New nursing graduates have the best opportunity to succeed in the profession in the state of Washington, according to a new analysis.
The WalletHub financing site on Tuesday released its findings on the best and worst states to work as a nurse, using 21 key metrics to analyze the “most favorable conditions” for the rankings.
The research team specifically used federal and other publicly-available national data to compare the states across two dimensions — “opportunity and competition” and “work environment.” They used a 100-point scale.
States could score a maximum of 70 points in the opportunity and competition section, which included considerations for annual salary for nurses, elderly population in the state and job openings.
There was a maximum of 30 points states could earn under the work environment section, which took into account the amount of top-rated nursing homes in the state, job growth and mandatory overtime restrictions.
Washington state earned the highest total score of 61.61 after being ranked in the top 10 in each of the two dimensions, researchers found.
There should be plenty of opportunities for long-term care nurses there. A separate analysis in late April found that Washington was among the top five states that reported the highest shares of long-term care facilities with staffing shortages.
Maine, New Mexico, Minnesota and New Hampshire rounded out the top five states as best places for nurses. The bottom five states were Oklahoma, Alabama, Hawaii, Arkansas and Mississippi — all of which scored lower than 41 points on the scale.
Findings also showed that Florida had the highest projected percent of seniors by 2030, followed by Maine, Wyoming, New Mexico and Montana — which could mean more opportunities at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in the future. Utah, Alaska, Texas, Georgia and Colorado are expected to have the lowest share of seniors by 2030.
“The U.S. has gained a profound appreciation for nurses during the coronavirus pandemic, as they risk their lives every day to minimize the spread of the disease, and are now helping the country get vaccinated so things can return to normal,” managing editor John S. Kiernan wrote.
“It’s crucial for states to make sure that nurses are properly equipped to do their jobs and have the best work environment possible,” he added.
