New federal-survey data show male representation among U.S. registered nurses dropped from 11.2% in 2022 to 10.4% in 2024, reversing a 20-year trend during the worst nursing shortage on record. The data come from NCSBN's biennial National Nursing Workforce Survey and the AACN's May 2026 Fact Sheet update.
NEW YORK, May 26, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- For the first time in more than two decades, the share of men in the U.S. registered nursing workforce has fallen, according to figures reconfirmed this month in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing's Nursing Workforce Fact Sheet and drawn from the most recent National Nursing Workforce Survey published by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). The data show male representation among registered nurses declining from 11.2% in 2022 to 10.4% in 2024.
The reversal is small in absolute terms but significant in direction. Between 2000 and 2022, the percentage of male registered nurses roughly doubled, climbing steadily from about 5.4% to 11.2% as nursing schools, hospital systems, and professional associations actively recruited men into a historically female profession. The 2024 figure marks the first measured year-over-period decline in that two-decade trajectory.
The data come from NCSBN's biennial workforce study, the largest research effort of its kind in the United States, drawing on responses from a sample frame of approximately 800,000 nurses across all 50 states. The 2024 survey was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Nursing Regulation in April 2025 (Smiley et al., 16(1) Supplement).
The decline arrives during a period of acute strain on the nursing workforce. The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration's December 2025 projections estimate a continuing national registered-nurse shortage through at least 2038, with non-metropolitan areas facing shortfalls of roughly 11%. The 2024 NCSBN survey also found that 40% of registered nurses intend to leave the workforce within five years, citing stress, burnout, workload, understaffing, and inadequate compensation as the leading drivers.
NCSBN data indicate that men have historically left nursing at higher rates than women and have been disproportionately represented among nurses reporting burnout. Whether those factors are accelerating exits, slowing entries, or both, is not directly addressed by the survey, and researchers caution that a single biennial data point should not be over-interpreted as a confirmed long-term trend. A second consecutive decline in the 2026 survey would establish a clearer pattern.
The finding has implications for workforce-diversity initiatives, nursing-school recruitment strategy, and health-system staffing planning. Roughly two-thirds of U.S. nursing schools report active campaigns to recruit male applicants, and several large health systems have invested in mentorship programs aimed at retaining male nurses. Those efforts now face a measurable headwind for the first time since they began.
The shift is also visible in hiring activity. Job-board volume for registered nurse jobs has remained at elevated levels through 2025 and into 2026, with employers across hospitals, long-term care, and outpatient settings competing for a shrinking pool of available candidates.
"We see this on our platform every week," said Jennifer Endean, Head of Partnerships at RegisteredNurse.jobs. "Employers are widening their searches and asking how to reach more male candidates, while the underlying pipeline has quietly contracted. The conversation about the nursing shortage has focused almost entirely on volume - this data is a reminder that the composition of the workforce is shifting too, and that retention pressure isn't gender-neutral."
Methodology Note
Figures cited are drawn from the 2022 and 2024 National Nursing Workforce Surveys conducted by NCSBN in partnership with the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers, and reproduced in the AACN Nursing Workforce Fact Sheet (updated May 2026). The 2024 survey was published in the Journal of Nursing Regulation, Volume 16(1) Supplement, DOI: 10.1016/S2155-8256(25)00047-X. Workforce-shortage projections are drawn from HRSA's State of the U.S. Health Care Workforce 2025 report, published December 2025. Methodology between the 2022 and 2024 NCSBN surveys is consistent, allowing direct comparison of headline demographic figures.
About RegisteredNurse.jobs
RegisteredNurse.jobs is a specialized job board for the U.S. nursing workforce, connecting registered nurses with hospitals, health systems, long-term care facilities, and outpatient employers actively hiring across all 50 states. The platform aggregates nursing job listings by specialty, setting, and location, and works with employers on targeted recruitment for hard-to-fill RN roles. For nursing job seekers and employers, visit https://www.RegisteredNurse.jobs.
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