Tool · free, no account
Where is it easiest to open: General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
51 states, side by side. Operator counts and wages from Census and BLS; licence records matched on “SOC 29-1141” (soc) for Registered Nurses. A blank gate means NO RECORD MATCHED, which is not the same as no licence.
| State | Operators | Avg staff | Pay / employee | Gate | Licence titles matched |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 569 | 989.7 | $107,008 | licence | Certified Nurse Assistant; Clinical Nurse Specialist |
| TX | 303 | 1079.1 | $83,261 | licence | NURSE, REGISTERED (RN) |
| FL | 268 | 1196.2 | $77,512 | exam | Advanced Practice Registered Nurse; Registered Nurse (RN) |
| PA | 172 | 1383.4 | $71,842 | exam | Registered Professional Nurse |
| NY | 168 | 2303.1 | $96,516 | exam | Clinical Nurse Specialist; Registered Professional Nurse |
| IL | 130 | 1367.8 | $82,572 | exam | ECRN - EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION REGISTE; NURSE, ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED |
| OH | 118 | 1928.7 | $78,787 | licence | Registered Nurse |
| MI | 87 | 1648.1 | $71,715 | exam | Medical Doctor, Educational Limited (M; Nurse Practitioner |
| WI | 85 | 952.2 | $69,949 | exam | REGISTERED NURSE; SCHOOL NURSE |
| NJ | 79 | 1782.4 | $82,691 | exam | ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSE (NURSE PRACTIT; REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL NURSE (RN) |
| NC | 78 | 1265.8 | $78,754 | exam | Clinical Nurse Specialist; Registered Nurse |
| LA | 75 | 1022.8 | $76,840 | exam | Nurse, Registered; Nurse, School |
| AZ | 75 | 1272.5 | $86,700 | licence | Clinical Nurse Specialist; Registered Nurse |
| MO | 72 | 1414.5 | $72,637 | exam | Acute Care Nurse; Adult Health Care Nurse |
| MA | 67 | 2569.7 | $83,580 | exam | CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALIST (CNS); NURSE, REGISTERED (RN) |
| WA | 63 | 1460.2 | $98,427 | exam | Educational staff associate; Nurse |
| GA | 56 | 1835.1 | $78,946 | exam | Advanced Practice - CNS; Advanced Practice - CNS/PMH |
| TN | 55 | 1781.5 | $84,683 | exam | REGISTERED NURSE; REGISTERED NURSE FIRST ASSISTANT |
| MN | 52 | 1679.5 | $82,633 | licence | Border State Registry; Public Health Nurse Registration Certi |
| OK | 50 | 903.7 | $79,533 | exam | Multistate (MSL) Registered Nurse (RN); Nurse, Registered |
| IN | 49 | 1368.8 | $70,882 | exam | Registered Nurse; Temporary RN Permit |
| CO | 47 | 1493.5 | $84,493 | exam | Clinical Nurse Specialists; Registered Nurse |
| SC | 37 | 1484.0 | $71,533 | licence | Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (AP; APRN Temporary Permit |
| KS | 36 | 731.6 | $74,488 | exam | Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner; Registered Nurse (RN) |
| OR | 35 | 1677.1 | $95,718 | licence | Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS); Clinical Nurse Specialist Re-Entry & L |
| VA | 33 | 1570.7 | $84,324 | exam | Nurse, Registered; Nurse Specialist, Clinical |
| AL | 32 | 1747.7 | $66,982 | exam | Registered Nurse (RN) |
| MD | 31 | 2312.7 | $88,247 | exam | Clinical Nurse Specialist Certificatio; NURSE |
| NV | 30 | 1215.0 | $82,410 | not matched | — |
| IA | 29 | 1409.5 | $69,569 | exam | Registered Nurse (RN) |
| UT | 27 | 1319.2 | $70,793 | licence | ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSE; REGISTERED NURSE |
| NH | 26 | 953.8 | $76,667 | exam | Nurse, Advanced Practice Registered (A; Nurse, Registered (RN) |
| ME | 25 | 919.8 | $83,668 | exam | Clinical Nurse Specialist (Advanced Pr; Nurse, Registered |
| AR | 24 | 1666.5 | $81,232 | exam | Advanced Practice Registered Nurse: C; Licensed Psychiatric Technician Nurse |
| HI | 23 | 800.3 | $94,222 | exam | Advanced Practice Registered Nurse; Registered Nurse |
| NE | 22 | 1106.4 | $79,476 | licence | Clinical Nurse Specialist (APRN-CNS); Registered Nurse (RN) |
| NM | 21 | 1049.9 | $83,249 | exam | Clinical Nurse Specialist; Registered Nurse |
| CT | 21 | 1891.8 | $78,355 | exam | Advanced Practice Registered Nurse; Registered Nurse |
| KY | 19 | 1796.4 | $75,460 | exam | Nurse, Clinical Specialist (APRN); Registered Nurse |
| MS | 19 | 1294.6 | $80,033 | exam | Registered Nurse |
| WV | 17 | 1422.5 | $67,475 | not matched | — |
| ID | 15 | 1034.1 | $74,492 | exam | Registered Nurse (RN) |
| DC | 12 | 2148.8 | $85,564 | exam | Clinical Nurse Specialists; NURSE, REGISTERED |
| SD | 11 | 1695.1 | $69,437 | licence | Clinical Nurse Specialist; Nurse, Registered |
| DE | 10 | 1982.6 | $94,445 | exam | Advanced Practice Registered Nurse; Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Tem |
| RI | 8 | 2155.9 | $72,006 | exam | Nurse Practitioner; Nurse, Registered |
| AK | 8 | 1010.4 | $103,689 | licence | Advanced Practice Registered Nurses; Registered Nurse (RN) |
| WY | 7 | 409.1 | $64,988 | exam | ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSE; REGISTERED NURSE |
| MT | 6 | 510.8 | $62,861 | exam | Nursing - Registered Nurse |
| ND | 5 | 1750.8 | $84,083 | exam | Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (A; Registered Nurses (RN) |
| VT | 3 | 629.3 | $106,739 | exam | Advanced Practice Registered Nurse; Midwife |
Axes are shown side by side and deliberately NOT collapsed into a ranking. A composite would be a score with no measured interval, and an unmeasured score is the thing this product exists to argue against. A high licence gate is a cost to enter and a moat once cleared — which of those matters more is the operator's call, not ours.
Licence data courtesy of CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. Free to read, no account, always — a condition of the data licence as well as our own position.