The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between nurse to population ratio and population density. A secondary analysis was conducted, correlating nurse to population data with county-based population density data. The sample consisted of all 17 counties in the state of Nevada (3 urban, 4 rural and 10 frontier). County nurse to population ratios ranged from 178 to 861 per 100,000 population and population density ranged from 0.3 to 173.9 people per square mile (mean of 39.3). Correlational analysis indicated a significant positive relationship between nurse to population ratio and population density (r = .65 (p