How many licensed registered nurses are there in the U.S.?
• There are 3,063,162 licensed registered nurses in the United States.
Men are what percentage of the total nursing population?
• Approximately 294,063 RNs are men – only 9.6% of the total nursing population.
What is the average age of an RN in the United States?
• Only 10.6% of all RNs are under the age of 30. The average age of the RN population in the United States is 46 years.
Are male nurses generally younger than female nurses?
• The median age for male RNs licensed in 2000 or later is 35, compared with 31 for female RNs.
How do minority nurses self-identify?
• Approximately 5.4% are Black or African American (non-Hispanic); 5.5% are Asian (non-Hispanic); 0.3% are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic); 3.6% are Hispanic or Latino; 0.3% are American Indian or Alaskan Native (non-Hispanic); and 1.7% categorize themselves as two or more races and non-Hispanic.
How many nurses identify themselves as black (non-Hispanic)?
• There are approximately 165,352 black (non-Hispanic) nurses.
How many nurses self-identify as Hispanic or Latino?
• There are approximately 109,387 Hispanic/Latino nurses.
How many nurses identify themselves as being Asian (non-Hispanic)?
• There are approximately 169,454 Asian (non-Hispanic) nurses.
How many nurses identify themselves as being Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander?
• There are approximately 9,528 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander nurses.
What is the total number of American Indian or Alaskan Native nurses in the United States?
• There are approximately 8,571 American Indian/Alaskan Native nurses.
What percentage of the registered nursing population is employed in nursing?
• 84.8% of the RN population, or an estimated 2,596,599 RNs, were employed in nursing.
What is the primary workplace setting for the largest number of RNs?
• Hospitals are the primary practice setting for 1,601,831 or 61.7% of all RNs.
• 7.8% of all nurses work in public/community health settings.
Which region of the U.S. has the largest number of minority nurses?
• The Pacific area of the United States has the highest percentage of minority nurses (30.5%).
In which region(s) of the U.S. would one find the largest number of black and/or African American nurses?
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) nurses were more prevalent among the nurse populations in the South Atlantic (9.5%), West South Central (8.8%), and East South Central (7.7%) areas than elsewhere.
In which region(s) is one most likely to be an Hispanic or Latino nurse?
• Hispanic or Latino nurses were more likely to be found among the nurses in the West South Central (7.8%), Pacific (6.7%), and Mountain (6.1%) areas
What is the largest minority nurse group in the Parcific region?
• The predominant minority nurse group in the Pacific area were those of Asian background; 16% of the nurse population. Asian nurses were also more likely to be a part of the nurse population in the Middle Atlantic and West South Central areas (7.3% and 5.6%, respectively) than in other parts of the country.
Which nursing group is most likely to have a Bachelor's degree?
• Asian/Pacific Islander nurses are more likely than all other nurses to have at least baccalaureate preparation.
Which nursing group holds the largest number of graduates degrees?
• 14.6% of black nurses have master's or doctoral degrees, compared to 13.4% of Caucasian nurses.
Source: The Registered Nurse Population: Findings from the 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. This survey is published approximately every four years by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
What is the average annual salary for a full-time RN?
• The average annual earnings for all full-time employed RNs are $66,973.
What are the average annual earnings for a staff nurse?
• Average annual earnings for staff nurses are $61,706.
What is the average salary of a nurse who holds a graduate degree?
• The average annual salary for nurses with a master’s or doctorate degree is $87,363.
Which nursing specialization has the highest general annual salary?
• Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) have the highest earnings of all employed nurses, averaging $154,221 annually.
What is the average annual salary of a nurse practitioner?
• Nurse practitioners have average annual earnings of $85,025.
What is the average annual salary for a nurse midwife?
• Average annual earnings for nurse midwives are $82,111.
What is the average salary for a masters-educated clinical nurse specialist?
• Clinical nurse specialists with master's degrees have average annual earnings of $80,195.
On average, how much can an RN working in the Pacific region expect to earn?
• The average annual salary for a RN working in the Pacific regions is $76,665.
What is the average annual salary for a staff RN in New England?
• The average annual salary for a staff RN working in New England is $65,799.
What is the average salary of an RN working in the Middle Atlantic?
• The average annual salary for a staff RN working in the Middle Atlantic region is $66,228.
How much can an RN working in the East North Central region expect to make on average?
