This page is built from the job board's live index of open postings on hospital and health-system career sites in Missouri: 6,314 open positions from 61 employers as of September 26, 2026, 3% of all open postings in the index, which ranks Missouri #11 of 51 states. Registered nurses are 58% of the state's postings (1,752). 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 Missouri
| # | City | Open postings | of which RN | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Springfield, MO | 870 | 197 | 11 |
| 2 | Kansas City, MO | 672 | 225 | 17 |
| 3 | Saint Louis, MO | 507 | 227 | 7 |
| 4 | Columbia, MO | 428 | 137 | 12 |
| 5 | Cape Girardeau, MO | 316 | 89 | 5 |
| 6 | Creve Coeur, MO | 313 | 55 | 2 |
| 7 | Sappington, MO | 242 | 114 | 1 |
| 8 | Chesterfield, MO | 234 | 81 | 6 |
Every city links to its live listings; the state's registered-nurse listings are at RN jobs in Missouri.
Health systems hiring the most in Missouri
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 MO |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercy | 1,209 |
| 2 | SSM Health | 925 |
| 3 | CoxHealth | 522 |
| 4 | BJC Healthcare | 444 |
| 5 | University of Missouri Health Care | 425 |
| 6 | Preferred Family Healthcare, Incorporated | 392 |
| 7 | Saint Lukes Episcopal Presbyterian Hospital | 247 |
| 8 | University Health | 209 |
Which roles Missouri employers are hiring
| Role | Open postings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| registered nurses | 1,752 | 58% |
| licensed practical nurses | 309 | 10.2% |
| medical assistants | 222 | 7.4% |
| radiologic technologists | 180 | 6% |
| mental health counselors | 156 | 5.2% |
| physicians | 141 | 4.7% |
| patient access representatives | 138 | 4.6% |
| respiratory therapists | 121 | 4% |
What nursing jobs pay in Missouri
For reference, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 76,310 registered nurses employed in Missouri with a mean wage of $41.30 an hour ($85,900 a year), OEWS May 2025.
Where enough Missouri postings state a pay range with both ends (7% of them do), the median midpoint of the posted range, converted to hourly (annual divided by 2,080), with the middle half of postings and the BLS May 2025 state mean for the same occupation:
| Role | Postings with a range | Median posted midpoint | Middle half of postings | BLS mean | Posted vs BLS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| registered nurses | 143 | $42.50/hr | $37.50 to $42.50 | $41.30/hr | +2.9% |
Licensing: working as a nurse in Missouri
Missouri 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 Missouri 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 Missouri 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, published postings ingested from public hospital and health-system career sites (source = api); customer-bridged and manual postings excluded. Only postings whose location is in Missouri 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: the index is crawled daily; this page is regenerated monthly and shows its generation date.
- 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 Missouri right now?
6,314 open postings from 61 hospital and health-system employers in Missouri as of September 26, 2026, 1,752 of them for registered nurses. Springfield has the most (870), then Kansas City (672).
What do registered nurses earn in Missouri?
The BLS OEWS May 2025 mean for registered nurses in Missouri is $41.30 an hour, $85,900 a year, across 76,310 employed RNs. Open postings that state a range (143 of them) have a median midpoint of $42.50 an hour, +2.9% versus the BLS mean.
Is Missouri a Nurse Licensure Compact state?
Yes. Missouri 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 Missouri?
By open postings on their own career sites: Mercy (1,209), SSM Health (925), CoxHealth (522) and 5 more listed above, as of September 26, 2026.