2017’s Best & Worst States for Nurses; America’s Oldest Working Nurse

National Nurses Week is in full swing and we have a few tidbits to share. National Nurses Day is celebrated annually on May 6 to raise awareness of the important role nurses play in society. It marks the beginning of National Nurses Week, which ends on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale. As with any profession some places are better to work than others. The personal-finance website, Wallethub (@wallethub), recently released its report on 2017’s Best & Worst States for Nurses. Find out where your state ranks. Also, another Florence makes news this week.

2017’s Best and Worst States for Nurses
In order to help newly minted nurses find the best markets for their profession, WalletHub’s analysts compared the relative attractiveness of the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 18 key metrics. The data set ranges from monthly average starting salary for nurses to health-care facilities per capita to nursing-job openings per capita. Be sure to check out the complete report. We’ve listed some highlights below:

Five Best States for Nurses: Wisconsin, New Mexico, Iowa, Texas and Colorado

Five Worst Sates for Nurses: DC, Hawaii, New York, Louisiana and Alabama

Best vs. Worst

• Nevada has the highest annual mean wage for registered nurses (adjusted for cost of living), $80,182, which is about 1.5 times higher than in Hawaii, registering the lowest at $53,112.
• Nevada has the lowest current competition (number of nurses per 1,000 residents), 8.39, which is 2.3 times lower than in the District of Columbia, registering the highest at 19.63.
• Nevada has the lowest future competition (projected number of nurses per 1,000 residents by 2024), 7.02, which is 4.4 times lower than in the District of Columbia, registering the highest at 30.71.
• Florida has the highest projected share of the population aged 65 and older by year 2030, 27.08 percent, which is two times higher than in Utah, registering the lowest at 13.21 percent.
• Vermont has the highest ratio of nurses to hospital beds, 5.6, which is 2.4 times higher than in Wyoming, registering the lowest at 2.3.
• South Dakota has the shortest average commute time, 16.9 minutes, which is 1.9 times shorter than in Maryland and New York, both registering the longest at 32.3 minutes.

It’s almost National Nurses Week! If you’re looking for a job in that field, these markets are your best bet: https://t.co/VQ70u4GfOk pic.twitter.com/BcGMl3p1Cs

— WalletHub (@wallethub) May 3, 2017

Meet America’s Oldest Working Nurse
Best Tweet so far during National Nurses Week! Florence “SeeSee” Rigney turned 92 on Monday making her the nation’s oldest working registered nurse. NBC Nightly News reports, “She’s been in hospitals as long as penicillin.” Be sure to catch the video below:

Meet Florence ‘See See’ Rigney, America’s ‘oldest working registered nurse’ https://t.co/3mYnK7Sfes

— Raymond Gibbs (@raygibbs1) May 3, 2017