Updated May 2026 workforce data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing show men accounted for a smaller share of registered nurses in 2024 than in 2022.
Five notes:
1. Men represented 10.4% of registered nurses in 2024, down from 11.2% in 2022, according to data from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s 2024 National Nursing Workforce Survey.
2. The survey said the proportion of male registered nurses increased from 8% in 2015 to 11.2% in 2022 before declining in 2024.
3. The workforce survey was conducted by NCSBN and the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers, and included nurses across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Data was collected between March and December 2024 through mail surveys, email surveys and Nursys workforce data.
4. Separate May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics data released May 15 estimates there were 3.38 million employed registered nurses nationwide. Hospitals accounted for roughly 1.9 million RN jobs, and the average annual wage for registered nurses was $101,420.
5. RegisteredNurse.jobs, a nursing job platform that reportedly lists about 70,000 active nursing openings nationwide, told Becker’s that fewer than 5% of RN candidate profiles created on the platform to date are men. The company also said about 22% of active RN job postings reference a sign-on bonus.
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