Nursing Career Statistics

NurseAs you think about furthering your nursing career, know these numbers.

  • 621 RN to BSN programs are available nationwide, including more than 390 offered at least partially online.*
  • From 2007 to 2008, enrollment in RN-BSN programs increased by 8.2 percent or by 4,105 students, marking the fifth consecutive year of increases in RN to BSN programs.*
  • There are 160 RN-MSN programs available nationwide to transition RNs with diplomas and associate degrees to the master’s degree level.*
  • According to AACN's 2008 survey of nursing schools, 27 new RN- MSN programs are in the planning stages.*
  • About 3 of 5 nursing jobs are in hospitals.**
  • Linda Richards earned the first nursing diploma in this US in 1873.
  • Norway, Finland, Ireland, Belarus, and Monaco have the highest ratios of nurses per capita in the world.
  • One out of four registered nurses is a part-time employee.
  • One-year training programs are offered at 1,200 state-approved nursing schools.
  • Registered nurses make up the largest segment of hospital staff.*, **
  • Nursing is the nation's largest health care profession, with more than 2.9 million registered nurses nationwide*
  • The three typical educational paths to a registered nursing career are a bachelor's degree, an associate degree, and a diploma from an approved nursing program.
  • The shortage of registered nurses (RNs) in the U.S. could reach as high as 500,000 by 2025 according to a report released by Dr. Peter Buerhaus and colleagues in March 2008.*
  • Between 1980 and 2000, the number of RNs under the age of 30 fell by more than 25%.
  • Signing bonuses have topped $14,000 for experienced nurses.
  • 40% of RNs will be over age 50 by 2010.
  • Americans undergoing routine surgery face a 31% greater risk of death if being treated in a hospital with a nursing shortage.
  • Just 4% of Americans believe the nursing shortage does not affect health care as a whole.
  • A critical shortage of nursing faculty meant that in 2008, more than 48,000 prospective nursing students were not admitted to nursing colleges.*
  • Average earnings for nurses is 65,130. The bottom ten percent make $43,410, the top ten percent make over $92,240.**

* Data from the American Associaton of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)
**Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)