Nurses are often underappreciated, but which are the 11 worst states to be a nurse? The profession of nursing has been much maligned throughout history, especially in TV shows and movies where it is considered to be a degrading choice made by those not good enough to become doctors. Nurses aim to take care of people in order to improve their quality of life or help them recover from an illness or injury or any other malady. While most nurses tend to operate under physicians or doctors, which in turn has lent credence to the aforementioned myth of nurses being unsuccessful doctors, contrary to popular belief, nurses are allowed to be independent as well. Furthermore, nurses are actually paid well, as can be seen in the 10 highest paying states for nurses in America.
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In the United States, there is no federal overseeing of nurses in the country. Instead, each state generally has a board of nursing which makes up the rules regarding nursing and is also tasked with the duty of ensuring that the aforementioned rules and regulations are upheld and followed throughout the state. This in turn has led to wild fluctuations in how nurses are treated from state to state. Nowadays, not only do nurses work under doctors, they often operate independently as well and nearly a quarter of all nurses are even part of trade unions as well.
We set out to determine the 11 worst states to be a nurse. To create our ranking, we first considered the average salaries of nurses in all the states. Salary is probably the most important feature of any job and hence that has been our primary consideration. We also considered the total number of nurses in each state as well. While this statistic may be slightly misleading since it will vary according to populations, it still gives a good idea of the number of jobs available. All the statistics were traced from Nurse salary guide. Using multiple criteria allows us to cancel out the inherent biases present in any method or criteria and hence, create an accurate ranking.
11. Alabama
Total nurses in the state: 43,760
Ranking according to total nurses in the state: 22
Annual salary in the state: $55,270
Ranking according to annual salary in the state: 47
Overall score: 15.5
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9. Kansas
Total nurses in the state: 26,380
Ranking according to total nurses in the state: 32
Annual salary in the state: $56,040
Ranking according to annual salary in the state: 43
Overall score: 12.5
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9. Oklahoma
Total nurses in the state: 26,850
Ranking according to total nurses in the state: 31
Annual salary in the state: $55,980
Ranking according to annual salary in the state: 44
Overall score: 12.5
8. Nebraska
Total nurses in the state: 18,590
Ranking according to total nurses in the state: 34
Annual salary in the state: $56,350
Ranking according to annual salary in the state: 42
Overall score: 12
5. Arkansas
Total nurses in the state: 23,480
Ranking according to total nurses in the state: 33
Annual salary in the state: $55,36o
Ranking according to annual salary in the state: 46
Overall score: 10.5
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5. Iowa
Total nurses in the state: 32,170
Ranking according to total nurses in the state: 28
Annual salary in the state: $52,540
Ranking according to annual salary in the state: 51
Overall score: 10.5
5. Montana
Total nurses in the state: 8,400
Ranking according to total nurses in the state: 47
Annual salary in the state: $59,920
Ranking according to annual salary in the state: 33
Overall score: 10
4. Wyoming
Total nurses in the state: 4,460
Ranking according to total nurses in the state: 51
Annual salary in the state: $60,690
Ranking according to annual salary in the state: 32
Overall score: 8.5
3. West Virginia
Total nurses in the state: 17,440
Ranking according to total nurses in the state: 36
Annual salary in the state: $54,490
Ranking according to annual salary in the state: 48
Overall score: 8
2. South Dakota
Total nurses in the state: 11,030
Ranking according to total nurses in the state: 44
Annual salary in the state: $52,800
Ranking according to annual salary in the state: 50
Overall score: 3
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1. North Dakota
Total nurses in the state: 7,580
Ranking according to total nurses in the state: 48
Annual salary in the state: $53,520
Ranking according to annual salary in the state: 49
Overall score: 1.5
North Dakota is the worst state to be a nurse. The average salary is an incredible 11% lower than the national average itself. Despite this, there are many schools in North Dakota where you can earn a professional nursing degree, mainly due to the fact that it is the top career available in healthcare.
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