Florida’s nursing supply isn’t fully aligned with demand

Written by Genevieve Bowen on April 29, 2026

Florida’s nursing shortage has eased from its pandemic peak, but structural gaps remain in the state’s health care workforce as new projections show supply and demand still aren’t fully aligned across key nursing roles.

While registered nurse staffing is nearing equilibrium statewide, Florida Center for Nursing data and hospital workforce reports indicate persistent shortages in licensed practical nurses and nursing assistants, along with long-term pressure from population growth, an aging population and ongoing retention challenges across the health system. The issue persists as the Florida Hospital Association projects the state could need nearly 60,000 more nurses by 2035 to meet rising demand and offset continued workforce turnover.

Immediately following the pandemic, Florida’s hospital staffing markedly improved as vacancy and turnover rates declined from crisis-era highs. A 2023 Florida Hospital Association survey of about 200 hospitals found nurse turnover and vacancy rates down 38%, while statewide nurse vacancy levels fell to about 13%, down from 21% in 2022 and below the national average at the time. Earlier Florida Center for Nursing projections also suggested the gap between nursing supply and demand would continue narrowing toward 2030, reinforcing expectations that the shortage was steadily easing.

However, a 2025 Florida Center for Nursing workforce projection shows a more uneven long-term outlook within that broader shortage. While the Florida Hospital Association projects the state could need nearly 60,000 more nurses by 2035 across the profession, the Center for Nursing found that about 23,500 of that projected gap by 2037 is expected to come from registered nurses alone, even as overall RN supply reaches about 93% of statewide demand.

While statewide numbers suggest the supply of registered nurses is close to meeting overall demand, the report notes that deficits remain uneven across regions, with more pronounced shortages in high-growth areas such as South and Southeast Florida.

The most severe structural pressure is now concentrated in lower-wage and support nursing roles. According to the same projections, licensed practical nurses face a sustained supply decline of about 0.9% annually while demand rises by roughly 2.3%, pushing workforce adequacy down from about 85% in 2022 to roughly 55% by 2037. Certified nursing assistants, which were previously in surplus, are also projected to shift into shortage conditions beginning as early as 2026 as demand increases and supply tightens.

Those workforce pressures are compounded by constraints in Florida’s nursing education pipeline. A 2025 Florida Center for Nursing education report found faculty vacancy rates of about 12.8% in associate degree programs and 8.3% in bachelor of science in nursing programs, limiting the state’s ability to expand enrollment capacity.

State lawmakers have invested more than $500 million since 2022 in nursing education expansion programs, but workforce analysts say faculty shortages and clinical placement limits continue to slow overall growth in supply.

Beyond projections and pipeline constraints, the Florida Center for Nursing’s November 2025 Community Engagement Tour Report highlights continued strain within the profession itself. About 65% of nurses reported high levels of stress or burnout, and only about 60% said they would choose nursing again.

At the same time, 82% of nursing students said they remain excited to enter the profession, even as most expressed concern about future workload demands. The report identifies burnout, staffing shortages, leadership support and pay concerns as key drivers of retention challenges, particularly in rapidly growing regions of the state.

Taken together, hospital and workforce reports suggest Florida’s nursing shortage has moved beyond the acute vacancy crisis of the pandemic years into a longer-term structural challenge. While registered nurse supply is projected to remain near equilibrium statewide in the coming decades, persistent shortages in other roles, continued burnout and uneven regional distribution mean the state’s health care system remains under sustained staffing pressure even as headline vacancy rates have improved from their peak.