This page is built from the open postings on hospital and health-system career sites in Kentucky listed on Betterleap's job board: 3,543 open positions from 36 employers as of September 26, 2026, 1.7% of all open postings on the board, which ranks Kentucky #22 of 51 states. Registered nurses are 53.2% of the state's postings (919). Every figure below is a count or a posted pay range, never a job description; the method is at the end.
Where the jobs are in Kentucky
| # | City | Open postings | of which RN | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisville, KY | 947 | 196 | 14 |
| 2 | Lexington, KY | 438 | 126 | 15 |
| 3 | Edgewood, KY | 208 | 49 | 3 |
| 4 | Elizabethtown, KY | 191 | 44 | 3 |
| 5 | Paducah, KY | 190 | 74 | 6 |
| 6 | Bowling Green, KY | 137 | 58 | 6 |
| 7 | Florence, KY | 104 | 31 | 4 |
| 8 | Hopkinsville, KY | 95 | 38 | 3 |
Every city links to its live listings; the state's registered-nurse listings are at RN jobs in Kentucky.
Health systems hiring the most in Kentucky
Counted by open postings on the system's own career site, so a system that lists every unit and shift separately ranks higher than one that posts one evergreen requisition per role.
| # | Employer | Open postings in KY |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baptist Healthcare System | 1,211 |
| 2 | UofL Health | 465 |
| 3 | Saint Elizabeth Healthcare | 370 |
| 4 | Trinity Health | 289 |
| 5 | Commonwealth Health Corporation | 168 |
| 6 | Deaconess Health System | 156 |
| 7 | Humana Medical Group Inc | 134 |
| 8 | Kentfield Hospital | 109 |
Which roles Kentucky employers are hiring
| Role | Open postings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| registered nurses | 919 | 53.2% |
| medical assistants | 217 | 12.6% |
| physicians | 127 | 7.3% |
| respiratory therapists | 105 | 6.1% |
| patient access representatives | 95 | 5.5% |
| certified nursing assistants | 93 | 5.4% |
| licensed practical nurses | 88 | 5.1% |
| physical therapists | 84 | 4.9% |
What nursing jobs pay in Kentucky
For reference, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 50,300 registered nurses employed in Kentucky with a mean wage of $41.41 an hour ($86,140 a year), OEWS May 2025.
Only 7% of Kentucky postings state a pay range with both ends, and registered nurses postings with a range number 64: too few to publish a posted median (the rule is at least 100 postings and a median within a third of the BLS mean). The BLS figure above is the reliable reference for this state.
Licensing: working as a nurse in Kentucky
Kentucky is a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) according to NCSBN's compact map (read September 26, 2026, which lists 40 member states). A nurse whose primary state of residence is Kentucky can hold a multistate license and practice in every other compact state without a new application, and a nurse with a multistate license issued elsewhere can accept a job in Kentucky without waiting for an endorsement. The state's board of nursing contact page is on NCSBN.
Licensing is issued by the state board of nursing: an approved nursing program, the NCLEX-RN (or NCLEX-PN), a background check and the board's application. The board's own pages are the source of truth for fees and timelines; this page does not restate them.
How this is built
- Scope: open postings on public hospital and health-system career sites, counted as of the date shown; job descriptions are never republished. Only postings whose location is in Kentucky count here; a posting listing several sites counts once, at its first site.
- Pay point: midpoint of the posted range, hourly (annual ÷ 2080), only where both ends and the unit are posted. The top of a posted range is never used as "the pay". A posted median is published only with at least 100 postings and within a third of the BLS mean.
- Freshness: counts are refreshed monthly and the page shows its date; a posting that leaves an employer's site drops out.
- References: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state estimates; NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact map data, read September 26, 2026.
Data as of September 26, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many open nursing jobs are there in Kentucky right now?
3,543 open postings from 36 hospital and health-system employers in Kentucky as of September 26, 2026, 919 of them for registered nurses. Louisville has the most (947), then Lexington (438).
What do registered nurses earn in Kentucky?
The BLS OEWS May 2025 mean for registered nurses in Kentucky is $41.41 an hour, $86,140 a year, across 50,300 employed RNs. Too few open postings state a pay range for a posted median to be published for this state.
Is Kentucky a Nurse Licensure Compact state?
Yes. Kentucky is an NLC member per NCSBN's compact map (read September 26, 2026), so a multistate license issued by another compact state is valid there.
Which hospitals are hiring nurses in Kentucky?
By open postings on their own career sites: Baptist Healthcare System (1,211), UofL Health (465), Saint Elizabeth Healthcare (370) and 5 more listed above, as of September 26, 2026.