Registered nurses
SOC Code: 29-1141
Registered nurses carries a 26% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $93,600 and +4.9% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 3,391,000 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 26% AI exposure, Registered nurses sits 11 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 18% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
80/100
Registered nurses, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage A- $93,600
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth B+ +4.9%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) A- 26% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Registered nurses in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Bachelor's band with mid-pack BLS pace
Registered nurses shares the Bachelor's gate with 178 peer occupations and lands in Average (378 of 832). Neither the rarest nor the most crowded growth shelf - use wage and AI desks on this page for the differentiator.
Where Registered nurses sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Registered nurses sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
26% Among the lowest lower than 82% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Registered nurses vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Registered nurses is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Registered nurses's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 29-1141) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Registered nurses be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Registered nurses. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Evaluate patients' vital signs or laboratory data to determine emergency intervention needs.
- 2. Assess patients' mental and physical status, based on the presenting symptoms and complaints.
- 3. Discuss illnesses and treatments with patients and family members.
- 4. Diagnose acute or chronic conditions that could result in rapid physiological deterioration or life-threatening instability.
- 5. Diagnose psychiatric disorders and mental health conditions.
- 6. Document patients' medical and psychological histories, physical assessment results, diagnoses, treatment plans, prescriptions, or outcomes.
- 7. Educate patients and family members about mental health and medical conditions, preventive health measures, medications, or treatment plans.
- 8. Write prescriptions for psychotropic medications as allowed by state regulations and collaborative practice agreements.
- 9. Monitor patients' medication usage and results.
- 10. Monitor patients for changes in status and indications of conditions such as sepsis or shock and institute appropriate interventions.
Key Skills Required
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Active Listening
- Writing
Knowledge Areas
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Education and Training
- Psychology
- English Language
- Biology
- Therapy and Counseling
- Customer and Personal Service
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Administration and Management
- Mathematics
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Registered nurses?
Registered nurses has an AI exposure score of 26%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Registered nurses?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Registered nurses is projected to grow by 4.9% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 3,391,000 workers.
What skills are needed for Registered nurses?
Key skills for Registered nurses include Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, and others. Typical entry-level education is Bachelor's degree.
How much do Registered nurses earn?
The median annual wage for Registered nurses is $93,600, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Registered nurses?
The typical entry-level education for Registered nurses is Bachelor's degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves None. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Registered nurses?
Registered nurses roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Registered nurses: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (26% here).
- Ambulance drivers and attendants, except emergency medical technicians · AI exposure 26%
- Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary · AI exposure 26%
- Forest and conservation technicians · AI exposure 26%
- Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers · AI exposure 26%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+4.9% here).
- Chemists · growth +4.9%
- Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters · growth +4.9%
- Pest control workers · growth +4.9%
- Producers and directors · growth +4.9%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 45 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Registered nurses' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Registered nurses side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).