Nursing Pay
When it comes to nursing pay, RN salaries are as impressive as their career prospects. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) lists the median annual RN wage as $64,690, or $31.10 an hour, as of May 2010. Salary potential can change and grow based on education, specialty, industry, geography, hours worked and more.
Fast Facts on Nursing Salaries
All figures are annual mean wages unless otherwise noted.
Highest-paying industry is personal care services ($85,940).
Median salaries for in-demand RN positions:
- Nurse instructor ($64,850)
- Home healthcare nurse ($65,120)
- Outpatient care nurse ($72,220)
- Private practice/physician offices ($72,890)
- Mental health/ psychiatric nurse practitioner ($90,60)
Top-paying states:
- California ($90,860)
- Massachusetts ($86,810)
- Hawaii ($83,950)
- Alaska ($82,080)
- Nevada ($77,840)
Nursing pay for the top five metro areas with highest number of RNs (in order of employment levels):
- New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division ($83,060)
- Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division ($70,820)
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division ($85,340)
- Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division ($94,600)
- Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division ($74,460)
Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Registered Nurses, http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm (visited June 27, 2013).
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment Statistics, Employment and Wages, May 2011 Registered Nurses, http://www.bls.gov/oes/2011/may/oes291111.htm#nat (visited June 27, 2013).
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment Statistics, Employment and Wages, May 2012, Nurse Practitioners, http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291171.htm (visited June 27, 2013).
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment Statistics, Employment and Wages, May 2012, Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary, http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes251072.htm (visited June 27, 2013).
