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Are you thinking about pursuing a career in nursing? You may be asking yourself, "How much do nurses make?" Or maybe you're already working as a registered nurse and are looking to relocate to another state, in which case, you'd want to know which states pay nurses the most.
Compared to the national average in the United States, a nursing salary can be quite competitive, especially depending on which state you work in (cue travel nursing), what nursing specialty or role you work in, and how many hours you work weekly. Explore our salary guides to discover the salary in your home state or desired state you wish to live or travel to.
While there are a variety of factors that affect net income as a nurse—compensation, cost of living, even taxes—there are some clear trends over time in terms of which states tend to pay registered nurses the most competitive salaries. Here are the top 10 highest-paying states for nurses in 2024.
We combined proprietary data with official nurse salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to create the most comprehensive view of nurse salary in the United States. We present our findings in hourly pay for staff nurses and gross weekly pay for travel nurses to account for the different ways nurses think about pay.
Login to your profile to compare average nursing salaries in cities near you!
Salary Explorer
Are you thinking about pursuing a career in nursing? You may be asking yourself, "How much do nurses make?" Or maybe you're already working as a registered nurse and are looking to relocate to another state, in which case, you'd want to know which states pay nurses the most.
Before we just dive in and answer these question, let’s be clear: you do not become a nurse to make money; you become a nurse to make a difference. If competitive pay follows (and it sometimes does), so be it.
Compared to the national average in the United States, a nursing salary can be quite competitive, especially depending on which state you work in (cue travel nursing), what nursing specialty or role you work in, and how many hours you work weekly.
While there are a variety of factors that affect net income as a nurse—compensation, cost of living, even taxes—there are some clear trends over time in terms of which states tend to pay registered nurses the most competitive salaries. Below are the top 10 highest-paying states for nurses in 2021.
We combined proprietary data with official nurse salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to create the most comprehensive view of nurse salary in the United States. We present our findings in hourly pay for staff nurses and gross weekly pay for travel nurses to account for the different ways nurses think about pay.
Use Salary Explorer to compare average nursing salaries in cities near you!
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