Low-wage workers saw big pay jumps after the pandemic. Get the latest from the ADP Research Institute’s Data Lab.

Occupation spotlight: Registered nurses

December 12, 2023

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We covered this research in the December edition of Today at Work, along with research about student loan debt, workplace stress, and more.

High demand and short supply

The U.S. has suffered from a shortage of registered nurses since long before the pandemic. Burnout, high turnover, an aging population, and a lack of sufficient educators all have contributed to the undersupply of these critical health care workers.

In a companion post, the ADP Research Institute looked at where nurses — all nurses1Except nursing assistants — go when they quit the profession. In this post, we look at the employment and wages of registered nurses to obtain a clearer picture of what’s happening in this occupation.

We found a dramatic imbalance in supply and demand and large regional differences in nursing employment.

This report is built on data from employers that were active ADP clients from 2018 through 2023.

An infographic showing the gender distribution (83% female, 17% male), average age (43 years), and base salary of registered nurses ($89K per year compared to $57K or all U.S. workers).