Nurse Practitioner Pay in the U.S. Southeast

Earlier this summer the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that more than 211,000 nurse practitioners (NPs) were employed in the United States as of May 2020.  The twelve-state U.S. Southeast accounted for 63,000 NP jobs in May 2020.  The U.S. Southeast region is the weakest in the nation for nurse practitioner pay.  The average NP annual mean wage in every state in the region is below the national average, and the region is home to seven of the ten worst states in the nation for nurse practitioner annual mean wages.  A further examination of BLS data from May 2020 shows the following about nurse practitioner pay in the U.S. Southeast:

Nurse Practitioner Pay in the U.S. Southeast

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AL	3,930	$99,790	50th
AR	2,730	$106,210	42nd
FL	13,010	$101,060	49th
GA	8,120	$106,220	41st
KY	4,250	$102,460	47th
LA	3,170	$111,880	26th
MS	3,640	$109,550	34th
NC	6,040	$108,370	36th
SC	2,820	$101,190	48th
TN	8,300	$99,370	51st
VA	5,790	$109,660	33rd
WV	1,200	$105,220	44th
U.S.	211,280	$114,510	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 17, 2021

Dental Hygienist Pay in the Southwestern U.S.

Data published earlier this year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put dental hygienist (DH) employment in the USA at about 195,000 as of May 2020.  At that time, approximately 20,700 dental hygienists were working in the four-state Southwestern U.S. according to the BLS.  The region is an average one for dental hygienist pay.  Although Arizona DHs earn an average annual mean wage that topped the national average by 7%, the vast majority of dental hygienists in the region lived in states where DH annual mean wages were slightly below the national average.  A deeper look at May 2020 BLS data details the following about dental hygienist pay in the Southwestern U.S.:

Dental Hygienist Pay in the Southwestern U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AZ	3,660	$83,860	14th
NM	1,090	$78,410	17th
OK	2,730	$76,710	21st
TX	13,230	$77,590	18th
U.S.	194,830	$78,050	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 17, 2021

Heart Disease Deaths in the Great Plains Region

Heart disease is the top cause of death in the United States, accounting for more than 659,000 deaths in 2019, or approximately 23% of all deaths in the USA that year.  Advancements in medical know-how have materially lowered the heart disease death rate over the past twenty years. From a 1999 level of 259.9 deaths per 100,000 population, by 2019 the heart disease death rate had declined to 200.8 deaths per 100,000 population, a drop of more than 22%.  The seven-state Great Plains region saw its heart disease death rate drop about 24% in the twenty years from 1999, a slightly better experience than the nation as a whole. On the whole, the region's 2019 heart disease death rate was slightly worse than the national average, due in large part to particularly high death rates in Iowa and Missouri.  A deeper examination of data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics reveals the following about the trend in heart disease deaths in the Great Plains region:

Heart Disease Deaths in the Great Plains Region

Area/Deaths	1999	2009	2019
IA	8,699	6,938	7,505
KS	6,975	5,294	6,140
MN	9,533	7,238	8,401
MO	17,974	13,916	15,018
NE	4,497	3,277	3,540
ND	1,833	1,431	1,448
SD	2,024	1,778	1,840
Region	51,535	39,872	43,892
U.S.	725,192	599,413	659,041
Area/Death Rate*	1999	2009	2019
IA	298.2	228.8	237.9
KS	260.4	186.9	210.8
MN	195.6	137.1	149.0
MO	323.2	233.4	244.7
NE	263.8	180.8	183.0
ND	284.5	215.2	190.0
SD	269.7	220.3	208.0
Region	269.4	195.5	204.8
U.S.	259.9	195.4	200.8

(*) number of heart disease deaths per 100,000 population

Source: CDC Wonder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2019 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2020. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2019, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on June 9, 2021

National Institute of Mental Health, Our Trusted Link for August 2021

 

