Arizona has about 7.6 million residents and has been growing faster than most states. Registered nurses average $99,730 a year, which ranks 14th among the fifty states and the District of Columbia.
Licensure
The Arizona State Board of Nursing licenses registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and nursing assistants. Its office is on West Adams Street in Phoenix, telephone (602) 771-7800. Rules and license verification are at azbn.gov.
Arizona was an early member of the Nurse Licensure Compact and remains one. A nurse living in Arizona holds a single multistate license good in every other compact state, with no second application needed.
Nurse practitioner practice
Arizona is a full practice state. Nurse practitioners evaluate patients, order and interpret tests, and prescribe under the nursing board's authority alone, and they may own and run their own practices. See nurse practitioner practice authority.
Nursing education
Arizona State University's Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation is the largest program in the state. The University of Arizona College of Nursing in Tucson and Northern Arizona University's School of Nursing in Flagstaff cover the other two university systems, Grand Canyon University in Phoenix runs a large private program, and the Maricopa and Pima community college districts supply most of the associate degree graduates.
Pay and workforce
Hospital nursing in Arizona clusters in metropolitan Phoenix and in Tucson, with Flagstaff, Yuma and Prescott behind them. Banner Health, HonorHealth, Dignity Health and Mayo Clinic's Phoenix campus are among the larger employers. Population growth, a large retired population and a long summer of heat related admissions keep hospital staffing under pressure.
Arizona also has one of the larger tribal populations in the country, and the Navajo Nation, the Tohono O'odham Nation and other tribes are served through federal and tribally operated facilities that hire on different terms from the rest of the state. See Indian Health Service and tribal nursing.
California, on Arizona's western border, pays registered nurses more than any other state but takes no part in the compact, so nurses moving between the two have to license separately in each. Nevada is outside it as well. Utah, New Mexico and Colorado are all members.
Related
- Nurse Licensure Compact
- Nurse practitioner practice authority
- Indian Health Service and tribal nursing
- Registered nurse pay
- Nursing by state
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, state population estimates for July 1, 2025. Accessed September 8, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, registered nurses (29-1141), May 2025. Accessed September 8, 2026.
- Arizona State Board of Nursing, contact details and licensing information. Accessed September 8, 2026.
- Nurse Licensure Compact, member states. Accessed September 8, 2026.
- American Association of Nurse Practitioners, State Practice Environment. Accessed September 8, 2026.