Nursing Workforce Intelligence

We don't just list jobs.
We understand the nurse market.

The RN Network is built on a community of 200,000+ nursing professionals — which means we see how nurses think about pay, burnout, and their next move before it shows up in your turnover report.

Every week, we turn that signal into a free briefing for healthcare employers. The hiring data that actually moves your numbers, in five minutes.

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The Hiring Intelligence Report

Nurse turnover, vacancy, salary, and pipeline data — curated for the people who hire nurses. Delivered every week.

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200,000+Nurse Community
50States Represented
WeeklyIntelligence Briefing
CitedNSI · BLS · NCSBN · AMN
The State of Nurse Hiring

Nurse hiring is the hardest labor market in healthcare — and most employers are flying blind in it. The numbers below aren't ours. They come from the field's most-cited workforce reports.

Read them together and one thing is clear: the cost of a slow, reactive hiring process has never been higher. Here's what the data says — and what you can do about each piece of it.

01 — The Cost of Getting It Wrong

Every nurse who leaves is a six-figure event.

Turnover isn't an HR metric. It's one of the largest controllable line items on a hospital's budget — and it compounds with every open shift.

$60,090
Average cost to replace a single staff RN in 2025
NSI, 2026
$5.19M
Lost by the average hospital every year to RN turnover
NSI, 2026
$289K
Swing per single percentage-point change in RN turnover
NSI
1 in 5
New RNs leave within their first year on the job
NSI
What you can do about it

Stop paying $60K to find out a hire didn't fit.

A bad placement isn't free — it's the most expensive thing in your recruiting budget. Talent Scout flips the risk: we source pre-qualified nurses from our community and deliver them to you, and you pay only when you actually hire. No upfront fee, no agency markup.

Explore Talent Scout →
02 — The Clock Is the Enemy

Turnover is up, and roles are staying open longer.

After a brief dip, the churn reversed. Hospitals are losing nurses faster than they can backfill — and the search drags on for months.

What you can do about it

Get your opening in front of nurses today — not in 80 days.

Every day a role sits open compounds the cost in overtime, travelers, and burnout. Don't bury your listing on a general job board next to plumbers and truck drivers. Post it directly to 200,000+ nurses who already trust this community — your first posting is free, and featured plans put you at the top.

Post a Job — Free →
17.6%
National RN turnover rate — up 1.2 points year over year
NSI, 2026
8.6%
National RN vacancy rate
NSI, 2026
33%
Of hospitals report a vacancy rate of 10% or higher
NSI, 2026
56–102
Days to recruit one experienced RN
NSI, 2026
03 — The Shrinking Pipeline

A large share of the workforce is headed for the door.

The supply side is the real story. An aging, burned-out workforce means the nurse you need next year may not be in the active applicant pool at all.

~40%
Of RNs intend to leave the workforce or retire by 2029
NCSBN, 2024
138,000+
Nurses left the workforce between 2022 and 2024
NCSBN, 2024
50
Median age of the U.S. nursing workforce
NCSBN, 2024
58%
Of nurses feel burned out most days; only 39% expect to stay in their role a year
AMN, 2025
What you can do about it

When 40% are leaving, you can't wait for applicants.

The best nurses aren't browsing job boards — they're passive, employed, and quietly open to the right offer. Search the Nurse Talent Database to find verified nursing professionals by specialty, license, and location, and reach out before your competitor does.

Search the Talent Database →
04 — The Demand Curve

Demand isn't slowing. Your competition for talent isn't either.

With openings projected in the hundreds of thousands every year, the employers who win are the ones nurses already recognize and trust before they ever start looking.

What you can do about it

Be the name nurses already know.

In a market this competitive, brand is recruitment. A Facility Spotlight gives you priority placement in nurse directory searches, and sponsorship across our podcast, newsletter, and social puts your employer brand in front of nurses long before they're job-hunting — so when they do move, they think of you first.

See Facility Spotlight →
189,100
RN openings projected every year through 2034
BLS
$93,600
Median annual RN wage (May 2024)
BLS
35%
Projected growth for nurse practitioners — among the fastest-growing occupations in the country
BLS
3.4M
Registered nurses currently employed in the U.S.
BLS

This page is a snapshot. Subscribers get it every week.

The Hiring Intelligence Report turns the latest nurse workforce data into a five-minute briefing for healthcare employers — so your hiring strategy is built on what's happening now, not last year's numbers. It's free.

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Hiring Solutions

Everything you need to hire nurses, in one place.

Intelligence is where it starts. When you're ready to act, here's the full toolkit — from a free first job post to a complete recruitment partnership.

Employer Registration

One free account for every hiring solution on The RN Network. Start here.

Create account →

Post a Job

Reach 200,000+ nurses actively managing their careers. Your first posting is free.

Post a job →

Job Board Plans

Featured placement and unlimited posting plans for higher-volume hiring.

Compare plans →

Nurse Talent Database

Search verified nursing professionals by specialty, license, and location.

Search talent →

Talent Scout

We source pre-qualified candidates and you pay only when you hire. No upfront fee.

Learn more →

Facility Spotlight & Sponsorship

Priority directory placement and brand exposure across podcast, newsletter, and social.

Grow your brand →

Sources & Methodology

Turnover, vacancy, cost-per-hire, and time-to-fill figures: NSI 2026 National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report (input from 527 hospitals across 40 states).
Employment projections, openings, median wage, and workforce size: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook (2024–2034 projections).
Intent-to-leave, departures, and median age: NCSBN 2024 National Nursing Workforce Study (survey of 800,000+ nurses).
Burnout and retention sentiment: AMN Healthcare 2025 Survey of Registered Nurses (12,000+ respondents).
Employer FAQ

Common Questions

A short weekly briefing built for people who hire nurses: the latest turnover, vacancy, salary, and time-to-fill data, emerging specialty demand, and what it means for your recruiting strategy — distilled to a five-minute read. We cite our sources so you can trust and share the numbers.
Once a week, and yes — it's completely free. We don't sell your information, and you can unsubscribe in one click anytime.
It's nurse-specific and community-sourced. Because The RN Network is a 200,000+ member nursing community, we see workforce signals — pay expectations, burnout, mobility — directly from nurses, then pair that with the field's most-cited national reports. You won't find that combination anywhere else.
Create a free employer account, then choose the path that fits: post a job to reach nurses today, search the Nurse Talent Database to find passive candidates, or use Talent Scout to have us source for you and pay only on hire. All of it is in the Hiring Solutions section above.
Yes. For enterprise hiring we offer custom packages including dedicated support, sponsored campaigns, and brand partnerships. Email info@rnnet.org and we'll build something around your volume.