Male Nurse Statistics: A Look At The Numbers

Men make up roughly 12% of licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and nurse practitioners, based on recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. That share has grown by about 59% over the past decade, and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and nursing programs are actively recruiting men and other underrepresented groups to help close staffing gaps.

Demand is high across every level of nursing because of retirements, provider shortages, and burnout. Here is where male representation stands and where it is headed.

Male Representation in Nursing

Nursing still carries the stigma of "women's work," but the number of nurses who identify as men has more than doubled over the last 20 years.

In 2002, men were nearly 7% of RNs, LPNs, and NPs, per BLS. Twenty years later, they were about 12%. In the last decade alone, the share of male nurses rose more than 59%: male LPNs increased 112%, NPs 108%, and RNs 51%.

BLS did not track NPs as a separate occupation until 2011, when the 2010 Census occupational classification took effect; before that, NPs counted as RNs. Data from 2002 to 2011 is not strictly comparable with later years. Roles like certified nursing assistant, certified nurse midwife, and clinical nurse specialist are not broken out by sex in BLS data. Because BLS reports the share of women in each industry, male nurse counts here are derived by subtracting the female share from total employed nurses, which leaves out transgender and nonbinary nurses.

From 2011 to 2022, the total number of male nurses grew from just over 303,000 to more than 500,000. Growth was not steady: the male share dipped in 2016, 2019, and 2022 versus the prior year, but averaged a 0.3 percentage-point annual increase.

Men as Advanced Practice Providers

BLS began reporting advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) by sex in 2011. The number of male nurse practitioners grew from 9,400 to more than 29,700 between 2011 and 2022.

Among certified nurse midwives, only 1% are men, per the Health Resources and Services Administration's 2018 Nursing Workforce Survey. Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) are the exception: the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists reported in 2022 that men make up 40% of CRNAs, far above their roughly 13% share of LPNs, RNs, and NPs overall.

Male Representation by Nursing Degree

Men make up a larger share of currently enrolled students than of current degree-holders across bachelor's, master's, DNP, and PhD programs, a sign that recruitment may be working. Men are also slightly more likely to hold an ADN than a BSN, even though most employers prefer or require a BSN. Only about 13% of BSN students enrolled in the 2021-22 academic year were men.

Men in Nursing School by Degree Type

Degree	Percentage of Men Enrolled
BSN	12.6%
MSN	11.7%
DNP	14.1%
PhD	11.2%

Source: AACN Fact Sheet, Enhancing Diversity in the Nursing Workforce

Men in Nursing by Highest Level of Education

Degree	Percentage of Degree-Holders Who Are Men
Diploma	4.1%
ADN	10.5%
BSN	9.1%
MSN	10.5%
DNP	13.9%
PhD	4.3%

Source: 2020 National Nursing Workforce Survey

DNP degrees are most common among male nurses, both enrolled and completed, likely because 40% of CRNAs are men and CRNAs now need a DNP to practice.

Men and the Nursing Shortage

The AACN wants to recruit more men as part of a broader diversity strategy, noting that "more must be done before equal representation is realized." BLS projects 203,000 RN openings each year from 2021 to 2031 and a 46% increase in NPs over the same period.

More than 215,000 men joined the field as LPNs, RNs, and NPs between 2002 and 2022, though growth has been uneven across degrees, licenses, and specialties. Outside of CRNAs, registered nurse is the most common role for men.

Men cluster in fast-paced specialties that demand stamina, quick problem-solving, and critical thinking. Per the 2020 National Nursing Workforce Survey, men made up fewer than 3% of LPNs and RNs in school nursing, neonatal, obstetrics, labor and delivery, oncology, and pediatrics. The top five specialties for male LPNs and RNs were:

• Anesthesia. Working alongside anesthesiologists and CRNAs to give presurgery medications, monitor patients during surgery, and manage recovery.
• Emergency and trauma. Triaging, examining, and treating patients quickly, with trauma and teaching hospitals handling the most severe cases.
• Critical care. Running complex equipment, delivering treatments, and monitoring patients with life-threatening conditions.
• Psychiatric, mental health, and substance use. Screening patients, building treatment plans, administering medication, and educating patients and families.
• Nephrology. Caring for patients with kidney disease and failure, including dialysis monitoring and pretreatment assessment.