Hospital staffing is shaped by the size of the hospital system, the number of staffed beds, retention, vacancies, and the supply of different healthcare occupations. The following U.S. figures cover hospital capacity, workforce movement, occupational participation, pay, workplace safety, and employment projections, with each measurement period kept explicit.
Contents
- Hospital capacity and staffing context
- Turnover and vacancy pressure
- Which hospital roles turn over most
- The registered nursing workforce
- Advanced, practical, and support roles
- Pay and employment outlook
Hospital capacity and staffing context
The American Hospital Association’s Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals 2026 reports 6,100 hospitals in the United States. Of these, 5,121 are community hospitals with 775,297 staffed beds. Across all U.S. hospitals, the total is 907,216 staffed beds. That distinction matters when interpreting staffing statistics: community hospitals represent most hospitals and beds, but all-hospital totals also include psychiatric, federal, and other facilities.
The same AHA source reports 35,658,583 admissions in all U.S. hospitals and 33,553,725 admissions in community hospitals. Community hospitals include 1,797 rural hospitals and 3,324 urban hospitals. A total of 3,567 community hospitals are in a system.
The ownership mix of community hospitals is also varied. The AHA lists 2,984 nongovernment not-for-profit community hospitals, 1,224 investor-owned for-profit community hospitals, and 913 state and local government community hospitals. In addition, the AHA lists 210 federal government hospitals, 656 nonfederal psychiatric hospitals, and 113 other hospitals.
These counts provide the setting for workforce comparisons. The AHA says its hospital survey data are provided by over 6,200 hospitals and 400 health care systems, and that its hospital data set features over 1,300 hospital data points directly from the source. The hospital count and survey-participation count are therefore different measures and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Turnover and vacancy pressure
The AHA Environmental Scan 2026 reports that turnover among all hospital employees was 20% in 2020, 19% in 2021, 18% in 2022, 16% in 2023, and 9% in 2024. Staff registered nurse turnover followed a different pattern: 26% in 2020, 27% in 2021, 23% in 2022, 21% in 2023, and 18% in 2024.
The two series show why an overall employee figure does not fully describe nursing staffing. In 2024, all hospital employee turnover was reported at 9%, while staff RN turnover was 18%. The AHA reports that it takes close to three months to recruit an experienced RN, extending the operational effect of an open position beyond the date it becomes vacant.
RN vacancy thresholds also remained widespread. In 2024, 19.3% of hospitals had RN vacancy rates above 15.0%, while 47.8% had rates above 10.0%. In 2025, the corresponding figures were 16.2% above 15.0% and 41.4% above 10.0%, according to the AHA Environmental Scan 2026. These are shares of hospitals crossing stated vacancy thresholds, not estimates of the percentage of all RN positions that were vacant.
The AHA reports an average turnover cost of $61,110 for a bedside RN. It also reports that the average hospital loses between $3.9 million and $5.7 million annually because of RN turnover. Each 1% change in RN turnover can cost or save the average hospital approximately $289,000 per year. These figures describe reported financial impacts associated with turnover and should not be read as a universal cost for every hospital.
Which hospital roles turn over most
The AHA Environmental Scan 2026 identifies several high-turnover roles among advanced practice and allied health professionals in 2024. Certified nursing assistants had a 36% turnover rate, followed by patient care technicians at 34% and environmental services at 28%.
Registered nurses and medical technologists each had a 16% turnover rate in 2024. Speech therapists and respiratory therapists each had a 14% turnover rate. These role-level figures are useful for comparing reported turnover across hospital job groups, but they are not a complete staffing census and do not describe vacancy duration or the number of workers in each occupation.
| Hospital role | Reported turnover, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Certified nursing assistants | 36% |
| Patient care technicians | 34% |
| Environmental services | 28% |
| Registered nurses | 16% |
| Medical technologists | 16% |
| Speech therapists | 14% |
| Respiratory therapists | 14% |
The spread from 14% to 36% shows that “hospital staffing” is not one labor-market condition. Patient-facing support roles, nursing roles, technical roles, and therapy roles can have materially different retention patterns in the same broad care environment. A hospital may therefore need separate recruitment and retention measures for different occupations rather than one organization-wide target.
