Nurse Salary

Nurse Salaries by Area

Like every other job, the salary ranges for registered nurses vary from region to region in this country, vary based on experience, vary based on the size of the organization, arrangements for night shifts, and so on.  Generally speaking, salaries in this country are highest in the northeast and lowest in the south.  At the end of 2005, the census bureau released figures showing that median household incomes reflected these trends.

Connecticut, with a median household income of $56,409, supplanted New Jersey as the country's highest wage state in 2003, the most recent year available. New Jersey slid to second, at $56,356, followed by Maryland, Massachusetts and New Hampshire Mississippi had the lowest median income, at $32,397. West Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana and Montana rounded out the bottom five.

The median household income for the nation — half were higher, half were lower — was $43,318.

For nurses, the median income centers shift slightly.  Selected states show the median income for registered nurses as follows:

Registered Nurses Median Salary

That provides a pretty good picture of nursing salaries in the various regions of the country.

Nurse Salaries by Specialty

This table will show the median salaries for nurse practitioner taken from some of the high states, the low states, states known for their high cost of living and a couple of Midwestern states. 

Nurse Practitioner Median Salary:

Nurse Salaries by Job Category

Here is a table of national median salaries for a number of jobs in the nursing industry.

This last table is an excellent illustration of the steps on the ladder in the nursing industry.  The lowest rung is the certified nursing assistant, a position that can be attained with a high school diploma and a training course of a few months’ duration.  Moving through the classifications of LVN and LPN to the Registered Nurse, salaries climb steadily as do the educational and certification requirements.   With one management position slightly above the RN, the ladder then tops out with the advanced nursing positions, all of which require a master’s degree or the academic equivalent in hours and credits of educational endeavor.

If you are of an inquisitive bent, you can click through the U.S. Census Bureau website or the Department of Labor Bureau of Statistics for information that might be slightly more specific.  If you want to look up a particular category for another state, visit www.payscale.com.