{
  "tuition": [
    {
      "year": 2000,
      "value": 10820
    },
    {
      "year": 2001,
      "value": 11380
    },
    {
      "year": 2002,
      "value": 12014
    },
    {
      "year": 2003,
      "value": 12953
    },
    {
      "year": 2004,
      "value": 13793
    },
    {
      "year": 2005,
      "value": 14634
    },
    {
      "year": 2006,
      "value": 15486
    },
    {
      "year": 2007,
      "value": 16227
    },
    {
      "year": 2008,
      "value": 17045
    },
    {
      "year": 2009,
      "value": 17650
    },
    {
      "year": 2010,
      "value": 18475
    },
    {
      "year": 2011,
      "value": 19401
    },
    {
      "year": 2012,
      "value": 20233
    },
    {
      "year": 2013,
      "value": 20995
    },
    {
      "year": 2014,
      "value": 21729
    },
    {
      "year": 2015,
      "value": 22439
    },
    {
      "year": 2016,
      "value": 23091
    },
    {
      "year": 2017,
      "value": 23833
    },
    {
      "year": 2018,
      "value": 24619
    },
    {
      "year": 2019,
      "value": 25280
    },
    {
      "year": 2020,
      "value": 25906
    },
    {
      "year": 2021,
      "value": 26858
    },
    {
      "year": 2022,
      "value": 27673
    }
  ],
  "tuition_source": "NCES Digest table 330.10 — average TOTAL cost (tuition, fees, room, board), all undergraduate institutions, current dollars. Not nursing-specific; shown as the cost-of-college backdrop.",
  "events": [
    {
      "year": 2008,
      "label": "Great Recession begins",
      "short": "Recession",
      "what": "The financial crisis triggered the deepest US downturn since the 1930s. Unemployment peaked near 10%; healthcare was one of the few sectors that kept hiring.",
      "window": 2,
      "no_effect_reason": null
    },
    {
      "year": 2010,
      "label": "Affordable Care Act signed",
      "short": "ACA signed",
      "what": "The ACA extended insurance coverage to roughly 20 million more people, increasing demand for care and shifting how hospitals were paid.",
      "window": 2,
      "no_effect_reason": null
    },
    {
      "year": 2020,
      "label": "COVID-19 pandemic declared",
      "short": "COVID-19",
      "what": "Hospitals filled, staffing collapsed in places, and travel-nurse rates spiked. Inflation followed in 2021–22.",
      "window": 2,
      "no_effect_reason": null
    },
    {
      "year": 2023,
      "label": "Next Gen NCLEX launches",
      "short": "New NCLEX",
      "what": "The licensing exam changed format, adding case-study items that test clinical judgement rather than recall.",
      "window": 2,
      "no_effect_reason": null
    }
  ],
  "events_note": "Markers show WHEN events happened; no causal claim about data movements is made or implied.",
  "event_images": {
    "2008": {
      "file": "/events/2008.jpg",
      "bytes": 64502,
      "licence": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
      "attribution": "David Shankbone",
      "source_page": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lehman_Brothers_Times_Square_by_David_Shankbone.jpg",
      "downloaded": "330px-Lehman_Brothers_Ti",
      "commons_title": "Lehman Brothers Times Square by David Shankbone.jpg"
    },
    "2010": {
      "file": "/events/2010.jpg",
      "bytes": 24710,
      "licence": "Public domain",
      "attribution": "Pete Souza",
      "source_page": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Obama_signs_health_care-20100323.jpg",
      "downloaded": "330px-Obama_signs_health",
      "commons_title": "Obama signs health care-20100323.jpg"
    },
    "2020": {
      "file": "/events/2020.png",
      "bytes": 193313,
      "licence": "Public domain",
      "attribution": "Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM",
      "source_page": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SARS-CoV-2_without_background.png",
      "downloaded": "330px-SARS-CoV-2_without",
      "commons_title": "SARS-CoV-2 without background.png"
    },
    "2023": {
      "file": "/events/2023.jpg",
      "bytes": 53073,
      "licence": "Public domain",
      "attribution": "Bill Branson (Photographer)",
      "source_page": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nurse_with_patient.jpg",
      "downloaded": "330px-Nurse_with_patient",
      "commons_title": "Nurse with patient.jpg"
    }
  },
  "series": [
    {
      "key": "pay_nominal",
      "label": "RN pay (what the payslip said)",
      "short": "RN weekly pay",
      "unit": "USD / week",
      "axis": "$",
      "blurb": "Median usual weekly earnings for full-time registered nurses, in the dollars of each year.",
      "source": "BLS Current Population Survey via api.bls.gov public API",
      "points": [
        {
          "year": 2000,
          "value": 781
        },
        {
          "year": 2001,
          "value": 800
