Pay · 29-1141
Registered nurses earn $97,550 a year at the midpoint
One of the largest occupations in the country — about 3,379,720 people — with a midpoint of $97,550 a year.
National figures for registered nurses, 29-1141, from the 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
- Read the spread, not the middle. The median is the midpoint across everyone in the occupation, most of them years into the work. A beginner starts nearer the 10th to 25th percentile, which is why the spread is published alongside it.
- What the figure counts. The figure counts base pay plus tips, commissions and production bonuses. It leaves out the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers, and the value of benefits or profit sharing.
- Where you live moves it more than your resume does. National figures. A state or metro area can sit far from the national number, and that gap is usually larger than any difference a resume makes.
- Not in these numbers. Growth and annual openings are not in this dataset. They come from the separate Employment Projections tables, where an opening is a modelled ten year average and not a posted vacancy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025. Retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on 2026-08-13. bls.gov/oes “BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.”
Registered nurse earnings, from starting pay to the best-paid 10%
Pick the job, where you work and how long you have done it. The range comes from the published wage percentiles for that job.
The survey has no complete figures for that job — pick the closest title from the list.
An estimate from survey percentiles, not an offer. Employer, industry, shift and credentials move pay within and beyond this range. Full wage page for this job →
Examples
Resumes written for this line of work.
Real sheets, filled in end to end — for this job and the ones beside it.
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Number 132 of 788 by median pay
Better paid than 83% of the occupations in the survey.
- 130 Speech-Language Pathologists $97,870
- 131 Geography Teachers, Postsecondary $97,590
- 132 Registered nurses $97,550
- 133 Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance $97,150
- 134 Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary $96,980
Writing a resume for registered nurses
Name the job in the builder and the duties, skills and credentials it is screened on are written in for you.
- Interpret continuous cardiac monitoring and escalate arrhythmias per protocol; run 12-lead EKGs at the bedside.
- Titrate cardiac drips (amiodarone, diltiazem, heparin) and manage PCA pumps under protocol.
- Maintain central lines, PICCs and surgical drains; perform complex wound and ostomy care.
Registered nurse wages, state by state
The 39 states where the most people do this work, of 51 with a published figure: their medians range by 1.82 times. Figures are the 2025 survey.
| State | Median a year | Where most start | 10th to 90th | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $140,270 | $101,260 | $101,260 — $213,320 | 338,940 |
| Oregon | $129,010 | $95,280 | $95,280 — $155,010 | 39,730 |
| Washington | $124,200 | $89,630 | $89,630 — $161,910 | 69,260 |
| New York | $109,440 | $79,760 | $79,760 — $157,090 | 205,810 |
| New Jersey | $106,500 | $83,060 | $83,060 — $135,170 | 92,680 |
| Massachusetts | $104,550 | $80,310 | $80,310 — $174,510 | 88,200 |
| Nevada | $103,670 | $79,500 | $79,500 — $133,270 | 27,070 |
| Connecticut | $102,740 | $80,350 | $80,350 — $134,870 | 40,110 |
| Minnesota | $101,510 | $79,960 | $79,960 — $132,430 | 70,110 |
| Colorado | $100,260 | $79,500 | $79,500 — $124,940 | 54,490 |
| Maryland | $99,790 | $76,780 | $76,780 — $124,790 | 52,910 |
| Arizona | $99,500 | $70,540 | $70,540 — $130,930 | 73,150 |
| Pennsylvania | $96,430 | $70,800 | $70,800 — $117,900 | 146,520 |
| Illinois | $95,990 | $69,170 | $69,170 — $118,190 | 138,910 |
| Texas | $95,970 | $67,120 | $67,120 — $127,950 | 271,380 |
| Wisconsin | $95,530 | $77,470 | $77,470 — $119,860 | 68,060 |
| New Mexico | $94,340 | $74,300 | $74,300 — $123,540 | 17,980 |
| Michigan | $94,300 | $77,260 | $77,260 — $116,710 | 104,950 |
| Virginia | $93,600 | $67,830 | $67,830 — $125,580 | 77,490 |
| Georgia | $93,550 | $68,920 | $68,920 — $128,640 | 100,950 |
| Idaho | $92,460 | $71,210 | $71,210 — $121,230 | 16,880 |
| Nebraska | $84,730 | $66,020 | $66,020 — $106,190 | 24,720 |
| Utah | $84,600 | $68,920 | $68,920 — $109,050 | 27,420 |
| North Carolina | $84,350 | $67,660 | $67,660 — $110,220 | 111,120 |
| Florida | $84,190 | $67,970 | $67,970 — $120,330 | 229,940 |
| Indiana | $83,500 | $66,750 | $66,750 — $105,750 | 68,980 |
| Oklahoma | $82,920 | $60,530 | $60,530 — $106,390 | 38,270 |
| Ohio | $82,510 | $66,980 | $66,980 — $105,290 | 143,730 |
| South Carolina | $82,360 | $66,860 | $66,860 — $106,520 | 49,750 |
| Missouri | $81,780 | $63,230 | $63,230 — $104,390 | 76,310 |
| Tennessee | $81,500 | $63,970 | $63,970 — $104,920 | 72,200 |
| Kentucky | $81,040 | $64,170 | $64,170 — $111,750 | 50,300 |
| Louisiana | $80,230 | $63,800 | $63,800 — $104,740 | 48,970 |
| West Virginia | $80,130 | $57,210 | $57,210 — $131,760 | 23,430 |
| Kansas | $79,320 | $63,180 | $63,180 — $100,840 | 33,800 |
| Arkansas | $78,940 | $60,780 | $60,780 — $103,660 | 29,400 |
| Iowa | $78,630 | $63,840 | $63,840 — $100,500 | 34,420 |
| Mississippi | $77,090 | $60,610 | $60,610 — $100,350 | 29,060 |
| Alabama | $77,080 | $58,150 | $58,150 — $98,910 | 54,340 |
Registered nurse pay rate, from hourly to yearly
Starts at this job’s median. Change the rate or the hours; a full-time year is 40 hours for 52 weeks.
Questions people ask
What is a registered nurse’s yearly income?
A registered nurse makes a median of $97,550 a year (2025 survey). The middle half earn between $80,330 and $112,350.
What is a registered nurse’s hourly pay rate?
The median pay rate is $46.90 an hour; the average is $101,420 a year.
What is the starting pay for a registered nurse?
Starting pay is usually near the 25th percentile, $80,330 a year, and sometimes as low as the 10th, $68,940.
Which state pays registered nurses the most?
California, with a median of $140,270 a year.
How many people work as registered nurses?
About 3,379,720 in the United States — number 132 of 788 occupations by median pay.
Work that pays roughly the same
Median pay within $950 of what registered nurses earn — $97,550 a year — but not always the same spread.
- $400 less Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance $97,150median a year 10th percentile: $23,360 90th percentile: $167,470
- $840 less Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers $96,710median a year 10th percentile: $57,110 90th percentile: $115,880
- $950 less Hydrologists $96,600median a year 10th percentile: $64,020 90th percentile: $153,130