How much do registered nurses make?

Registered Nurse salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Registered Nurses (SOC 29-1141) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Registered nurses in the US earned a median of $97,550 a year ($46.90 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $80,330 to $112,350.

Median annual pay: $97,550; Mean $101,420
Median hourly pay: $46.90; Mean $48.76
Typical range (10th–90th): $68.9K–$137K; $68,940 to $137,470
US jobs: 3,379,720; +5.6% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a registered nurse: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: California

Registered Nurse pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$68,940
25th percentile$80,330
Median$97,550
75th percentile$112,350
90th percentile$137,470

Half of all registered nurses earned more than $97,550 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $68,940; the top 10% made over $137,470. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $80,330 to $112,350.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$68,940	$33.14	$5,745
25th	$80,330	$38.62	$6,694
Median (50th)	$97,550	$46.90	$8,129
75th	$112,350	$54.02	$9,363
90th	$137,470	$66.09	$11,456
Mean (average)	$101,420	$48.76	$8,452

Registered Nurse salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for registered nurses by state. Darker tiles pay more.

Highest-paying states

1. California $140,270
2. Hawaii $136,320
3. Oregon $129,010
4. Washington $124,200
5. Alaska $109,480

Lowest-paying states

51. Alabama $77,080
50. Mississippi $77,090
49. South Dakota $78,060
48. Iowa $78,630
47. Arkansas $78,940

Best after cost of living: California. Its median of $140,270 is worth about $126,689 at national-average prices.


Alabama	$77,080	51	$86,779	49	$37.06	54,340	25.71
Alaska	$109,480	5	$106,957	5	$52.64	7,510	23.06
Arizona	$99,500	18	$98,831	16	$47.84	73,150	22.58
Arkansas	$78,940	47	$90,801	32	$37.95	29,400	22.55
California	$140,270	1	$126,689	1	$67.44	338,940	18.61
Colorado	$100,260	14	$97,291	21	$48.20	54,490	18.96
Connecticut	$102,740	10	$99,160	13	$49.39	40,110	23.65
Delaware	$99,520	17	$99,711	11	$47.85	14,290	29.48
District of Columbia	$102,540	11	$93,302	29	$49.30	11,440	16.30
Florida	$84,190	34	$81,411	51	$40.48	229,940	23.16
Georgia	$93,550	27	$97,151	22	$44.98	100,950	20.65
Hawaii	$136,320	2	$123,983	3	$65.54	12,940	20.62
Idaho	$92,460	28	$96,823	23	$44.45	16,880	19.69
Illinois	$95,990	21	$96,030	24	$46.15	138,910	22.78
Indiana	$83,500	36	$89,468	41	$40.14	68,980	21.55
Iowa	$78,630	48	$89,595	39	$37.80	34,420	22.08
Kansas	$79,320	46	$88,067	47	$38.14	33,800	23.51
Kentucky	$81,040	42	$89,886	37	$38.96	50,300	25.14
Louisiana	$80,230	44	$90,957	31	$38.57	48,970	25.31
Maine	$86,990	29	$89,634	38	$41.82	16,540	25.83
Maryland	$99,790	15	$95,075	26	$47.98	52,910	19.15
Massachusetts	$104,550	8	$98,859	15	$50.27	88,200	24.25
Michigan	$94,300	25	$98,008	19	$45.34	104,950	23.83
Minnesota	$101,510	12	$102,929	7	$48.80	70,110	23.77
Mississippi	$77,090	50	$88,657	45	$37.06	29,060	24.99
Missouri	$81,780	40	$90,049	36	$39.32	76,310	25.99
Montana	$85,280	30	$90,105	35	$41.00	10,950	21.41
Nebraska	$84,730	31	$94,037	28	$40.74	24,720	24.14
Nevada	$103,670	9	$103,692	6	$49.84	27,070	17.45
New Hampshire	$99,700	16	$95,714	25	$47.93	15,390	22.52
New Jersey	$106,500	7	$97,882	20	$51.20	92,680	21.62
New Mexico	$94,340	24	$102,308	8	$45.36	17,980	20.65
New York	$109,440	6	$101,408	10	$52.62	205,810	21.24
North Carolina	$84,350	33	$89,424	42	$40.56	111,120	22.49
North Dakota	$80,730	43	$90,750	33	$38.81	11,340	26.40
Ohio	$82,510	38	$88,937	43	$39.67	143,730	25.90
Oklahoma	$82,920	37	$94,396	27	$39.87	38,270	22.41
Oregon	$129,010	3	$124,815	2	$62.02	39,730	20.20
Pennsylvania	$96,430	20	$98,830	17	$46.36	146,520	24.16
Rhode Island	$100,640	13	$98,397	18	$48.39	10,090	20.13
South Carolina	$82,360	39	$87,852	48	$39.60	49,750	21.58
South Dakota	$78,060	49	$88,118	46	$37.53	14,710	32.17
Tennessee	$81,500	41	$88,712	44	$39.18	72,200	22.02
Texas	$95,970	22	$98,880	14	$46.14	271,380	19.29
Utah	$84,600	32	$85,572	50	$40.67	27,420	15.80
Vermont	$97,460	19	$99,492	12	$46.86	7,410	24.39
Virginia	$93,600	26	$92,578	30	$45.00	77,490	18.86
Washington	$124,200	4	$116,061	4	$59.71	69,260	19.51
West Virginia	$80,130	45	$89,534	40	$38.52	23,430	33.39
Wisconsin	$95,530	23	$101,525	9	$45.93	68,060	23.14
Wyoming	$83,760	35	$90,365	34	$40.27	5,330	19.00