The registered nursing workforce
Registered nurses are central to hospital staffing because hospitals employ 58% of all registered nurses in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics source Why Hospitals Matter to BLS. The BLS also reports that about three-fourths of nonfatal work-related injuries and illnesses to RNs occur in hospitals. Roughly half of RN injuries and illnesses in hospitals are caused by overexertion and bodily reactions.
The BLS Registered Nurses Occupational Outlook Handbook reports about 3.4 million RN jobs in 2024. It states that 59% of registered nurses worked in state, local, and private hospitals in 2024, while ambulatory healthcare services employed 19%. The two hospital-employment figures come from the BLS materials and use the stated hospital categories; they should not be combined with AHA turnover percentages as though they measured the same population.
For the RN occupation overall, the median annual wage was $93,600 in May 2024. For RNs in state, local, and private hospitals, the median annual wage was $97,260 in May 2024. The BLS projects 5% RN employment growth from 2024 to 2034 and about 189,100 openings for registered nurses each year on average during that period.
The combination of a large hospital share, reported injury exposure, 18% staff RN turnover in 2024, and a three-month experienced-RN recruitment timeline helps explain why RN staffing is tracked separately from total hospital employment. The BLS projection is a national occupation outlook, while the AHA figures describe hospital workforce conditions and reported hospital costs.
Advanced, practical, and support roles
Hospital staffing also draws on occupations outside the RN workforce. The BLS Physician Assistants Occupational Outlook Handbook reports about 162,700 physician assistant jobs in 2024. Hospitals employed 26% of physician assistants in state, local, and private settings in 2024. The occupation’s median annual wage was $133,260 in May 2024, and the hospital-specific median was $136,630. Employment is projected to grow 20% from 2024 to 2034, with about 12,000 openings each year on average.
The BLS Medical Assistants Occupational Outlook Handbook reports about 811,000 medical assistant jobs in 2024. State, local, and private hospitals employed 17% of medical assistants in 2024. The BLS projects 12% growth from 2024 to 2034 and about 112,300 openings per year on average. The 17% hospital share describes where the occupation worked, not the percentage of hospital staff who were medical assistants.
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses held about 651,400 jobs in 2024, according to the BLS LPN/LVN Occupational Outlook Handbook. State, local, and private hospitals employed 16% of LPNs and LVNs. Their median annual wage was $62,340 in May 2024, compared with $59,200 for those employed in state, local, and private hospitals. The BLS projects 3% growth from 2024 to 2034 and about 54,400 openings per year on average.
The APRN group of nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners held about 382,700 jobs in 2024, with 25% working in state, local, and private hospitals. Within that group, the BLS reports 320,400 nurse practitioners, 53,800 nurse anesthetists, and 8,600 nurse midwives in 2024. The combined APRN group is projected to grow 35% from 2024 to 2034.
Pay and employment outlook
Hospital staffing decisions involve both current workforce availability and the future pipeline. The BLS Medical and Health Services Managers Occupational Outlook Handbook reports about 616,200 jobs in 2024, with 29% in state, local, and private hospitals. The median annual wage was $117,960 in May 2024. Employment is projected to grow 29% from 2024 to 2034, with about 62,100 openings each year on average.
| Occupation or group | Hospital share or setting | Median wage, May 2024 | Projected growth, 2024–2034 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered nurses | 59% in state, local, and private hospitals | $97,260 in those hospitals | 5% |
| Physician assistants | 26% in those hospitals | $136,630 in those hospitals | 20% |
| Medical assistants | 17% in those hospitals | Not provided | 12% |
| LPNs and LVNs | 16% in those hospitals | $59,200 in those hospitals | 3% |
| APRNs: combined group | 25% in those hospitals | Not provided | 35% |
| Medical and health services managers | 29% in those hospitals | $117,960 overall | 29% |
The wage figures are not all defined on the same basis: some are for an occupation overall, while others are specifically for workers in state, local, and private hospitals. The BLS categories also differ from AHA hospital categories. Keeping those definitions visible prevents a hospital-specific wage from being mistaken for a national occupational median, or a national projection from being mistaken for a forecast of one facility’s staffing.
For readers evaluating hospital workforce trends, the clearest signals are therefore complementary: AHA capacity counts show the scale of the care setting; AHA turnover and vacancy measures show retention and recruiting pressure; BLS employment, wage, injury, and projection measures show how hospital work fits within the wider U.S. labor market.