StateRates

Registered Nurses salary by state

The median registered nurses in the United States earned $93,600 a year in 2024, about $45.00 an hour. Across the 51 states reporting the occupation, pay runs from $140,330 in California down to $69,510 in South Dakota.

Healthcare practitioners SOC 29-1141

National median $93,600 $45.00 per hour
Highest paying state $140,330 California
Lowest paying state $69,510 South Dakota
Employed 3,282,320 across 51 states

What the spread means

Pay for this occupation varies enormously by location. California pays roughly 2 times what South Dakota does for the same job title, which is a wider gap than most occupations show and usually points to differences in licensing, unionisation or the industries that employ these workers in each state.

A high median is not automatically a better deal. States that pay well for this work are frequently expensive places to live, and the same salary buys very different amounts of housing and energy depending on where it is earned. The state pages linked below carry electricity, gas and housing figures for the same places.

Highest paying states

Lowest paying states

Where the work is concentrated

Location quotient compares how common an occupation is in a state against how common it is nationally. A value of 2 means the state employs twice the national share of these workers. It is a better guide to where the jobs actually are than the raw count, which mostly tracks state population.

Most concentrated states, 2024
State Concentration Employed Median pay
South Dakota 1.5× 14,500 $69,510
West Virginia 1.46× 21,740 $79,990
Delaware 1.31× 13,260 $92,610
North Dakota 1.22× 11,000 $78,260
Maine 1.2× 16,280 $82,860

Every state

Registered Nurses pay by state, 2024
# State Median salary Hourly 10th pct 90th pct Employed vs U.S.
1 California $140,330 $67.47 $100,120 $208,880 326,720 + 49.9%
2 Hawaii $136,320 $65.54 $82,380 $146,480 13,100 + 45.6%
3 Oregon $123,990 $59.61 $95,040 $143,410 39,900 + 32.5%
4 Washington $112,180 $53.93 $86,490 $149,370 64,690 + 19.9%
5 Alaska $110,690 $53.22 $82,400 $137,400 7,040 + 18.3%
6 New York $105,600 $50.77 $77,930 $153,420 204,120 + 12.8%
7 District of Columbia $104,550 $50.27 $81,880 $135,620 9,790 + 11.7%
8 New Jersey $102,730 $49.39 $81,670 $130,540 95,150 + 9.8%
9 Nevada $101,990 $49.03 $77,960 $132,990 27,570 + 9%
10 Massachusetts $101,970 $49.03 $76,950 $173,590 90,190 + 8.9%
11 Connecticut $101,590 $48.84 $78,660 $132,840 39,020 + 8.5%
12 Minnesota $100,870 $48.50 $75,830 $128,200 64,740 + 7.8%
13 Rhode Island $99,960 $48.06 $72,090 $128,520 10,760 + 6.8%
14 Arizona $96,890 $46.58 $69,930 $123,480 64,430 + 3.5%
15 Maryland $96,830 $46.55 $75,470 $121,150 48,980 + 3.5%
16 New Hampshire $96,830 $46.55 $69,250 $120,120 16,580 + 3.5%
17 Colorado $96,520 $46.40 $76,050 $121,710 54,510 + 3.1%
18 Delaware $92,610 $44.53 $72,850 $127,340 13,260 -1.1%
19 Texas $90,010 $43.27 $64,660 $122,060 261,050 -3.8%
20 Virginia $88,820 $42.70 $64,370 $124,040 77,420 -5.1%
21 New Mexico $88,260 $42.43 $70,630 $121,200 17,510 -5.7%
22 Pennsylvania $87,610 $42.12 $67,410 $116,590 146,840 -6.4%
23 Georgia $86,560 $41.61 $66,110 $124,810 97,410 -7.5%
24 Illinois $86,410 $41.54 $64,930 $112,320 139,900 -7.7%
25 Idaho $86,100 $41.39 $65,690 $118,460 14,540 -8%
26 Wisconsin $86,070 $41.38 $74,970 $109,270 64,960 -8%
27 Michigan $85,670 $41.19 $70,150 $106,770 104,210 -8.5%
28 Vermont $85,150 $40.94 $70,840 $117,310 7,240 -9%
29 Maine $82,860 $39.84 $66,330 $104,870 16,280 -11.5%
30 Florida $82,850 $39.83 $66,670 $110,530 218,100 -11.5%
31 Utah $82,270 $39.55 $67,980 $106,960 25,780 -12.1%
32 North Carolina $81,860 $39.36 $64,180 $107,110 108,510 -12.5%
33 Wyoming $81,790 $39.32 $64,660 $108,350 5,180 -12.6%
34 Montana $81,560 $39.21 $67,720 $109,450 10,540 -12.9%
35 Ohio $81,250 $39.06 $66,060 $103,650 138,360 -13.2%
36 Oklahoma $81,160 $39.02 $64,110 $105,320 32,870 -13.3%
37 Nebraska $81,020 $38.95 $63,290 $101,500 24,180 -13.4%
38 Indiana $80,740 $38.82 $63,720 $103,820 68,950 -13.7%
39 West Virginia $79,990 $38.46 $53,060 $106,830 21,740 -14.5%
40 Kentucky $79,910 $38.42 $63,180 $104,430 48,170 -14.6%
41 South Carolina $79,900 $38.41 $64,200 $102,040 50,300 -14.6%
42 Missouri $79,770 $38.35 $58,510 $103,140 74,270 -14.8%
43 Tennessee $79,030 $38.00 $59,540 $102,040 67,990 -15.6%
44 Louisiana $78,880 $37.92 $62,830 $111,810 46,790 -15.7%
45 North Dakota $78,260 $37.62 $65,770 $99,540 11,000 -16.4%
46 Kansas $78,060 $37.53 $60,630 $97,870 32,640 -16.6%
47 Arkansas $77,130 $37.08 $57,380 $99,960 28,320 -17.6%
48 Iowa $76,960 $37.00 $62,210 $98,280 33,480 -17.8%
49 Mississippi $74,470 $35.80 $58,130 $104,040 29,400 -20.4%
50 Alabama $71,040 $34.16 $53,360 $98,840 53,340 -24.1%
51 South Dakota $69,510 $33.42 $51,980 $92,570 14,500 -25.7%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 state estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-09. Figures cover wage and salary workers and exclude the self-employed. Methodology

Frequently asked questions

How much does a registered nurses make?

The national median is $93,600 a year, or about $45.00 an hour, as of the 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. Half of workers in the occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Which state pays registered nursess the most?

California, at a median of $140,330. Hawaii ($136,320) and Oregon ($123,990) follow. Pay that looks high often reflects a high cost of living rather than a better deal, so it is worth reading alongside what housing and energy cost in the same state.

How many people work as registered nursess?

About 3,282,320 across the states reporting the occupation, against a national estimate of 3,282,010.

Is this figure a salary or an hourly rate?

Both are published. BLS surveys employers rather than workers, so these are wages paid rather than wages reported by employees, and they exclude self-employed people. Annual figures for occupations that are typically part-time or seasonal should be read with that in mind.