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure. State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for registered nurses

374 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$216,740	$196,282	22,930
Vallejo, CA	$203,290	$187,400	4,120
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$186,610	$161,409	41,750
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$174,550	$161,944	3,720
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$171,460	$160,739	23,590
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$170,960	$155,565	1,750
Yuba City, CA	$149,320	$143,256	1,080
Kahului-Wailuku, HI	$144,350	$131,955	1,270
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$139,520	$124,697	28,680
Urban Honolulu, HI	$139,260	$125,504	9,680

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	197,740	$119,720	$106,358
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	109,360	$135,560	$119,367
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	100,240	$100,490	$97,003
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	76,680	$101,420	$98,380
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	73,790	$101,180	$98,660
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	65,910	$99,830	$101,218
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	64,240	$106,180	$98,073
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	61,670	$91,380	$80,049
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	56,460	$100,490	$100,432
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	53,700	$100,830	$97,594

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves registered nurse pay: employers and settings

State is the biggest factor in RN pay. California's median is $140,270, followed by Hawaii at $136,320, Oregon at $129,010, Washington at $124,200, and Alaska at $109,480. At the low end are South Dakota at $78,060, Mississippi at $77,090, and Alabama at $77,080. California stays on top even after living costs, at $126,689 adjusted.

Setting matters too. General hospitals, where most RNs work, pay a median of $100,210. Outpatient care centers are close behind at $99,350. Physicians' offices ($85,000), home health care ($84,930) and nursing homes ($85,510) pay less. Staffing agencies, which place travel and per diem nurses, show $90,840 in our data. The federal government pays the most of any employer type, a median of $121,240.

Within a hospital, night and weekend differentials and overtime add to a paycheck, and some employers pay more for a BSN or specialty certification. Across all RNs, the 10th percentile is $68,940, the 90th is $137,470, and that spread reflects state, setting and hours; percentiles are not experience levels.

Where registered nurses work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	56.3%	$100,210
Offices of Physicians	6.9%	$85,000
Home Health Care Services	5.9%	$84,930
Outpatient Care Centers	5.1%	$99,350
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)	4.2%	$85,510
Employment Services	3%	$90,840

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	2,841,730	$97,170
Federal government (incl. Postal Service)	101,140	$121,240
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	157,270	$102,440
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	279,580	$85,420

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Registered Nurse pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$97.5K $67.5K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $67,490 in 2015 to $97,550 in 2025, up 45% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $91,233 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay grew 7% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What registered nurses do

A registered nurse, or RN, is the licensed clinician who watches over patients around the clock, gives most of their medicines and treatments, and notices first when something goes wrong. On a hospital unit an RN typically cares for a group of patients per shift: checking vital signs and pain, assessing breathing, wounds and mental state, hanging IV drugs, carrying out doctors' orders, charting everything in the electronic record and calling the physician when a patient's condition changes. RNs also teach patients and families how to manage at home and often direct the work of LPNs and nursing assistants.

Just over half of RNs, 56.3% in our data, work in general hospitals. Others work in doctors' offices, home health agencies, outpatient and surgery centers, nursing homes, schools, prisons and public health departments, and some take short contracts as travel nurses. The specialty shapes the job: an ICU nurse may have one or two very sick patients, while a clinic nurse sees dozens of people a day for shorter visits.

