08/07/2026
Nursing staffing is projected to get even lower in Wisconsin & across the country over the next few years. It is now more critical than ever that we retain our rural nurses.
RWHC’s Nurse Residency program does just that. Over the course of a year, new nurses from Rural Wisconsin Hospitals meet to network, hone in on vital skills, and receive the support they need to thrive. Registration for both of our next cohorts is open. Learn more here: https://www.rwhc.com/Services/Educational-Services/Nurse-Residency-Program
Nurse.org just published its first-ever Nursing Workforce Benchmark — a state-by-state analysis of where the nursing staffing crisis is worst, built from hospital vacancy data, state workforce projections, and federal shortage designations across all 50 states.
California ranks #1, with a projected shortage of 61,141 RNs by 2033. North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Virginia round out the top four. Louisiana ranks #5 with a turnover rate nearly double the national average. And Mississippi, which had one of the worst vacancy rates in the country in 2022, has cut it nearly in half through 2025. Recovery is possible. The data shows what it looks like.
The finding that may matter most: 20 states couldn't be ranked at all. Not because conditions are better. But because the public data to measure them doesn't exist. The states that chose not to collect and publish workforce data made their nursing shortage invisible, and that invisibility is itself a policy choice.
This is the first article in a six-part series. We cover California's regional breakdown, Louisiana's retention crisis, why licensed nurse counts don't tell you what you think they do, where nurses go when they leave, and why graduating more nurses alone won't close the gap.
Is your state on the list? How does this reflect your experience in the field? 👇
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