        },
        {
          "year": 2002,
          "value": 869
        },
        {
          "year": 2003,
          "value": 899
        },
        {
          "year": 2004,
          "value": 904
        },
        {
          "year": 2005,
          "value": 935
        },
        {
          "year": 2006,
          "value": 978
        },
        {
          "year": 2007,
          "value": 984
        },
        {
          "year": 2008,
          "value": 1022
        },
        {
          "year": 2009,
          "value": 1039
        },
        {
          "year": 2010,
          "value": 1055
        },
        {
          "year": 2011,
          "value": 1039
        },
        {
          "year": 2012,
          "value": 1097
        },
        {
          "year": 2013,
          "value": 1099
        },
        {
          "year": 2014,
          "value": 1090
        },
        {
          "year": 2015,
          "value": 1116
        },
        {
          "year": 2016,
          "value": 1154
        },
        {
          "year": 2017,
          "value": 1150
        },
        {
          "year": 2018,
          "value": 1167
        },
        {
          "year": 2019,
          "value": 1223
        },
        {
          "year": 2020,
          "value": 1262
        },
        {
          "year": 2021,
          "value": 1305
        },
        {
          "year": 2022,
          "value": 1395
        },
        {
          "year": 2023,
          "value": 1442
        },
        {
          "year": 2024,
          "value": 1507
        },
        {
          "year": 2025,
          "value": 1563
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "key": "pay_real",
      "label": "RN pay (in 2024 dollars)",
      "short": "RN weekly pay in 2024 dollars",
      "unit": "USD / week, 2024 dollars",
      "axis": "$",
      "blurb": "The same pay, adjusted for inflation. It rose 5.9% in real terms between 2000 and 2024 — the nominal line over the same period rises far more, and the difference is inflation, not raises.",
      "source": "BLS CPS deflated by CPI-U (api.bls.gov)",
      "points": [
        {
          "year": 2000,
          "value": 1423
        },
        {
          "year": 2001,
          "value": 1417
        },
        {
          "year": 2002,
          "value": 1515
        },
        {
          "year": 2003,
          "value": 1533
        },
        {
          "year": 2004,
          "value": 1501
        },
        {
          "year": 2005,
          "value": 1502
        },
        {
          "year": 2006,
          "value": 1522
        },
        {
          "year": 2007,
          "value": 1489
        },
        {
          "year": 2008,
          "value": 1489
        },
        {
          "year": 2009,
          "value": 1519
        },
        {
          "year": 2010,
          "value": 1518
        },
        {
          "year": 2011,
          "value": 1449
        },
        {
          "year": 2012,
          "value": 1499
        },
        {
          "year": 2013,
          "value": 1480
        },
        {
          "year": 2014,
          "value": 1444
        },
        {
          "year": 2015,
          "value": 1477
        },
        {
          "year": 2016,
          "value": 1508
        },
        {
          "year": 2017,
          "value": 1472
        },
        {
          "year": 2018,
          "value": 1458
        },
        {
          "year": 2019,
          "value": 1501
        },
        {
          "year": 2020,
          "value": 1530
        },
        {
          "year": 2021,
          "value": 1511
        },
        {
          "year": 2022,
          "value": 1495
        },
        {
          "year": 2023,
          "value": 1485
        },
        {
          "year": 2024,
          "value": 1507
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "key": "pay_vs_all",
      "label": "RN pay vs all US workers",
      "short": "RN weekly pay",
      "unit": "USD / week",
      "axis": "$",
      "blurb": "Nurses earned 36% above the median full-time worker in 2000 and 30% in 2024. Same CPS survey for both lines, so the gap is real and not a difference of method.",
      "source": "BLS Current Population Survey via api.bls.gov public API",
      "points": [
        {
          "year": 2000,
          "value": 781
        },
        {
          "year": 2001,
          "value": 800
        },
        {
          "year": 2002,
          "value": 869
        },
        {
          "year": 2003,
          "value": 899
        },
        {
          "year": 2004,
          "value": 904
        },
        {
          "year": 2005,
          "value": 935
        },
        {
          "year": 2006,
          "value": 978
        },
        {
          "year": 2007,
          "value": 984
        },
        {
