Here’s a great story to share right about now.

People have grown to appreciate healthcare professionals more than ever before during the coronavirus pandemic. The risk they take on a daily basis to minimize the spread of the disease can’t be overstated.

And now more than ever, states need to ensure nurses have everything they need to properly do their job while effectively protecting themselves from infection.

Nursing jobs have always been well-paying, with an annual average wage of over $75,000, but there’s obviously more to it than just a good paycheck.

WalletHub recently conducted a study to determine the best and worst states for nurses. Their conclusions were based on 22 key metrics across all 50 states. Some of the metrics used were monthly average starting salary, average annual salary, quality of nursing schools, projected share of elderly population in 2030, states offering the most coronavirus support and ratio of nurses to hospital beds, among others.

The Lone Star State scored well, landing at number 10 on the list. However, our neighbors north of the Red River have quite a bit of work to do. Oklahoma was ranked toward the bottom, coming in at number 46.

Here are the full results of the study:

  1. Oregon
  2. Washington
  3. New Mexico
  4. Minnesota
  5. Nevada
  6. Wyoming
  7. Montana
  8. Maine
  9. Arizona
  10. Texas
  11. Idaho
  12. Iowa
  13. New Hampshire
  14. Wisconsin
  15. Alaska
  16. Connecticut
  17. North Dakota
  18. Rhode Island
  19. Missouri
  20. Colorado
  21. California
  22. Florida
  23. Kansas
  24. Indiana
  25. West Virginia
  26. Michigan
  27. Pennsylvania
  28. South Dakota
  29. Illinois
  30. Arkansas
  31. Nebraska
  32. Utah
  33. Georgia
  34. Virginia
  35. South Carolina
  36. North Carolina
  37. Kentucky
  38. Delaware
  39. Massachusetts
  40. Maryland
  41. Mississippi
  42. Tennessee
  43. New Jersey
  44. Ohio
  45. Vermont
  46. Oklahoma
  47. Alabama
  48. Hawaii
  49. Louisiana
  50. New York

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