States with the most, fewest licensed nurses per capita
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing found the District of Columbia has the most licensed nurses per capita, while Utah is the state with the fewest for the second year in a row.
The organization created a course of nursing licensure statistics in the U.S. and its territories. The data was compiled using the NCSBN’s database and Nursys, an electronic information system where regulatory bodies enter licensure data. All of the council’s 58 members shared licensure data, which amounted to 6,903,665 registered and practical nurses — up from 6,870,362 last year.
According to the data, Wyoming and Vermont had the fewest licensed nurses in their states overall, at 9,620 and 13,528, respectively. Meanwhile, California and New York had the most licensed nurses at 708,141 and 610,207, respectively.
Becker’s used 2025 Census data to calculate how many nurses are in each state per 100,000 population. Here are the five with the most and the five with the fewest nurses.
Most
| State | Total Nurses | 2025 population | Nurses per 100,000 |
| District of Columbia | 51,923 | 693,645 | 7,485 |
| Alaska | 23,138 | 737,270 | 3,139 |
| New York | 610,207 | 20,002,427 | 3,051 |
| Minnesota | 156,970 | 5,830,405 | 2,693 |
| Massachusetts | 191,320 | 7,154,084 | 2,674 |
Fewest
| State | Total Nurses | 2025 population | Nurses per 100,000 |
| Utah | 49,500 | 3,538,904 | 1,399 |
| Washington | 116,988 | 8,001,020 | 1,462 |
| Georgia | 177,673 | 11,302,748 | 1,572 |
| Idaho | 31,942 | 2,029,733 | 1,574 |
| Texas | 529,511 | 31,709,821 | 1,670 |
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