Total number of active
nurse travelers revealed! 

PanTravelers estimates there are currently over 25,500 Registered Nurse Travelers in the U.S.  Other anecdotal industry estimates place the number at closer to 20,000. Statistics on the LVN/LPN Allied Health Traveler population are less abundant.

Association estimates are based upon a synthesis of findings from the 2004 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses,  the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services - Health Resources and Services Administration, and from the U.S. Current Population Survey (CPS - A joint effort between the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau).

Methodology Summary:  As of March 2004, the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services - Health Resources and Services Administration, and the U.S. Current Population Survey estimated 2.9 million individuals had current licenses to practice as Registered Nurses in the United States.  Of 30,233 Registered Nurses sampled, 268 identified themselves as Traveling Nurses.  This is equivalent to 0.88% of the total Registered Nurse population.  A weighting procedure was used to account for duplication of licenses from State to State so that estimates could be developed of the number of individuals who hold active licenses to practice as RNs, regardless of the number of State licenses they hold. http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/rnsurvey04/appendixa.htm

The target population for the eighth NSSRN included all registered nurses with an active license in the United States as of March 2004.  A sampling frame was required to select a probability sample of nurses from which valid inferences could be made to the target population.  The sampling frame for the eighth NSSRN consisted of all registered nurses who are currently eligible to practice as an RN in the U.S.  This sampling frame included RNs who have received a specialty license or have been certified by a State agency as an advanced practiced nurse (APNs) such as nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwives, certified registered nurse anesthetist, or clinical nursing specialist and excluded licensed practical nurses (LPNs)/licensed vocational nurses (LVNs).

State Boards of Nursing in the 50 States and in the District of Columbia (hereafter also referred to as a State) provided files containing the name, address, and license number of every RN currently holding an active license in that State.  These files formed the basis of the sampling frame from which the RNs for each State were selected.

This design approach takes into account two key characteristics of the sampling frame. First, no single list of all individuals with licenses to practice as registered nurses in the United States exists, although lists of those who have licenses in any one State are available.  Second, a nurse may be licensed in more than one State. The advantage of the nested alpha-segment design is that one can determine the probabilities of selection and appropriate multiplicity adjusted weights for those nurses that are listed in more than one State.  In addition, the design also permits the use of each sample registered nurses’ data for State estimates of each of her/his States of licensure.