Over the past several years, we have become much more aware of the challenges and difficulties facing nurses and healthcare professionals around the country. Nowhere was that on display more than while dealing with the COVID pandemic. Incredibly long and stressful hours led to many nurses burning out, which led to a nursing shortage that still continues in 2023. Despite all that, nursing is still considered to be a rewarding and lucrative profession with more and more people entering the workforce each year.

Photo by Nicholas Bartos on Unsplash
Photo by Nicholas Bartos on Unsplash
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In recognition of National Nurses Week (May 6-12), WalletHub.com has released a report of the best and worst states for Nurses. Each state was scored in the following categories and metrics and then ranked accordingly.

Opportunity & Competition

  • Monthly Average Starting Salary for Nurses
  • Average Annual Salary for Nurses
  • Health-Care Facilities per Capita
  • Quality of Nursing Schools
  • Nursing-Job Openings per Capita
  • Projected Competition in 2030

Work Environment

  • Nursing Job Growth (2021 vs 2017)
  • Share of Best Nursing Homes
  • Quality of Public Hospital System
  • Friendliness Toward Working Moms
  • Average Number of Work Hours
  • Average Commute Time
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Kentucky Is Near the Bottom of the List

The report was not great for Kentucky. Could it have been worse? Sure, but not by much. Kentucky ranked 19th in Opportunity & Competition (that's respectable), and ranked 41st in Work Environment (yikes). The Bluegrass state got a total score of 48.70 which puts them at #40 on the list. That means only 10 other states are considered worse for nurses.

How Did the Rest of the Tri-State Do?

The report card wasn't quite as bad for Indiana and Illinois. The Hoosier state landed at #30 on the list, which isn't exactly something to write home about. The Land of Lincoln, on the other hand, landed at #15 on the list, which is not too shabby at all.

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If you want to know which state is first, last, or anywhere in between, you can scroll over the map below, or you can dive into the sea of data when you look at the full report here.

Source: WalletHub

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