National Institute of Mental Health

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is the lead federal agency for research on mental disorders. Its mission is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure. Their goals include defining the brain mechanisms underlying behavior examining the course of mental illness in lives (example) working to prevent and cure mental illness improving public health.  Their major programs include funding and performing prevention research sharing mental health science worldwide tracking environmental influences studying how other medical conditions contribute to mental illness integrating different levels of information, from cellular to behavioral, in order to advance understanding running clinical trials for mental health treatments analyzing large datasets for potential causes of disorders studying behavioral issues in HIV/AIDS prevention as well as neurological effects of the disease and treatments training mental health scientists. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, the original agency was chartered in 1946 by President Harry Truman. Since 1992, it has been part of the National Institutes of Health.  Its 2020 budget was $1.63 billion, with over 500 employees.  Hundreds of free brochures, guides, reports and fact sheets, some in Spanish as well as English, are available. Some are written for consumers, some for health professionals. Many are available in either printed or PDF format. Shipping charges are applied.  In addition to multimedia presentations and videos, NIMH provides online viewing of the Director's Innovation Speaker Series, a series of lectures dedicated to innovation, invention, and scientific discovery Free email subscriptions available NIMH News (general announcements) Inside NIMH email newsletter on funding awards Funding Opportunity Announcements Discover NIMH emails on raising mental health awareness

Mental Health Topic Finder

Nursing Assistant Pay in the Far West U.S.

There were more than 1,371,000 nursing assistants working in the USA according to May 2020 data released earlier this year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Over 157,000 nursing assistants were employed in the six-state Far West region of the country.  Per BLS data, the Far West U.S. was the top region in the country for nursing assistant pay. Not only did all states in the region feature an annual mean wage for nursing assistants that topped the national average, but five Far West states ranked among the top ten states nationally for nursing assistant pay. Moreover, three of the top five states nationally for nursing assistant annual mean wages were in the Far West region. A further examination of BLS data from May 2020 reveals the following about nursing assistant pay in the Far West U.S.:

Nursing Assistant Pay in the Far West U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AK	1,800	$42,500	1st
CA	97,970	$39,280	3rd
HI	4,050	$38,650	4th
NV	7,030	$34,280	14th
OR	12,320	$37,100	6th
WA	34,420	$36,310	8th
U.S.	1,371,050	$32,050	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 15, 2021

Medical Assistant Pay in the Great Lakes Region

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released earlier this year put medical assistant (MA) employment in the U.S. at over 710,000 as of May 2020. Per BLS data, approximately 101,000 medical assistants were employed in the five-state Great Lakes region. In general, the region is a subpar one for medical assistant pay based on BLS data.  Although the average annual mean wage for medical assistants in Illinois and Wisconsin were above the national average, 65% of the region's MAs lived in states where the MA annual mean wage was more than 5% below the national average.  A closer examination of BLS data reveals the following about medical assistant pay in the Great Lakes region as of May 2020:

Medical Assistant Pay in the Great Lakes Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IL	22,030	$37,190	20th
IN	16,790	$34,790	32nd
MI	22,750	$34,830	30th
OH	26,250	$34,270	36th
WI	13,250	$38,800	13th
U.S.	710,200	$36,930	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 15, 2021

Family Physician Pay in the Great Plains Region

Recently published information by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put family medicine physician employment at more than 98,000 as of May 2020.  More than 13,000 of those employed as family physicians lived in the seven-state Great Plains region of the country.  BLS data reveals the region to be a good one for family physician pay, except in Missouri, which ranks in the bottom quintile nationally for family physician annual mean wages.  The other six states in the region all feature family physician annual mean wage levels above the national average and one of those states, Minnesota, ranks as one of the ten best states in the nation for family physician annual mean wages.  Further examination of May 2020 data from the BLS tells us the following about family medicine physician pay in the Great Plains region:

Family Physician Pay in the Great Plains Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IA	1,320	$226,510	14th
KS	520	$228,590	12th
MN	2,450	$248,630	5th
MO	7,520	$194,120	45th
NE	700	$219,000	22nd
ND	320	$220,280	20th
SD	340	$224,960	15th
U.S.	98,590	$214,370	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 12, 2021

Drug Induced Deaths in the Southwestern U.S.

