This page is built from the open postings on hospital and health-system career sites in Tennessee listed on Betterleap's job board: 3,387 open positions from 54 employers as of October 26, 2026, 1.6% of all open postings on the board, which ranks Tennessee #24 of 51 states. Registered nurses are 57.5% of the state's postings (892). 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 Tennessee
| # | City | Open postings | of which RN | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville, TN | 1,139 | 339 | 21 |
| 2 | Knoxville, TN | 261 | 64 | 13 |
| 3 | Cookeville, TN | 174 | 39 | 6 |
| 4 | Murfreesboro, TN | 159 | 58 | 7 |
| 5 | Memphis, TN | 144 | 28 | 10 |
| 6 | TN, TN | 131 | 20 | 1 |
| 7 | Brentwood, TN | 101 | 1 | 9 |
| 8 | Clarksville, TN | 96 | 37 | 6 |
Every city links to its live listings; the state's registered-nurse listings are at RN jobs in Tennessee.
Health systems hiring the most in Tennessee
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 TN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanderbilt Health | 956 |
| 2 | Ascension Health | 550 |
| 3 | Trinity Health | 310 |
| 4 | Community Health Systems | 252 |
| 5 | Covenant Health | 179 |
| 6 | Cookeville Regional Health System | 162 |
| 7 | Acadia Healthcare | 150 |
| 8 | Encompass Health | 122 |
Which roles Tennessee employers are hiring
| Role | Open postings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| registered nurses | 892 | 57.5% |
| licensed practical nurses | 132 | 8.5% |
| medical assistants | 120 | 7.7% |
| mental health counselors | 93 | 6% |
| patient access representatives | 86 | 5.5% |
| patient care technicians | 79 | 5.1% |
| nurse practitioners | 77 | 5% |
| medical laboratory technologists | 72 | 4.6% |
What nursing jobs pay in Tennessee
For reference, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 72,200 registered nurses employed in Tennessee with a mean wage of $41.05 an hour ($85,390 a year), OEWS May 2025.
Only 3.7% of Tennessee 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 Tennessee
Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 October 26, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many open nursing jobs are there in Tennessee right now?
3,387 open postings from 54 hospital and health-system employers in Tennessee as of October 26, 2026, 892 of them for registered nurses. Nashville has the most (1,139), then Knoxville (261).
What do registered nurses earn in Tennessee?
The BLS OEWS May 2025 mean for registered nurses in Tennessee is $41.05 an hour, $85,390 a year, across 72,200 employed RNs. Too few open postings state a pay range for a posted median to be published for this state.
Is Tennessee a Nurse Licensure Compact state?
Yes. Tennessee 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 Tennessee?
By open postings on their own career sites: Vanderbilt Health (956), Ascension Health (550), Trinity Health (310) and 5 more listed above, as of October 26, 2026.
