Registered Nurse salary
A registered nurse earns about $93,600 a year — roughly $45.00/hour, with most earning between $75,990 and $100,780. This is a verified national figure from official public wage data.
Registered Nurse — U.S. national
Verified public wage dataMedian annual pay
$93,600
Hourly
$45.00/hr
- Typical range
- $75,990–$100,780
- What most nurses earn
- High end
- $135,320
- Top earners
- Entry level
- $66,030
- Newer nurses
What affects this pay
- State and metro labor market
- Years of experience and clinical ladder
- Specialty and unit acuity (ICU, ER, OR)
- Shift (nights, weekends) and differentials
- Education (ADN vs BSN) and certifications
- Employer type (hospital vs clinic vs travel)
About Registered Nurses
What they do
Registered Nurses assess patients, administer medications and treatments, operate and monitor medical equipment, and coordinate care with physicians and the rest of the care team. They work across hospitals, outpatient clinics, schools, home health, and long-term care.
How to become a Registered Nurse
RNs hold either an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), then pass the NCLEX-RN exam and obtain a state license. Many hospitals — especially Magnet-designated ones — now prefer or require a BSN.
What drives the pay
RN is the anchor occupation for U.S. nurse pay and the one public wage data measures directly. Pay rises with experience, BSN completion, specialty certification, night/weekend differentials, and the local cost of living.
Registered Nurse pay by state
Where this role tends to pay the most.
| State | Annual pay | vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| California | $129,170 | +38% vs national |
| Hawaii | $112,320 | +20% vs national |
| Alaska | $110,450 | +18% vs national |
| Oregon | $110,450 | +18% vs national |
| Washington | $110,450 | +18% vs national |
| Massachusetts | $107,640 | +15% vs national |
| New York | $105,770 | +13% vs national |
| District of Columbia | $104,830 | +12% vs national |
Compare next
Roles nurses weigh against this one.
Registered Nurse salary FAQ
- How much does a registered nurse make?
- A registered nurse earns about $93,600 a year — roughly $45.00 an hour — based on verified public wage data. Most RNs earn between $75,990 and $100,780, with the top 10% earning roughly $135,320 or more.
- What is the highest-paying state for registered nurses?
- California reports the highest registered-nurse pay in the country, followed by other West Coast and Northeast states. State figures here are estimates based on the national average and local cost of living.
- Do BSN-prepared nurses earn more than ADN nurses?
- Public wage data reports a single RN wage and doesn't break pay out by degree, but many hospitals offer a modest BSN pay bump and reserve charge, specialty, and leadership tracks for BSN-prepared nurses. Our calculator includes a small BSN/MSN bump so you can see the rough effect on pay.
- Why are some figures verified and others estimates?
- National pay for the main nursing roles — registered nurses, LPNs/LVNs, nurse practitioners, CRNAs, nurse midwives, and nursing assistants — comes from verified public wage data. State, city, and specialty figures that aren't reported on their own start from that national pay and are labeled "Estimated" or "Specialty estimate." We never show an estimate as a verified figure.
- How are the estimates calculated?
- State and city figures take the national pay for that role and adjust it for local cost of living. Specialty figures (ICU, ER, travel, and similar) apply a typical pay difference to the closest role that is measured directly. Every estimate carries a clear label, and the full method is on our methodology page. When official local pay data is added, these figures update to verified numbers automatically.
Source & confidence— A verified figure from official U.S. public wage data.
BLS OEWS (May 2024, national)
National wage figures for SOC 29-1141 are seeded from published BLS OEWS May 2024 national data. Run `npm run import:oews` to replace seed values with figures parsed directly from official OEWS files.
Source year 2024. Last reviewed June 1, 2025. Full methodology