Nursing is the single largest health profession in the state. These quick reference guides look at nursing supply, demographics, education, distribution, and pay for registered nurses (RNs) and licensed vocational nurses (LVNs), using the most recent data available.

Key findings include:

• Non-White RNs accounted for almost half (48%) of employed nurses in 2018.
• California’s prelicensure programs for RNs produced 11,857 graduates in 2019, slightly up from 11,512 in 2010.
• 63% of employed RNs worked in a hospital in 2019. Another 15% were in ambulatory care.
• The median income for RNs was $110,620 in 2019.
• In 2019, 70% of LVNs graduated from a for-profit school.

For further analysis and data, visit Healthforce Center at UCSF, the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, the California Board of Registered Nursing, the California Employment Development Department, the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, and the National Center for Education Statistics.

Two quick reference guides, one on RNs and the other on LVNs, are available for download below. These materials are part of CHCF’s California Health Care Almanac, an online clearinghouse for key data and analyses describing the state’s health care landscape. See our entire collection of current and past editions of California’s Health Care Workforce.