A new report by the New York Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany’s School of Public Health finds that the District of Columbia has the most registered nurses per capita in the country, with 2,093 RNs per 100,000 population. California has more than 200,000 actively practicing RNs, the most of any state, but has the fewest RNs per capita (588). The United States Health Workforce Profile details the supply, distribution, and education of health personnel in all 50 states and the District of Columbia using data from 2004. The report provides a description of the country’s health workforce at state, regional, and national levels and includes information on health status indicators and healthcare employment by setting.
Other key findings of the report are that Massachusetts had nearly 50% more physicians (303 per 100,000) than the national average and nearly double the ratio of Mississippi (157). The nation’s 50,000 physician assistants were most heavily concentrated in the Northeast, but Alaska and South Dakota had the most PAs per capita, and Mississippi and Arkansas had the fewest. The number of PA degrees awarded rose 1,700% in the past decade. Arkansas, D.C., Louisiana, North Dakota, and West Virginia led the nation in licensed practical nurses per capita. D.C., Maine, Delaware, Vermont, and Connecticut were the top five states for social workers per capita.