          "year": 2008,
          "value": 1022
        },
        {
          "year": 2009,
          "value": 1039
        },
        {
          "year": 2010,
          "value": 1055
        },
        {
          "year": 2011,
          "value": 1039
        },
        {
          "year": 2012,
          "value": 1097
        },
        {
          "year": 2013,
          "value": 1099
        },
        {
          "year": 2014,
          "value": 1090
        },
        {
          "year": 2015,
          "value": 1116
        },
        {
          "year": 2016,
          "value": 1154
        },
        {
          "year": 2017,
          "value": 1150
        },
        {
          "year": 2018,
          "value": 1167
        },
        {
          "year": 2019,
          "value": 1223
        },
        {
          "year": 2020,
          "value": 1262
        },
        {
          "year": 2021,
          "value": 1305
        },
        {
          "year": 2022,
          "value": 1395
        },
        {
          "year": 2023,
          "value": 1442
        },
        {
          "year": 2024,
          "value": 1507
        },
        {
          "year": 2025,
          "value": 1563
        }
      ],
      "compare": {
        "label": "All full-time wage and salary workers",
        "short": "the median full-time worker's pay",
        "tag": "all workers",
        "points": [
          {
            "year": 2000,
            "value": 575
          },
          {
            "year": 2001,
            "value": 596
          },
          {
            "year": 2002,
            "value": 608
          },
          {
            "year": 2003,
            "value": 620
          },
          {
            "year": 2004,
            "value": 638
          },
          {
            "year": 2005,
            "value": 651
          },
          {
            "year": 2006,
            "value": 671
          },
          {
            "year": 2007,
            "value": 694
          },
          {
            "year": 2008,
            "value": 722
          },
          {
            "year": 2009,
            "value": 740
          },
          {
            "year": 2010,
            "value": 746
          },
          {
            "year": 2011,
            "value": 756
          },
          {
            "year": 2012,
            "value": 768
          },
          {
            "year": 2013,
            "value": 776
          },
          {
            "year": 2014,
            "value": 791
          },
          {
            "year": 2015,
            "value": 809
          },
          {
            "year": 2016,
            "value": 832
          },
          {
            "year": 2017,
            "value": 860
          },
          {
            "year": 2018,
            "value": 886
          },
          {
            "year": 2019,
            "value": 917
          },
          {
            "year": 2020,
            "value": 984
          },
          {
            "year": 2021,
            "value": 998
          },
          {
            "year": 2022,
            "value": 1058
          },
          {
            "year": 2023,
            "value": 1116
          },
          {
            "year": 2024,
            "value": 1160
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "key": "tuition",
      "label": "Cost of college",
      "short": "The average cost of a year of college",
      "unit": "USD / year",
      "axis": "$",
      "blurb": "Average total cost of attendance across all undergraduate institutions — not nursing-specific, shown as the backdrop against which the pay line has to be read.",
      "source": "NCES Digest table 330.10",
      "points": [
        {
          "year": 2000,
          "value": 10820
        },
        {
          "year": 2001,
          "value": 11380
        },
        {
          "year": 2002,
          "value": 12014
        },
        {
          "year": 2003,
          "value": 12953
        },
        {
          "year": 2004,
          "value": 13793
        },
        {
          "year": 2005,
          "value": 14634
        },
        {
          "year": 2006,
          "value": 15486
        },
        {
          "year": 2007,
          "value": 16227
        },
        {
          "year": 2008,
          "value": 17045
        },
        {
          "year": 2009,
          "value": 17650
        },
        {
          "year": 2010,
          "value": 18475
        },
        {
          "year": 2011,
          "value": 19401
        },
        {
          "year": 2012,
          "value": 20233
        },
        {
          "year": 2013,
          "value": 20995
        },
        {
          "year": 2014,
          "value": 21729
        },
        {
          "year": 2015,
          "value": 22439
        },
        {
