North Dakota Ranks Near Bottom On Best States For Nurses

Americans have been championing healthcare workers, and especially nurses, over the last several years, especially due to the tireless work they undertook during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like with any job, some states are better for some occupations than others, and a recent study from WalletHub finds that North Dakota ranks among the bottom for nurses to work.

WalletHub took a deep dive into the nursing industry to give registered nurses insight on how to find a landing spot that will be best for them and their careers.

The study took a look at all 50 states across 20 key metrics across two key dimensions to rank each state: Opportunity & Competition and Work Environment.

Metrics in the opportunity & competition category included factors like cost-of-living-adjusted nurse salaries, health-care facility availability, job openings, projected competition, and nursing school quality. Meanwhile, the work environment score considered elements such as mandatory overtime laws, nurse-to-bed ratios, job growth, licensure flexibility, public hospital quality, and overall support for working mothers.

Source: WalletHub

As you can see above, North Dakota came in ranked 48th in the nation, or the 3rd worst state for nurses. South Dakota was not far behind, coming in at 45th.

Meanwhile, our neighbors to the east and west rank 8th (Minnesota) and 15th (Montana)

Below is a complete list of each state and how they ranked in each metric category.

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Best States to Work as a Nurse

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Opportunity & Competition Rank	Work Environment Rank
1	Washington	64.16	5	2
2	New Hampshire	62.07	8	1
3	Oregon	60.06	15	3
4	Arizona	59.23	2	19
5	Maine	58.79	11	9
6	New Mexico	58.10	1	38
7	Massachusetts	57.28	26	6
8	Minnesota	56.77	24	8
9	Illinois	55.67	17	11
10	Connecticut	55.29	36	4
11	Missouri	54.74	13	22
12	Florida	54.24	3	39
13	Texas	54.07	27	14
14	West Virginia	53.97	19	21
15	Montana	53.94	4	36
16	California	53.64	22	20
17	New York	53.34	29	17
18	Rhode Island	52.99	41	7
19	Georgia	52.57	7	35
20	Wisconsin	52.44	16	27
21	Nevada	52.41	12	32
22	North Carolina	52.28	6	41
23	Idaho	51.57	23	28
24	Alaska	51.31	39	10
25	Iowa	51.28	20	29
26	Pennsylvania	50.94	32	23
27	South Carolina	50.69	10	42
28	Wyoming	50.59	21	31
29	Ohio	50.38	14	40
30	Indiana	50.32	18	34
31	New Jersey	50.07	42	15
32	Utah	49.88	47	5
33	Maryland	49.73	43	13
34	Colorado	48.77	38	24
35	Virginia	48.42	25	43
36	Delaware	48.36	37	26
37	Michigan	48.34	9	46
38	Kentucky	48.25	33	30
39	Kansas	47.46	35	33
40	Arkansas	46.04	31	44
41	Nebraska	44.84	46	25
42	Tennessee	44.59	34	45
43	Vermont	44.42	48	16
44	Mississippi	43.66	30	49
45	South Dakota	43.39	49	12
46	Louisiana	42.98	28	50
47	Hawaii	42.35	45	37
48	North Dakota	41.67	50	18
49	Alabama	41.16	40	47
50	Oklahoma	38.80	44	48