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Background Nursing is a high-pressure job in China, where the employment ratio is lower than the global level. In China, most nurses are female and need to reconcile professional demands with family responsibilities. Therefore, providing the support necessary to maintain a work–family balance is essential for reducing pressure and promoting better engagement in nursing work. Methods This study conducts a latent profile analysis to identify diversity in work–family balance in the nursing profession in China. Latent profile analysis can identify clusters of individuals with different qualities; in this case, the study is person-centered rather than variable-centered. Results This study classifies the types of work–family balance in nurses and identifies the influencing factors between different profiles. More specifically, by analyzing gains and strains in 451 clinical nurses (93.32% female and 6.65% male) in China, this study identifies three levels of the work–family balance: unbalanced, barely-balanced, and balanced. The three-profile model is the optimal profile model for work–family balance classification and further analysis. Results indicate that age, department, length of service, and dual-earner couples are important factors affecting the family balance patterns. Conclusions Based on these profiles, it is recommended that hospital managers take action to improve nurses’ work–family balance, thereby improving their job well-being and enhancing their work motivation.