In 2019 the United States recorded over 74,500 drug induced deaths, a nearly four-fold increase in the number of such deaths since 1999. The 2019 U.S. drug induced death rate of 22.7 deaths per 100,000 population contrasted to just 6.9 such deaths per 100,000 population twenty years earlier.  Drug overdoses, both intentional and accidental, accounted for nearly 95% of these deaths.  While all regions of the country experienced increases in the number of drug induced deaths in the twenty year period from 1999, the experience in the four-state Southwestern U.S. was less severe.  While the national drug induced death rate more than tripled from 1999 to 2019, during this same period the drug induced death rate in the Southwest slightly more than doubled.  A closer look at data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, reveals the following about drug induced deaths in the Southwestern U.S.:

Drug Induced Deaths in the Southwestern U.S.

Area/Deaths	1999	2009	2019
AZ	557	1,041	2,016
NM	275	447	632
OK	189	766	680
TX	1,250	2,509	3,355
Region	2,271	4,763	6,683
U.S.	19,128	39,147	74,511
Area/Death Rate*	1999	2009	2019
AZ	11.1	16.4	27.7
NM	15.2	21.9	30.1
OK	5.5	20.6	17.2
TX	6.1	10.1	11.6
Region	7.4	12.9	15.8
U.S.	6.9	12.8	22.7

(*) number of drug induced deaths per 100,000 population

Source: CDC Wonder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2019 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2020. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2019, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on June 5, 2021

General Dentist Pay in the Mid-East U.S. Region

There were almost 96,000 general dentists at work in the U.S. as of May 2020 according to recently published information by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Just over 14,000 general dentists were employed in the Mid-East section of the country, a region that spans five states and the District of Columbia.  For general dentists, on the whole the region was a subpar one in terms of pay, as more than 80% of the region's dentists lived in states where the general dentist annual mean wage was below the national average.  A more detailed examination of May 2020 BLS data reveals the following about general dentist pay in the Mid-East U.S. region:

General Dentist Pay in the Mid-East U.S. Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
DC	500	N/A	NR
DE	280	N/A	NR
MD	1,800	$180,600	26th
NJ	2,390	$177,570	29th
NY	6,270	$170,350	35th
PA	3,030	$155,360	44th
U.S.	95,920	$180,830	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 12, 2021

EMT and Paramedic Pay in New England

Data made available earlier this summer by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) detailed that over 257,000 EMTs (emergency medical technicians) and paramedics were employed in the United States as of May 2020. The six-state New England region accounted for a bit more than 14,000 of those EMT and paramedic jobs. In general, New England is a good one for EMT and paramedic pay.  Although EMTs and paramedics in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont earn average annual mean wages below the national average, 75% of the region's EMTs and paramedics live in Massachusetts, Connecticut or Rhode Island, three states that ranked among the top 12 states nationally for EMT and paramedic annual mean wages. A deeper examination of May 2020 BLS data shows the following about EMT and paramedic pay in New England:

EMT and Paramedic Pay in New England

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
CT	3,830	$45,800	10th
MA	6,340	$46,110	9th
ME	1,450	$34,700	41st
NH	1,140	$38,830	21st
RI	670	$43,790	12th
VT	870	$36,580	34th
U.S.	257,700	$40,370	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 10, 2021

Registered Nurse Pay in the Rocky Mountain Region

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported earlier this year that there were more than 2,986,000 registered nurses (RNs) working in the U.S. as of May 2020.  Just under 104,000 employed RN's worked in the five-state Rocky Mountain region.  BLS data shows the Rocky Mountain region to be a generally weak one for registered nurse pay.  The average annual mean wage for RNs in every Rocky Mountain state falls below the national average.  BLS data from May 2020 details the following about registered nurse pay in the Rocky Mountain region:

Registered Nurse Pay in the Rocky Mountain Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
CO	52,330	$77,860	16th
ID	12,800	$71,640	28th
MT	9,980	$70,530	31st
UT	23,690	$70,370	32nd
WY	5,010	$72,600	26th
U.S.	2,986,500	$80,010	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 5, 2021

Physical Therapist Pay in the Southeastern U.S.

