How do nurses feel about their jobs?

For the survey, Nurse.org collected responses from 2,090 nurses, including nursing students and active nurses, between February and March 2026. Of the respondents, 60% were RNs, either with a bachelor's or associate degree in nursing, and 72% were working full-time.

Over the last few years, nurses' job satisfaction has slowly increased, going from a low of 28% in 2022 to 55% in 2025. However, job satisfaction among nurses declined this year to 47%. Job satisfaction also varied significantly by specialty, with nurse educators reporting the highest level of satisfaction at 68% and progressive care reporting the lowest at 23%.

With job satisfaction declining, 43% of nurses said they were likely to leave the bedside within the next year, an increase from 38% in 2025. Intention to leave nursing entirely also increased from 15% in 2025 to 23% in 2026.

By specialty, the nurses who were most likely to report wanting to leave the bedside were case management nurses (71%), psychiatric nurses (47%), oncology nurses (47%), medical surgical nurses (45%), and ED nurses (45%).

Although older nurses (65+) were most likely to say they planned to leave the bedside, most of these nurses are planning retirement. More concerning was the 35% to 43% of nurses ages 35 to 54 reporting their intention to leave the bedside. These nurses are career-stage professionals with significant clinical experience, so their desire to leave the bedside suggests growing rates of burnout.

When asked about what factors kept them at the bedside, 41% of nurses cited financial necessity, 32% said a convenient work schedule, and 28% said a commitment to patient care. 

"We are asked to take on more responsibility, yet we get raises that don't cover the cost of living, including rising premiums cost for healthcare insurance and out-of-reach deductibles," wrote one nurse in the survey.

Notably, 37% of nurses said they would not be able to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense without going into debt. Nursing students (50%) and LPNs/LVNs (53%) were the most likely to say they could not cover a $1,000 emergency without debt. A significant portion of nurses ages 40 to 54 (44% to 47%) also said they could not cover such an expense.

Overall, 34% of nurses said they don't feel safe from violence in their workplace. Even when nurses do report incidents of violence, many said that either no action was taken (40%) or that they didn't know what, if anything, had been done in response (20%). Only 9% of nurses who reported incidents of violence said they felt supported by leadership after coming forward, with only 5% saying security measures were changed as a result.

Action is needed to support nurses

Even with declining job satisfaction and ongoing challenges, 68% of nurses rated their decision to join the profession as a four or five out of five. In addition, over 80% said their nursing education was worth it, and 47% said they would recommend a nursing career to friends or family members.

According to Nurse.org, structural change is needed to boost nurse satisfaction and retention. Better staffing ratios, pay that aligns with the cost of living, employers who take workplace safety seriously, and making sure nurses have a voice in organizational decisions are all ways leaders can improve nursing.

"[T]he 2026 data is a clear signal that improvement is not inevitable — and that without meaningful, sustained action on staffing, pay, safety, and support, the gains of recent years will continue to erode," Nurse.org wrote. "Nurses have been saying the same things for five years. The question is whether the people and institutions with the power to act are finally ready to listen."