This page is built from the open postings on hospital and health-system career sites in Wisconsin listed on Betterleap's job board: 6,311 open positions from 56 employers as of October 26, 2026, 3% of all open postings on the board, which ranks Wisconsin #13 of 51 states. Registered nurses are 56.3% of the state's postings (1,865). 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 Wisconsin
| # | City | Open postings | of which RN | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milwaukee, WI | 1,066 | 446 | 10 |
| 2 | Madison, WI | 836 | 253 | 13 |
| 3 | Appleton, WI | 440 | 137 | 8 |
| 4 | Neenah, WI | 252 | 70 | 5 |
| 5 | Menomonee Falls, WI | 241 | 65 | 4 |
| 6 | Eau Claire, WI | 214 | 28 | 7 |
| 7 | Green Bay, WI | 209 | 74 | 8 |
| 8 | Fond du Lac, WI | 141 | 40 | 4 |
Every city links to its live listings; the state's registered-nurse listings are at RN jobs in Wisconsin.
Health systems hiring the most in Wisconsin
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 WI |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital | 1,054 |
| 2 | ThedaCare | 928 |
| 3 | Ascension Health | 773 |
| 4 | UW Health | 646 |
| 5 | Advocate Health | 562 |
| 6 | SSM Health | 493 |
| 7 | Mercyhealth | 253 |
| 8 | Sanford Health | 248 |
Which roles Wisconsin employers are hiring
| Role | Open postings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| registered nurses | 1,865 | 56.3% |
| medical assistants | 345 | 10.4% |
| patient access representatives | 228 | 6.9% |
| certified nursing assistants | 192 | 5.8% |
| physicians | 188 | 5.7% |
| patient care technicians | 178 | 5.4% |
| respiratory therapists | 169 | 5.1% |
| surgical technologists | 150 | 4.5% |
What nursing jobs pay in Wisconsin
For reference, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 68,060 registered nurses employed in Wisconsin with a mean wage of $45.53 an hour ($94,690 a year), OEWS May 2025.
Only 1.6% of Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin
Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin right now?
6,311 open postings from 56 hospital and health-system employers in Wisconsin as of October 26, 2026, 1,865 of them for registered nurses. Milwaukee has the most (1,066), then Madison (836).
What do registered nurses earn in Wisconsin?
The BLS OEWS May 2025 mean for registered nurses in Wisconsin is $45.53 an hour, $94,690 a year, across 68,060 employed RNs. Too few open postings state a pay range for a posted median to be published for this state.
Is Wisconsin a Nurse Licensure Compact state?
Yes. Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin?
By open postings on their own career sites: Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital (1,054), ThedaCare (928), Ascension Health (773) and 5 more listed above, as of October 26, 2026.