Data released earlier this year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that, as of May 2020, there were almost 221,000 physical therapists (PTs) working in the United States.  More than 51,000 physical therapists were employed in the twelve-state Southeastern U.S. as of May 2020.  The Southeast region is a mostly subpar one for PT pay, where practitioners earn less than the national average annual mean wage for physical therapists.  Although three states in the region (Alabama, Mississippi and Virginia) rank among the top 15 states for PT annual mean wages, 75% of the region's physical therapists live in a state where PT annual mean wage levels are below the national average.  A deeper examination of BLS data from May 2020 reveals the following about physical therapist pay in the Southeastern U.S.:

Physical Therapist Pay in the Southeastern U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AL	2,440	$93,310	11th
AR	1,950	$84,410	46th
FL	13,630	$85,410	40th
GA	5,610	$88,950	27th
KY	2,730	$86,040	37th
LA	2,660	$91,880	16th
MS	1,490	$91,960	14th
NC	6,070	$86,890	33rd
SC	2,940	$84,640	44th
TN	4,490	$86,090	36th
VA	6,210	$94,370	10th
WV	1,230	$90,840	22nd
U.S.	220,870	$91,680	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 2, 2021

Firearm Deaths in the Mid-Eastern U.S.

In 2019 there were over 39,700 firearm deaths in the United States. That equated to about 12.1 firearm deaths per 100,000 population.  In comparison to the national firearm death rate in 1999, by 2019 the number of firearms-caused deaths per 100,000 population had increased about 17%.  While the firearm death rate nationally surged over a 20-year span to 2019, the Mid-Eastern U.S. region saw its firearm death rate barely budge during the same period, from 7.5 to 7.6 deaths per 100,000 population.  With a firearm death rate that was 37% lower than the national average in 2019, the Mid-Eastern U.S. had the second lowest firearm death rate in the nation, second only to New England.  A closer look at data from the National Center for Health Statistics, a unit of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reveals the following about firearm deaths in the Mid-Eastern U.S.:

Firearm Deaths in the Mid-Eastern U.S.

State/Deaths	1999	2009	2019
DE	68	76	93
DC	163	111	141
MD	657	586	757
NJ	366	411	368
NY	1,016	958	804
PA	1,190	1,349	1,541
Region	3,460	3,491	3,704
U.S.	28,874	31,347	39,707
State/Death Rate*	1999	2009	2019
DE	8.8	8.5	9.6
DC	28.6	18.7	20.0
MD	12.5	10.2	12.5
NJ	4.4	4.7	4.1
NY	5.4	5.0	4.1
PA	9.7	10.6	12.0
Region	7.5	7.3	7.6
U.S.	10.3	10.2	12.1

(*) number of firearm-caused deaths per 100,000 population

Source: CDC Wonder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2019 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2020. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2019, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on June 2, 2021

The Top 5 Teaching Hospitals on the Great Plains in 2021

Only 175 hospitals in the United States attained a national rating in one or more of the 15 adult specialties studied in the most recent (21-22) U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) rankings of American hospitals.  Five Great Plains area teaching hospitals were among those hospitals that earned national recognition in at least two adult specialties.  The foremost teaching hospital in the region, Mayo Clinic, was deemed the best hospital in the nation by the USNWR study, while another Great Plains region teaching hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, was rated a top 20 hospital nationally.  While the Great Plains region is home to multiple teaching hospitals, these five institutions earned the most recognition in the USNWR survey.

