# Average Healthcare Turnover Rate: 22.7% (2026) The average healthcare turnover rate is 22.7% overall, 18.3% in hospitals, and 31.2% for CNAs. Full 2026 breakdown by role and care setting. Source: https://turnozo.com/blog/healthcare-turnover-rate Published: 2026-03-11 Updated: 2026-04-18 Category: industry Tags: statistics, turnover, healthcare, retention, data Healthcare has a turnover problem, but the average depends on where you look. Across healthcare roles, turnover sits at 22.7% overall. Hospitals average 18.3%. CNAs jump to 31.2%. This page consolidates the most current data on healthcare employee turnover so you can answer the benchmark question fast, then go deeper by role, care setting, and cost. Every number is sourced. Use it for budgeting, retention planning, or benchmarking your facility against the industry. ![Healthcare turnover rate infographic showing turnover pressure by care setting, high-risk roles, and RN replacement cost](/blog/healthcare-turnover-rate-infographic.jpg) > **Healthcare Turnover Chart: What is turnover costing your facility?:** Interactive element available in the full article. And that's just nurses. CNA and PCT replacement costs are lower per person - maybe $3,000-$5,000 each - but the volume is so much higher that the total cost can be comparable. The hidden costs are harder to quantify but equally real: - **Patient outcomes suffer** - understaffing directly correlates with higher readmission rates, more medication errors, and worse patient satisfaction scores - **Remaining staff burn out** - they pick up extra shifts, get stretched thin, and eventually leave too, creating a vicious cycle - **Institutional knowledge walks out** - that experienced charge nurse who knew every doctor's preferences, every patient's history? Irreplaceable in ways that don't show up on a spreadsheet --- ## Why healthcare workers actually leave The reasons aren't what most administrators assume. It's not just about pay. | Reason for Leaving | Prevalence | | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------- | | **Burnout and emotional exhaustion** | #1 driver across roles | | **Schedule inflexibility** | Critical for hourly and shift workers | | **Patient-to-staff ratios** | Especially in nursing homes and hospitals | | **Limited career advancement** | Biggest factor for CNAs and PCTs | | **Compensation below market** | Particularly for support roles | | **Workplace culture** | Manager relationship is the key variable | | **Physical demands** | Lifting, standing, repetitive strain | _Sources: [MGMA](https://www.mgma.com/mgma-stat/can-staff-turnover-continue-to-be-tamed-in-medical-practices-into-2026); [Rellevate](https://rellevate.com/news/healthcare-employee-turnover-statistics-you-need-to-know-in-2025/)_ ### The vacancy problem compounds turnover The national RN vacancy rate stands at 9.6%. When positions stay open, it takes an average of **94 days to fill a medical/surgical RN role** - over three months. During that gap, remaining staff absorb the workload, accelerating burnout and driving more exits. It's a flywheel that spins in the wrong direction. Turnover creates vacancies. Vacancies create overwork. Overwork creates more turnover. --- ## The preventable turnover gap ### 44% **Of healthcare turnover is considered potentially preventable** through improvements in the work environment. _Source: [Rellevate, Healthcare Turnover Stats 2025](https://rellevate.com/news/healthcare-employee-turnover-statistics-you-need-to-know-in-2025/)_ For a hospital with 5,000 employees at 18.3% turnover, that's roughly 400 preventable departures per year. At even $20,000 average replacement cost across all roles, that's **$8 million in avoidable annual spending**. --- ## What actually reduces healthcare turnover The research points to specific interventions that move the needle. ### 1. Schedule predictability and flexibility Schedule complaints are among the top reasons healthcare workers leave. Giving staff more input into their schedules - self-scheduling, shift swaps, advance notice - has measurable retention effects. Specialty practices achieve the lowest turnover partly because their schedules are the most predictable. ### 2. Competitive CNA and PCT compensation These roles have the highest turnover because the pay doesn't match the physical and emotional demands. Facilities that bring support staff compensation closer to market rates see immediate retention improvements. It's often the cheapest fix relative to the turnover cost it prevents. ### 3. First-year onboarding programs First-year turnover among new hires is a leading indicator of broader retention problems. Strong mentorship programs, realistic job previews, and structured check-ins during the first 90 days significantly reduce early exits. ### 4. Manager development The relationship with the direct manager is the single biggest factor in whether someone stays or goes. In healthcare, where charge nurses and floor managers control scheduling, assignments, and daily experience, investing in their leadership skills pays off across every team member they manage. ### 5. Reducing administrative burden Nurses increasingly cite documentation requirements as a major frustration. Tools and processes that reduce time spent on paperwork - giving clinicians more time for actual patient care - improve satisfaction and retention. For a full comparison of all options: [Best Employee Scheduling Software Compared](/blog/best-employee-scheduling-software) - See how scheduling challenges differ across industries: [Shift Management by Industry](/blog/scheduling-by-industry) > **Turnozo CTA:** > **Scheduling is fixable. Start there.** Turnozo lets healthcare teams manage > shifts, swaps, and availability in one place. Start free. --- ## Healthcare turnover benchmarks Where does your facility stand? | Benchmark | Annual Turnover Rate | | ------------------------------------- | -------------------- | | **Industry average (all healthcare)** | ~22.7% | | **Hospital average** | ~18.3% | | **Acceptable** | 15-20% | | **Good** | 10-15% | | **Best-in-class** | Below 10% | _Sources: [NSI Report](https://www.nsinursingsolutions.com/documents/library/nsi_national_health_care_retention_report.pdf); [The Resource Company](https://www.theresource.com/2025/11/19/healthcare-turnover-rate/)_ Specialty practices and outpatient clinics routinely hit below 20%. Hospitals that invest seriously in retention - competitive pay, schedule flexibility, strong managers - can push below 15%. Getting there requires sustained effort, but the ROI is clear when each percentage point of RN turnover equals $289,000. --- ## How to calculate your healthcare turnover rate The formula: **Turnover Rate (%) = (Number of Employees Who Left ÷ Average Number of Employees) × 100** Break it down by: - **Role** - CNAs, RNs, and admin staff need different retention strategies - **Department** - an ICU at 30% and a specialty clinic at 15% need different interventions - **Tenure** - first-year turnover signals onboarding problems, not compensation issues - **Voluntary vs. involuntary** - they have completely different root causes Track monthly. Look for trends over 6-12 month windows. The department-level data is where the actionable insights live - one floor might be at 10% while another is at 35%, and the difference is almost always the manager. --- ## The bottom line Healthcare turnover is structurally higher than many industries because the work is hard - physically, emotionally, and mentally. But the gap between industry average (22.7%) and best-in-class (below 10%) is huge, and most of the difference comes from controllable factors. Schedule flexibility. Competitive support staff pay. Strong onboarding. Good managers. Less paperwork. Every percentage point of RN turnover equals $289,000. For CNAs and PCTs, the per-person cost is lower but the volume is higher. Either way, retention isn't a soft HR initiative - it's a financial imperative. **Related reading:** - [The Real Cost of Employee Turnover (2026 Data) Full breakdown by role and industry](/blog/employee-turnover-cost) - [Retail Turnover Rate: Full Data Breakdown Comparison with another high-turnover sector](/blog/retail-turnover-rate) - [Healthcare Shift Scheduling Guide The scheduling fixes that improve retention](/blog/healthcare-shift-scheduling-guide) - [Employee Scheduling Best Practices What works across industries](/blog/employee-scheduling-best-practices)