A typical day

Take report from the previous shift and plan care for each assigned patient
Check vital signs, lungs, heart, skin and pain levels, and record what changed
Give medications by mouth, injection and IV, and watch for side effects
Carry out doctors' orders, start IVs, draw blood and manage drains and wound care
Call the physician or rapid response team when a patient gets worse
Teach patients and families about new medicines, devices and warning signs
Supervise LPNs and nursing assistants and hand off patients at shift change

Also called: certified operating room nurse (cnor), charge nurse, emergency department rn (emergency department registered nurse), oncology rn (oncology registered nurse), operating room registered nurse (or rn), psychiatric rn (psychiatric registered nurse), relief charge nurse, school nurse.

How to become a registered nurse

Full guide

To become a registered nurse, you complete a state-approved nursing program (an associate degree, a bachelor's degree or a hospital diploma), pass the NCLEX-RN exam and get a license from your state board of nursing. The fastest route is about 2 years with an ADN; a BSN takes about 4 years.

Typical time: 2-4 years; Fastest: About 2 years
Minimum education: Associate degree in nursing (ADN) or diploma from a state-approved nursing program; many hospitals prefer a BSN
License: Required in all 50 states and DC
Typical training cost: $9.6K–$38.0K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a registered nurse: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 2-4 years; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $9.6K–$38.0K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $97,550; $46,570 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 10–39%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($46,570 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year after training ends (2-4 years in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for registered nurses

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +5.6%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 3,465,400; 3,660,100 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 180,800; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 0.5%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects RN employment to grow 5.6% from 2025 to 2035, from 3,465,400 to 3,660,100 jobs, faster than the 3.5% expected for all occupations. About 180,800 openings are expected each year, one of the largest totals of any occupation, many of them to replace nurses who retire or leave the field.

An older population with more chronic illness, such as diabetes, will need more nursing care. BLS expects growth across most settings, including hospitals, outpatient centers that offer same-day chemotherapy, rehabilitation and surgery, and home health care, since many older patients prefer to be treated at home.

Related careers and their pay

Nurse Practitioner$132,300
LPN$64,400
Nurse Midwife$134,040
CRNA$236,590
Physician Assistant$135,880
CNA$42,260
Paramedic$60,600
EMT$44,470

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Registered Nurse salary FAQ

How much do registered nurses make an hour?

The median hourly wage for registered nurses was $46.90 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $33.14 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $66.09. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays registered nurses the most?

California has the highest median pay for registered nurses, $140,270 a year, followed by Hawaii ($136,320) and Oregon ($129,010). After adjusting for each state's price level, California comes out ahead at about $126,689 in national-average dollars.

Do registered nurses make six figures?

Some do: based on the BLS percentiles, between 25% and 50% of registered nurses earn more than $100,000 a year. The median is $97,550, and the top 10% earn more than $137,470. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

Do nurses earn more in hospitals or clinics?

Hospitals pay more in our data. General hospitals have an RN median of $100,210. Outpatient care centers pay $99,350. Physicians' offices pay $85,000 and home health care $84,930. Hospital jobs usually involve 12-hour shifts, nights, weekends and holidays, and differentials for those hours add to pay. Clinic and office jobs more often run on weekday business hours.

Do federal nurses earn more than other RNs?

Yes, on average. Federal government RNs have a median of $121,240. That compares with $102,440 for state government, $97,170 for private employers and $85,420 for local government. Local government includes many public health and school nursing jobs, which tend to pay less than hospital work.

Which states have the most registered nurse jobs?

California has the most RNs, with 338,940, followed by Texas with 271,380, Florida with 229,940, New York with 205,810 and Pennsylvania with 146,520. Big states have more hospitals and so more openings, but pay differs widely among them. Texas and Florida, for example, have far more nurses than most states but do not appear among the top-paying states in our data.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 29-1141
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (29-1141.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Registered Nurses: Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
How Long Does It Take to Become a Nurse?, American Nurses Association · checked October 28, 2026
NCLEX Fees & Payment, National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) · checked October 28, 2026
Accelerated Nursing Programs, American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) · checked October 28, 2026
NCLEX Fee Changes Feb. 1, National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) · checked October 28, 2026
Nurse Licensure Compact, National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor) · checked October 28, 2026
Associate Degree in Nursing Programs and AACN's Support for Articulation, American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) · checked October 28, 2026
Next Generation NCLEX, National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) · checked October 28, 2026
Degree Completion Programs for Registered Nurses: RN to Master's Degree and RN to Baccalaureate Programs, American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) · checked October 28, 2026

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