Healthcare · Raleigh-Durham, NC
Physician assistants and dental hygienists are the only clearly deep clinical pools in Raleigh-Cary; RNs, LPNs and respiratory therapists are scarcer than nationally, and RN pay trails the U.S. median by 13%. Careerscape runs Triangle healthcare searches remotely, with recruiters who specialize in the industry instead of sitting in a regional office.
Where care happens
Federal statistics split the Triangle into the Raleigh-Cary and Durham-Chapel Hill metros. The occupation table on this page covers Raleigh-Cary only. Named systems are market context, not Careerscape clients.
WakeMed, headquartered in Raleigh, runs its main hospital on New Bern Avenue, next to Wake Tech's Perry Health Sciences Campus, and hospitals in Cary and North Raleigh. Counted in Raleigh-Cary.
UNC Rex Hospital, part of UNC Health, is on Lake Boone Trail. Duke Raleigh Hospital is on Wake Forest Road, and WakeMed North is on Falls of Neuse Road. Counted in Raleigh-Cary.
WakeMed Cary Hospital and the Apex HealthPlex emergency department serve western Wake County. UNC Rex opened a facility in Holly Springs in December 2021. Counted in Raleigh-Cary.
Duke University Hospital and Duke Regional Hospital are in Durham, and UNC anchors Chapel Hill. These are in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro, so they are not in the Raleigh-Cary figures below, though many clinicians commute between the two.
The gap
Raleigh-Cary is short on the clinicians most hospitals need. Registered nurses have a location quotient of 0.79, so RNs make up a smaller share of local jobs than they do nationally. LPNs (0.56), respiratory therapists (0.64) and health services managers (0.72) are thinner still. And pay for several of those roles sits below the U.S. median: the RN median is $84,830, against $97,550 nationally.
North Carolina belongs to the Nurse Licensure Compact, which helps. An RN or LPN whose home state is another compact state can work in North Carolina on a multistate license, so relocating nurses and travel staff can start without waiting for a new license.
Our healthcare recruiters run Triangle searches from a national, remote team; read how our healthcare staffing services work. For the region's biomanufacturing build-out and North Carolina's general hiring rules, see our Raleigh-Durham staffing guide.
BLS May 2025
Raleigh-Cary, NC metro, May 2025. Durham-Chapel Hill, home to Duke University Hospital, is a separate BLS metro and isn't included. Only two of the twelve occupations have location quotients clearly above 1.0.
| Occupation | Jobs in metro | Median pay · vs. U.S. | Concentration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 12,780 | $84,830−13% | 0.79 |
| Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses | 1,740 | $64,080±0% | 0.56 |
| Nursing Assistants | 6,420 | $39,710−6% | 0.93 |
| Nurse Practitioners | 1,510 | $128,150−3% | 0.98 |
| Physician Assistants | 1,220 | $124,300−9% | 1.58 |
| Physical Therapists | 1,190 | $99,900−3% | 0.93 |
| Radiologic Technologists and Technicians | 1,080 | $68,210−15% | 0.98 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | 2,070 | $113,710−8% | 0.72 |
| Medical Assistants | 3,810 | $46,160+1% | 0.98 |
| Medical Records Specialists | 900 | $54,340+6% | 0.97 |
| Respiratory Therapists | 430 | $87,820+7% | 0.64 |
| Dental Hygienists | 1,220 | $98,800+1% | 1.15 |
Physician assistants are the deep exception (1.58), though their $124,300 median is below the $135,880 U.S. figure. The profession started nearby: Duke assembled the first physician assistant class in 1965. Dental hygienists (1.15) are the other deep pool. Radiologic technologists are paid well below the nation ($68,210 against $80,110), while respiratory therapists, one of the thinnest pools, earn above it ($87,820 against $82,280). Jobs and median annual pay for the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area, all employers, from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025). “Vs. U.S.” compares with the national median. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: above 1.0 means the job makes up a bigger share of local employment than it does nationally.
Roles we recruit
For hospitals, physician groups, urgent care and outpatient centers, dental groups and health-business teams across Wake, Durham and Orange counties.
Hiring advice
Practical steps when the local bench is thin and demand keeps rising.
North Carolina's compact membership lets multistate-licensed RNs and LPNs from other compact states start without a new license. Make relocation support part of the offer for hard-to-fill units.
Raleigh RN pay trails the U.S. median by 13.0%. Candidates moving from other states, or weighing travel contracts, compare against national pay. See the RN salary guide and radiologic technologist pay.
Respiratory therapists (430 jobs in the metro, quotient 0.64) and LPNs (0.56) are scarce. Contract staffing or contract-to-hire can cover shifts while a permanent search runs.
The Durham-Chapel Hill metro is a separate labor pool on paper but one commute in practice. Widen searches to Durham and Orange counties for experienced clinicians.
Wake Tech's Perry Health Sciences Campus sits beside WakeMed's main hospital in East Raleigh. Clinical placements and preceptor roles give employers an early look at new graduates before they reach the open market.
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FAQ
Yes. North Carolina is a member, so an RN or LPN whose primary state of residence is another compact state, and who holds an active multistate license there, can practice in North Carolina without a separate license. Nurses who move to North Carolina and make it their home state need to apply for a North Carolina license. Nurses from non-compact jurisdictions, such as DC, need a North Carolina license.
The May 2025 BLS median for registered nurses in the Raleigh-Cary metro was $84,830, against $97,550 nationally. The metro had 12,780 RN jobs and a location quotient of 0.79, meaning RNs are a smaller share of local jobs than in the U.S. as a whole. Durham-Chapel Hill, a separate metro, isn't included in that figure.
Federal statistics treat Raleigh-Cary and Durham-Chapel Hill as separate metropolitan areas. Duke University Hospital and Duke Regional Hospital are in Durham, so their staff count in the Durham-Chapel Hill figures. Duke Raleigh Hospital, WakeMed and UNC Rex are in the Raleigh-Cary numbers. Employers recruiting across the Triangle should treat the two as one commuting market.
BLS location quotients point to LPNs (0.56), respiratory therapists (0.64), health services managers (0.72) and registered nurses (0.79) as the thinnest pools in Raleigh-Cary. Physician assistants (1.58) and dental hygienists (1.15) are deeper than the national average. Even near-average pools such as nursing assistants (0.93) can feel tight when several systems recruit at once.
No. Careerscape is a national recruiting agency with a remote team and no office in Raleigh or Durham. Recruiters specialize by industry, and our healthcare recruiters work on searches for Triangle employers. You get a pre-screened shortlist in a private Employer Portal. Candidates never pay us, and open roles are listed on our jobs board.
Send us the roles you're struggling to fill. We'll recruit across North Carolina and compact states and send a pre-screened shortlist.
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