          "year": 2016,
          "value": 23091
        },
        {
          "year": 2017,
          "value": 23833
        },
        {
          "year": 2018,
          "value": 24619
        },
        {
          "year": 2019,
          "value": 25280
        },
        {
          "year": 2020,
          "value": 25906
        },
        {
          "year": 2021,
          "value": 26858
        },
        {
          "year": 2022,
          "value": 27673
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "key": "pay_vs_tuition",
      "label": "Pay vs college cost (indexed)",
      "short": "RN weekly pay",
      "unit": "2000 = 100",
      "axis": "index",
      "blurb": "Both rebased to 2000 so their growth is comparable. This is the return-on-cost question in one picture.",
      "source": "BLS CPS + NCES",
      "points": [
        {
          "year": 2000,
          "value": 781
        },
        {
          "year": 2001,
          "value": 800
        },
        {
          "year": 2002,
          "value": 869
        },
        {
          "year": 2003,
          "value": 899
        },
        {
          "year": 2004,
          "value": 904
        },
        {
          "year": 2005,
          "value": 935
        },
        {
          "year": 2006,
          "value": 978
        },
        {
          "year": 2007,
          "value": 984
        },
        {
          "year": 2008,
          "value": 1022
        },
        {
          "year": 2009,
          "value": 1039
        },
        {
          "year": 2010,
          "value": 1055
        },
        {
          "year": 2011,
          "value": 1039
        },
        {
          "year": 2012,
          "value": 1097
        },
        {
          "year": 2013,
          "value": 1099
        },
        {
          "year": 2014,
          "value": 1090
        },
        {
          "year": 2015,
          "value": 1116
        },
        {
          "year": 2016,
          "value": 1154
        },
        {
          "year": 2017,
          "value": 1150
        },
        {
          "year": 2018,
          "value": 1167
        },
        {
          "year": 2019,
          "value": 1223
        },
        {
          "year": 2020,
          "value": 1262
        },
        {
          "year": 2021,
          "value": 1305
        },
        {
          "year": 2022,
          "value": 1395
        },
        {
          "year": 2023,
          "value": 1442
        },
        {
          "year": 2024,
          "value": 1507
        },
        {
          "year": 2025,
          "value": 1563
        }
      ],
      "compare": {
        "label": "Cost of college",
        "short": "the average cost of a year of college",
        "tag": "college",
        "points": [
          {
            "year": 2000,
            "value": 10820
          },
          {
            "year": 2001,
            "value": 11380
          },
          {
            "year": 2002,
            "value": 12014
          },
          {
            "year": 2003,
            "value": 12953
          },
          {
            "year": 2004,
            "value": 13793
          },
          {
            "year": 2005,
            "value": 14634
          },
          {
            "year": 2006,
            "value": 15486
          },
          {
            "year": 2007,
            "value": 16227
          },
          {
            "year": 2008,
            "value": 17045
          },
          {
            "year": 2009,
            "value": 17650
          },
          {
            "year": 2010,
            "value": 18475
          },
          {
            "year": 2011,
            "value": 19401
          },
          {
            "year": 2012,
            "value": 20233
          },
          {
            "year": 2013,
            "value": 20995
          },
          {
            "year": 2014,
            "value": 21729
          },
          {
            "year": 2015,
            "value": 22439
          },
          {
            "year": 2016,
            "value": 23091
          },
          {
            "year": 2017,
            "value": 23833
          },
          {
            "year": 2018,
            "value": 24619
          },
          {
            "year": 2019,
            "value": 25280
          },
          {
            "year": 2020,
            "value": 25906
          },
          {
            "year": 2021,
            "value": 26858
          },
          {
            "year": 2022,
            "value": 27673
          }
        ]
      },
      "indexed": true
    }
  ],
  "gss_waves_note": "A GSS-wave satisfaction timeline was evaluated and rejected: the survey holds 42 nurse respondents TOTAL across all years — per-wave slices would be meaningless. The corpus-based trend in Part five is the honest alternative."
}