How Much Does Nurse Turnover Cost?

I have spent more than a decade in healthcare staffing, so nurse turnover is not an abstract number to me. It is the reason hospitals call us, the reason travel nurses are needed and the reason so many nurse leaders are exhausted. The 2026 NSI National Health Care Retention Report, which surveyed 527 hospitals in 40 states, puts precise numbers on what it costs.

Each bedside RN who leaves costs a hospital about $60,090. Across a year, that adds up to an average loss of $4.2 million to $6.2 million per hospital. And because every hospital’s numbers move with its turnover rate, NSI estimates each one-point change in RN turnover costs or saves the average hospital about $295,000 a year.

How high is nurse turnover right now?

NSI found hospital RN turnover rose to 17.6% in 2025, up from 16.4% the year before, and overall hospital staff turnover was 18.5%. Over the past five years, the average hospital turned over 102% of its RN workforce, which means, on average, the equivalent of the entire nursing staff has turned over in that time. It also takes more than two and a half months to recruit an experienced RN.

The first year is the most fragile. NSI found 22.7% of newly hired RNs left within their first year, and Press Ganey reports one in five early-career nurses are leaving their organizations.

What drives nurses to leave?

Burnout is a big part of it. AMN Healthcare’s 2025 survey of registered nurses found 58% feel burned out most days, and 61% plan some kind of career change within a year, which includes changing jobs, departments or schedules as well as leaving nursing. Short staffing, schedules that do not fit life, limited growth and a feeling of not being seen all add up.

Engagement matters too. Press Ganey’s 2026 research found disengaged caregivers are 2.6 times more likely to leave, with turnover running 24% in low-engagement systems compared with 15% in high-engagement ones.

Where should hospital leaders start?

Retention and patient experience are the same work

Lower turnover is not only a financial win. It means more experienced teams, fewer handoffs to people learning the unit and more continuity for patients. Press Ganey found hospitals in the top quartile for employee engagement are 4.2 times more likely to achieve top patient experience scores. See Why Employee Engagement Drives Patient Experience and Nurse Retention Strategies.

I speak to hospitals and healthcare associations about both sides of this in The Power of Small Moments, built on the CARE framework, and You Are Capable of a Better Culture, built on the SPARK drivers that keep caregivers engaged.