Publications

Regional Forecasts of the Registered Nurse Workforce in California

Author(s): 
Date: 
December 11, 2018

Some regions of California face nursing shortages, according to new projections of supply and demand through 2035. The forecasts, which account for population growth, population aging, and anticipated changes in the numbers of new registered nurse (RN) graduates, are the first regional projections completed since 2007. Substantial shortages are projected for the San Francisco, Central Valley, and Central Coast regions, while surpluses may emerge in the Sacramento and Los Angeles regions.

This report provides forecasts of RN supply and demand for each of the eight regions of California, based on a statewide projection model developed for the California Board of Registered Nursing.

The eight regions of California are composed of counties that have interconnected economies and labor markets: 

  • Northern Counties: Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity 
  • Sacramento: El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba 
  • San Francisco Bay Area: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma 
  • Central Valley & Sierra: Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare, Tuolumne 
  • Central Coast: Monterey, San Benito, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo