As the second phase of a four-year research project on the geographic distribution of professional nurses, a study investigated what incentive or incentives motivate nurses in their choice of employment location. Data was analyzed from four sources: a survey of hospital directors of nursing, a survey of registered nurses, 1960 and 1970 U.S. Census information on individual nurses and their families, and the Survey of Employment Opportunities for Newly Licensed Nurses (conducted in 1973 by the National League for Nursing). Conclusions and policy implications were formulated for the following topics: (1) professional nurse staffing in hospitals and the impact of hospitals substituting lower-paid personnel for nurses, of nurses forming attachments to the geographic area of their schooling, and of nurses disliking the locations of the hospitals; (2) wage setting in hospitals, including the effect of unions and the relationship between wages and benefits; (3) mobility and interstate migration of nurses and their families, considering the variables of marriage and age; (4) matching nurses and jobs, focusing on the job market for, and job search by, newly licensed nurses; (5) retention in current employment, as influenced by age, marital status, spouse earnings, length of time with current employer, and type of nursing school program attended; (6) the demand for nonwage benefits according to age and marital status; and (7) nurse work hours and the effect of financial incentives. (ELG)