This page is built from the job board's live index of open postings on hospital and health-system career sites in Rhode Island: 2,379 open positions from 23 employers as of September 26, 2026, 1.1% of all open postings in the index, which ranks Rhode Island #28 of 51 states. Registered nurses are 59.3% of the state's postings (656). 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 Rhode Island
| # | City | Open postings | of which RN | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Providence, RI | 1,466 | 420 | 11 |
| 2 | Warwick, RI | 251 | 70 | 4 |
| 3 | North Providence, RI | 111 | 28 | 2 |
| 4 | Newport, RI | 108 | 41 | 3 |
| 5 | East Providence, RI | 107 | 16 | 3 |
| 6 | Woonsocket, RI | 107 | 41 | 1 |
| 7 | Wakefield, RI | 106 | 33 | 3 |
| 8 | Cranston, RI | 28 | 1 | 2 |
Every city links to its live listings; the state's registered-nurse listings are at RN jobs in Rhode Island.
Health systems hiring the most in Rhode Island
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 RI |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lifespan | 1,130 |
| 2 | Care New England Health System | 599 |
| 3 | Prospect Medical Holdings | 263 |
| 4 | Prime Healthcare Services | 110 |
| 5 | South County Health | 110 |
| 6 | The Providence Community Health Centers, Inc. | 46 |
| 7 | Comprehensive Community Action Inc | 23 |
| 8 | Tri-County Community Action Agency | 21 |
Which roles Rhode Island employers are hiring
| Role | Open postings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| registered nurses | 656 | 59.3% |
| certified nursing assistants | 131 | 11.8% |
| mental health counselors | 81 | 7.3% |
| medical assistants | 73 | 6.6% |
| case managers | 47 | 4.2% |
| physicians | 42 | 3.8% |
| phlebotomists | 39 | 3.5% |
| environmental services staff | 37 | 3.3% |
What nursing jobs pay in Rhode Island
For reference, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 10,090 registered nurses employed in Rhode Island with a mean wage of $48.68 an hour ($101,260 a year), OEWS May 2025.
Only 1.8% of Rhode Island postings state a pay range with both ends: 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 Rhode Island
Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island right now?
2,379 open postings from 23 hospital and health-system employers in Rhode Island as of September 26, 2026, 656 of them for registered nurses. Providence has the most (1,466), then Warwick (251).
What do registered nurses earn in Rhode Island?
The BLS OEWS May 2025 mean for registered nurses in Rhode Island is $48.68 an hour, $101,260 a year, across 10,090 employed RNs. Too few open postings state a pay range for a posted median to be published for this state.
Is Rhode Island a Nurse Licensure Compact state?
Yes. Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island?
By open postings on their own career sites: Lifespan (1,130), Care New England Health System (599), Prospect Medical Holdings (263) and 5 more listed above, as of September 26, 2026.