The Top 5 Teaching Hospitals on the Great Plains in 2021

Mayo Clinic

Location:  Rochester, MN
Top 20 Overall Ranking Nationally:  Yes (1st)

Nationally Ranked Adult Specialties:  14 of 15
Adult Specialties Ranked in Top 20 Nationally:  14

#1 in Diabetes & Endocrinology
#1 in Gastroenterology & GI Surgery

#1 in Gynecology
#1 in Pulmonology & Lung Surgery

#1 in Urology

#2 in Cardiology & Heart Surgery

#2 in Orthopedics

#3 in Cancer

#3 in Geriatrics

#3 in Rheumatology
#4 in Ear, Nose and Throat

#6 in Neurology & Neurosurgery
#6 in Rehabilitation
#9 in Psychiatry

Barnes-Jewish Hospital

Location:  St. Louis
Top 20 Overall Ranking Nationally:  Yes (17th)

Nationally Ranked Adult Specialties:  11 of 15
Adult Specialties Ranked in Top 20 Nationally:  7
#7 in Diabetes & Endocrinology

#13 in Cancer
#14 in Gynecology

#17 in Neurology & Neurosurgery

#19 in Geriatrics
#20 in Ear, Nose and Throat

#20 in Gastroenterology & GI Surgery

University of Kansas Hospital

Location:  Kansas City, KS
Top 20 Overall Ranking Nationally:  No

Nationally Ranked Adult Specialties:  7 of 15
Adult Specialties Ranked in Top 20 Nationally:  1
#17 in Ear, Nose and Throat

University of Iowa Hospital

Location:  Iowa City
Top 20 Overall Ranking Nationally:  No

Nationally Ranked Adult Specialties:  4 of 15
Adult Specialties Ranked in Top 20 Nationally:  1
#7 in Ophthalmology

Abbott Northwestern Hospital

Location:  Minneapolis, MN
Top 20 Overall Ranking Nationally:  No

Nationally Ranked Adult Specialties:  2 of 15
Adult Specialties Ranked in Top 20 Nationally:  None

To find other teaching hospitals in the Plains Region and elsewhere, visit our U.S. Teaching Hospitals resource page.

Pharmacist Pay in the Southwestern U.S.

May 2020 data recently published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) detailed that there were over 315,000 pharmacists working in the United States.  Nearly 36,800 of those employed as pharmacists in the U.S. worked in the four-state Southwestern region.  The U.S. Southwest is an average region in terms of pharmacist pay, as about two-thirds of pharmacists employed work in Texas or New Mexico, where pharmacist annual mean wages run at or near the national average.  BLS data from May 2020 reveals the following about pharmacist pay in the Southwestern U.S.:

Pharmacist Pay in the Southwestern U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AZ	8,180	$122,310	29th
NM	1,700	$126,930	14th
OK	3,760	$121,060	38th
TX	23,150	$125,470	16th
U.S.	315,470	$125,460	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 2, 2021

Licensed Practical Nurse Pay in the U.S. Far West

Recently released employment studies from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that, as of May 2020, there were over 676,000 licensed practical nurses (LPNs) employed in the United States.  Also known as license vocational nurses (LVNs) in some parts of the country, licensed practical nurses constitute one of the biggest healthcare occupations in the U.S.  Approximately 87,000 of those employed as licensed practical nurses lived in the six-state Far West region of the country. BLS data shows the Far West region to be the best in the country for LPN pay.  Not only does each state in the region have an average LPN annual mean wage level that tops the national average, but five Far West states rank among the ten best states in the U.S. for LPN/LVN annual mean wage levels.  A deeper examination of BLS data from May 2020 reveals the following about licensed practical nurse pay in the U.S. Far West:

License Practical Nurse Pay in the U.S. Far West

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AK	330	$67,620	1st
CA	71,320	$64,090	2nd
HI	930	$54,160	16th
NV	2,690	$59,700	5th
OR	3,810	$57,320	10th
WA	7,870	$59,780	4th
U.S.	676,440	$50,090	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on April 26, 2021