% cited inadequate salary — compared to 49% of nurses aged 35-49. The pattern held for LPNs/LVNs: 56% of young LPNs/LVNs named salary versus 48% of middle-aged peers. Stress, workload and understaffing remained the top reasons across all groups, cited by roughly 65-81% of nurses who planned to leave.
5. The incoming nursing cohort is becoming more racially diverse and older.
Only 54% of RNs licensed for fewer than two years identified as white/Caucasian in 2024, down from 71% in 2022. Black nurses made up nearly a third of newly licensed LPNs/LVNs (32%), up from 20% two years prior.
Researchers note that Black and Hispanic nurses tend to enter the profession at older ages. For example, the median age of first licensure for Black RNs was 30 years old, compared to 25 for white/Caucasian RNs. The study urges that retention strategies for new nurses not be conflated with strategies for young nurses, as employees entering the nursing career later in life present different needs and pressures.
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