2026 status: NCSBN announced a March 25 launch, with collection scheduled through September. Its workforce page summarizes the collection period as April–September and says the aggregated findings will be published in the Journal of Nursing Regulation. At this article’s review date, that page still presents 2024 results. The historical figures below are clearly labeled.[1][2]
Who conducts the survey, and who does it represent?
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) conducts the survey with the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers. Their biennial research examines the U.S. nursing workforce. The 2026 cycle selected a nationally representative sample of registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical or vocational nurses (LPN/VNs), using email and postal invitations.[1]
Its purpose is to inform workforce planning. For a hospital, nursing school or regulator, the practical questions extend beyond recruitment: which groups need retention support, where capacity is changing, and how education and employment patterns are evolving.
The clearest confirmed changes for 2026
Separating job changes from departures from nursing
NCSBN confirms four intention categories for 2026: staying, retiring, leaving nursing, and leaving the primary nursing position. Departure responses trigger questions about reasons. These labels paraphrase the questionnaire categories.[3]
An employer losing a nurse to another nursing job faces a retention problem. That move does not necessarily reduce the national nursing workforce.
Updating demographic reporting
A combined race-and-ethnicity question is also confirmed for 2026. NCSBN says this change aims to improve data completeness and reliability. Comparisons across years should account for changed categories.[3]
Core workforce measures: what the survey series tracks
Earlier national results and the Forum’s supply framework document the domains below. Confirmed 2026 revisions are labeled; other rows describe established measures, not a verified item-by-item list of the new questionnaire.[3][4][5][6]
| Domain | What it describes | Evidence basis |
|---|---|---|
| Career intentions | Staying, retiring, leaving nursing or leaving the primary position. | Confirmed 2026 revision.[3] |
| Demographics | Age and workforce diversity; combined race-and-ethnicity reporting in 2026. | Earlier results and confirmed revision.[3][5] |
| Education | Educational preparation and qualifications across the workforce. | Reported in the 2024 RN and LPN/VN findings.[5][6] |
| Employment and location | Participation in nursing and the geographic distribution of work. | Core supply-framework variables.[4] |
| Work patterns | Hours, number of jobs, employment setting, role and specialty. | Supply framework; settings also appear in earlier national results.[4][5] |
| Compensation | Reported earnings, with attention to the statistic and period used. | Earlier national results report median pretax annual earnings.[5][6] |
| Workload and retention pressures | Reported workload, burnout and reasons associated with departure plans. | Earlier results and the 2026 research rationale.[2][6] |
The Forum’s 2024 Supply Minimum Dataset provides additional context. It groups measures around current workforce size, future supply, demographics, education, practice characteristics, wellbeing, and nurses outside nursing employment. It also includes contemporary topics such as telehealth and travel nursing. This framework guides standardized data collection; it is not the final 2026 national survey instrument.[4]
Why the earlier findings matter
The 2026 study follows a period of substantial workforce disruption. In its launch announcement, NCSBN cited 2024 findings that 39.9% of RNs and 41.3% of LPN/VNs intended to leave the workforce or retire within five years. Stress and burnout, workload, understaffing and inadequate salary featured among reasons for leaving other than retirement.[2]
Other 2024 findings show why separate workforce measures matter. Hospitals were the primary employment setting for 53% of RNs, while 32% of LPN/VNs worked primarily in nursing-home or extended-care settings. Those figures describe different distributions of nursing work; an RN hospital trend should not automatically be treated as a trend for every license group or setting.[5][6]
How to interpret the findings accurately
Intentions and completed departures are different measures. A reported plan does not establish an actual departure. NCSBN describes the 2024 intent-to-leave measure as more informative than predictive.[5]
Illustrative example: Three nurses plan a change. One will retire, one will move from a hospital to a clinic, and one will enter a non-nursing occupation. Counting all three as permanent losses from nursing would misdescribe the second nurse’s move. This example is explanatory, not a survey result.
Check who is included in each percentage. A result for all license holders has a different denominator from a result limited to employed nurses or respondents planning to leave. Keep the license group, population, timeframe and question wording beside any statistic you quote.
Read the methods before comparing years. The 2024 analysis assessed nonresponse bias and weighted responses across states, age and gender. Check the 2026 report for its own methods.[5]
Use national evidence alongside local information. A national workforce survey does not, by itself, determine how many nurses a particular ward needs on its next shift. Local decisions also require patient acuity, service demand, available skills, schedules and vacancy information. Likewise, an association between workload and departure intentions does not establish a single cause for every individual’s decision.
Is this the Census Bureau’s nursing survey?
No. The National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN) is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Health Resources and Services Administration. The Census Bureau explicitly identifies the NCSBN survey as a separate, unaffiliated study. Always match statistics to the correct survey name, sponsor and year.[7]
Using the survey in a nursing paper or workforce proposal
Start with a defined question, such as retention among experienced nurses or movement between care settings. Select the relevant measure, identify its population, and distinguish the reported finding from your interpretation. Then explain what additional evidence would be needed to support your proposed response.
For an academic discussion, that approach produces a stronger argument than using a national percentage as proof of every local staffing problem. For a workforce proposal, it helps connect the evidence to a specific decision and a measurable outcome.
Turn workforce evidence into a clear nursing paper
Get support with source evaluation, research organization, APA referencing and editing your own draft. Bring your assignment instructions and the original survey sources so your analysis stays focused and accurately cited.
Get nursing research and editing supportSources
- NCSBN. National Nursing Workforce Study: 2026 survey information.
- NCSBN. March 24, 2026. NCSBN Launches 2026 Nursing Workforce Survey.
- NCSBN. In Focus, 2026, Volume 1, “Driving Decisions with Data,” printed pages 16–17. Explains the confirmed 2026 questionnaire changes.
- National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers. National Nursing Workforce Minimum Dataset: Supply, 2024 Revision. A data-collection framework, not the 2026 questionnaire.
- NCSBN. 2024 Study Highlights: Registered Nurse Results.
- NCSBN. 2024 Study Highlights: Licensed Practical Nurse Results.
- U.S. Census Bureau. National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses FAQs.
Independent educational article prepared for NursingWritingServices.com. NWS is not affiliated with NCSBN, the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers, HRSA or the U.S. Census Bureau. Source status reviewed October 12, 2026.
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