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 |
