Registered Nurse Shortage Areas in California

This table identifies which RN areas were designated as RNSAs in the 2020 publication, along with the data and calculations used in the process. Population data is sourced from the United States Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey 5-year estimate. RN license counts are sourced from the California Department of Consumer Affairs public licensee lists. Employment rate estimates are sourced from UCSF’s Survey of Registered Nurses.

In 2024, the Research Data Center (RDC) at HCAI developed a new supply and demand model for the Nursing workforce. The RNSA methodology now includes supply and demand data from the Registered Nurse group from this model in the new calculations. This group includes the following license types: Registered Nurses, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Public Health Nurses, and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses. This update examines 65 areas in California for RNSA designation. Of these, 48 are classified as experiencing a registered nursing shortage: five counties are in a severe shortage, seven are in a high shortage, 11 are in a medium shortage, and 20 are in a low shortage. Of the eight Los Angeles County Service Planning Areas (SPAs) one is in severe shortage, one is in high shortage, and three are in medium shortage. This table identifies which areas were designated as Registered Nurse Shortage Areas (RNSAs) in the 2025 update. Detailed information on the data and calculations used in the process can be found here: https://hcai.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Public-Modeling-Methodology-v.1.1_5-2025.pdf. Population data is sourced from the Department of Finance's P-2A Total Population for California and Counties table and SPA level estimates were calculated based on the percentage of the Los Angeles population currently living within each SPA region using DP05 ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates 2023 ACS 5 year estimate for Los Angeles County. License counts are sourced from the California Department of Health Care Access and Information's licensure data received from the California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).