• The average annual salary for a staff RN working in the East North Central region is $57,356.
Source: The Registered Nurse Population: Findings from the 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. This survey is published approximately every four years by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
For more recent statistics, check out our annual salary survey results here.
• In 2005, African American women were 10% less likely to have been diagnosed with breast cancer, however, they were 34% more likely to die from breast cancer, compared to non-Hispanic white women.
• Asian/Pacific Islander women were 30% less likely to have breast cancer as non-Hispanic white women.
• In 2004, Hispanic men were 13% less likely to have prostate cancer as non-Hispanic white men.
• In 2004, Hispanic women were 33% less likely to have breast cancer as non-Hispanic white women.
• In 2004, Hispanic women were twice as likely as non-Hispanic white women to be diagnosed with cervical cancer.
• African American adults were 1.9 times more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to have been diagnosed with diabetes by a physician.
• American Indian/Alaska Native adults were 1.6 times as likely as White adults to be obese.
• American Indian/Alaska Native adults were 2.3 times as likely as white adults to be diagnosed with diabetes.
• American Indian/Alaska Native adults were 1.3 times as likely as White adults to have high blood pressure.
• American Indian/Alaska Native adults are 1.4 times as likely as White adults to be current cigarette smokers.
• In Hawaii, Native Hawaiians have more than twice the rate of diabetes as Whites.
• Asians are 20% less likely than non-Hispanic whites to die from diabetes.
• Mexican American adults were 2 times more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to have been diagnosed with diabetes by a physician.
• In Hawaii, Native Hawaiians are more than 5.7 times as likely as Whites living in Hawaii to die from diabetes.
• Filipinos living in Hawaii have more than 3 times the death rate as Whites living in Hawaii.
• Overall, Asian/Pacific Islander adults are less likely than white adults to have heart disease and they are less likely to die from heart disease compared to non-Hispanic whites.
• In 2006, Hispanics were 10% less likely to have heart disease, as compared to non-Hispanic whites.
• In 2005 Mexican American men were 30% less likely to die from heart disease, as compared to non-Hispanic white men.
• Mexican American women were 1.2 times more likely than non-Hispanic white women to be obese.
• One Asian/Pacific Islander child was diagnosed with AIDS in 2006.
• In 2006, Hispanics were 10% less likely to have heart disease, as compared to non-Hispanic whites.
• In 2005 Mexican American men were 30% less likely to die from heart disease, as compared to non-Hispanic white men.
• Mexican American women were 1.2 times more likely than non-Hispanic white women to be obese.
• From 2001-2004, African American women were 70% more likely to be obese than Non-Hispanic White women.
• In 2005 Hispanics were 1.6 times as likely as non-Hispanic Whites to die from diabetes.
• American Indian/Alaska Native women have twice the AIDS rate of non-Hispanic white women.
• Although African Americans make up only 13% of the total U.S. population, they accounted for 47% of HIV/AIDS cases in 2006.
• Hispanics accounted for 18% of HIV/AIDS cases in 2006.
• Hispanic males had over 3 times the AIDS rate as non-Hispanic white males.
• Hispanic females had over 5 times the AIDS rate as non-Hispanic white females.
• African American adults are twice as likely than their White adult counterparts to have a stroke.
• African American males were 60% more likely to die from a stroke than their White adult counterparts.
• In general, Asian/Pacific Islander adults have lower rates of being overweight or obese, lower rates of hypertension, and they are less likely to be current cigarette smokers, as compared to white adults.
• In general, American Indian/Alaska Native adults are 60% more likely to have a stroke than their White adult counterparts.
• American Indian/Alaska Native women have twice the rate of stroke than White women..
• In 2005 Hispanic women were 25% less likely to die from a stroke than non-Hispanic white women.
• African Americans had asthma-related emergency room visits 4.5 times more often than Whites in 2004.
• American Indian/Alaska Native children were 30% more likely to be diagnosed with asthma, in 2007.
• Asian Americans generally have lower rates of asthma than the White population, but they had a 50% greater death rate in 2003.
• Puerto Rican Americans have almost three times the asthma rate as compared to the overall Hispanic population.
• Puerto Ricans report 2.5 times more asthma attacks per year than non-Hispanic Whites
• From 2003-2005, African American children had an Asthma death rate 7 times that of non-Hispanic White children.
Source: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, 2009, http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov.
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