Prime places to work as a nurse in 2026

Like a mirror image on a USA map folded in half vertically, the four best states for nurses are two nextdoor neighbors in the upper Northeast and two in the Pacific Northwest. 

In order, the four are Maine, New Hampshire, Washington and Oregon. 

Arizona lands in the five spot, with West Virginia, Minnesota, Montana, Connecticut and Florida rounding out the top 10.

The rankings are from WalletHub. 

The prolific compiler of “best states” lists arrived at its nursing honor roll by comparing the 50 states across 20 key metrics. 

These included such factors as nursing job openings per capita, average salaries,  mandatory overtime restrictions and the quality of nursing homes.

“Despite the difficulties of the occupation, nurses are generally well-rewarded for their life-saving work,” WalletHub notes. “Nursing is one of the most lucrative careers, with a mean annual wage of more than $98,000 and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S.”

To this WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo adds that, because nursing work is quite demanding, nurses “deserve to work in places that will compensate them appropriately and offer them reasonable working conditions.”

So it is that WalletHub’s best states for nurses have in common several attributes. 

Not least among these are high salaries, mandatory overtime limits, high-quality healthcare facilities and ample job opportunities. 

Why Maine? 

The Pine Tree State—which to many New Englanders is the unofficial “lobster state”—is the single best state to work as a nurse in 2026, WalletHub explains, largely because it “boasts one of the largest number of nursing and residential care facilities per capita.”

Hence Maine’s abundance of job opportunities for nurses. 

Meanwhile Maine’s population is among the oldest in the nation. By 2050, the state is expected to have the highest percentage of residents 65 or older. This means it will continue needing a lot of nurses for years to come.  

In addition, Maine has the fifth-lowest average tuition costs per credit for a bachelor of nursing science online program, which “can help people get their degrees without going into too much debt,” WalletHub comments. 

Last year, this year 

WalletHub’s 2026 list for nurses is closely similar to 2025’s. In fact the top five states are the same; only the order has changed. Last year Washington occupied the top rung and was followed by, in order, New Hampshire, Oregon, Arizona and Maine. 

Here’s the full list from WalletHub’s current rankings of the best states for nurses:

1. Maine
2. New Hampshire
3. Washington
4. Oregon
5. Arizona
6. West Virginia
7. Minnesota 
8. Montana 
9. Connecticut
10. Florida
11. New York
12. New Mexico
13. Nevada
14. Massachusetts
15. Idaho
16. Alaska
17. Illinois
18. Iowa
19. Missouri
20. South Carolina
21. Wyoming
22. Pennsylvania
23. Rhode Island
24. Texas
25. North Carolina
26. Delaware
27. California
28. Maryland
29. Wisconsin
30. New Jersey
31. Indiana
32. Kansas
33. Georgia
34. Kentucky
35. Nebraska
36. Ohio
37. Michigan
38. Colorado
39. Utah
40. Vermont
41. Virginia
42. Hawaii
43. Arkansas
44. Tennessee
45. Louisiana
46. South Dakota
47. Mississippi
48. Alabama
49. North Dakota
50. Oklahoma

As of press time, WalletHub had not yet posted full coverage of its latest “Best & Worst States for Nurses” project. When it does, it’s likely to be available here.