RN population per capita, by state

Washington, D.C., has the highest number of active registered nurse licenses per capita, according to an analysis by Becker's. The state with the most active RN licenses per 100 residents is Vermont. California has the highest number of active licenses, but it has the fewest number of licenses per 100 residents.

The analysis is based on July 2020 U.S. Census data, as well as data from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing's electronic information system, Nursys. Nursing regulatory bodies frequently report licensure data via Nursys.  

Here is a state-by-state breakdown of active RN licenses per capita using the data, in descending order.

Note: Data was not available for Michigan.

State Population Number of Active RN Licenses Active RN Licenses per 100 Residents
District of Columbia 712,816 30,644 4.30
Vermont 623,347 20,587 3.30
Rhode Island 1,057,125 27,787 2.63
Alaska 731,158 18,419 2.52
Connecticut 3,557,006 82,363 2.32
Massachusetts 6,893,574 155,122 2.25
South Dakota 892,717 19,357 2.17
Minnesota 5,657,342 120,296 2.13
North Dakota 765,309 16,047 2.10
Maine 1,350,141 28,057 2.08
Delaware 986,809 19,496 1.98
Hawaii 1,407,006 27,451 1.95
Wisconsin 5,832,655 112,441 1.93
Alabama 4,921,532 94,465 1.92
Ohio 11,693,217 223,548 1.91
Missouri 6,151,548 117,309 1.91
New Hampshire 1,366,275 25,749 1.88
West Virginia 1,784,787 33,560 1.88
Iowa 3,163,561 58,759 1.86
New York 19,336,776 358,364 1.85
Kansas 2,913,805 53,516 1.84
Pennsylvania 12,783,254 234,339 1.83
Montana 1,080,577 19,644 1.82
Indiana 6,754,953 120,707 1.79
Illinois 12,587,530 221,270 1.76
Oregon 4,241,507 74,027 1.75
Mississippi 2,966,786 50,942 1.72
Nevada 3,138,259 52,584 1.68
Kentucky 4,477,251 73,022 1.63
Nebraska 1,937,552 31,579 1.63
Florida 21,733,312 350,761 1.61
Tennessee 6,886,834 110,603 1.61
New Jersey 8,882,371 140,893 1.59
Wyoming 582,328 8,996 1.54
Washington 7,693,612 118,564 1.54
South Carolina 5,218,040 78,275 1.50
Arkansas 3,030,522 45,105 1.49
Maryland 6,055,802 87,181 1.44
New Mexico 2,106,319 30,283 1.44
Idaho 1,826,913 26,225 1.44
Colorado 5,807,719 82,096 1.41
North Carolina 10,600,823 149,508 1.41
Arizona 7,421,401 103,980 1.40
Louisiana 4,645,318 63,188 1.36
Georgia 10,710,017 140,873 1.32
Virginia 8,590,563 112,740 1.31
Oklahoma 3,980,783 51,987 1.31
Utah 3,249,879 40,817 1.26
Texas 29,360,759 368,177 1.25
California 39,368,078 468,171 1.19
Michigan 9,966,555 N/A N/A
United States 329,484,123 5,099,874 1.55

 

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