The average salary that RN nurses can expect to earn is in the region of $78000. This is, however, a very superficial number as there are many factors influencing this such as the state in which you work and the industry you are working in.
Earning A High Registered Nurse Salary
If you want to earn a high RN salary you should consider working in Personal Care Services where the average RN salary on an hourly basis is about $41.57 and the overall RN nursing salary is in the region of $86,470 a year. Other high paying jobs include working for the Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation). Here you can expect an RN salary of about $38.23an hour and about $79,530 a year. Working in the Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing industry comes with an RN salary of about $36.03 an hour and $74,940 a year. Good RN salaries can also be found in the Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing field with competitive rates of $36.03 an hour and $74,930 a year. Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools are also good places to turn for a competitive RN salary at $35.66 an hour and $74,180 a year.
If you work as an Emergency RN Travel Nursing you can expect registered nurse salaries in this domain of around $82,000. The salary for RN nurses working as RN Dialysis Nurses can be something in the region of $66,000. If you want to get involved in MS RN Travel Nursing you can expect an RN salary of around $73,000, and if you want to be a Travel RN expect to be a paid a registered nurse salary of about $85,000. If you work as a RN LD Texas you will be eligible for a RN nurse salary of around $100,000, and if you work as a RN NICU in California you could earn a salary for registered nurse practitioners of around $89,000.The salary for RN practitioners working in RN Telemetry in California is about $87,000. RN salaries for those involved in RN ER in California can be about $87,000, and registered nurse salaries for RN ICU SICU are in the region of about $55,000. The RN salary for someone working in RN ICU MICU is about $78,000 and the salary for RN nurses working in RN PACU in California is about $86,000. The RN nurse salary for an RN Case Manager in California is about $86,000. RN salaries for those working in RN ICU CCU are in the region of $82,000 and the salary for registered nurse practitioners working in RN ICU in California is about $86,000. Last but not least the registered nurse salaries for those working in RN LD in California are in the region of $87,000. These are the industries in nursing that tend to pay the most, but you need to remember that these are reflections of the average RN salary to be expected in each industry. The actual salary for RN nurses that you can earn differs from state to state.
Salary For Registered Nurse By State
The registered nurse salary that you are eligible to earn can differ quite severely form state to state.
Alabama
In Alabama, for example, you can expect an hourly rate of around $27.76 and an overall RN salary of about $57730. Remember that in Alabama, as well as in all other states, the actual amount you earn depends on the institute and the position that you are working in. These numbers are merely an idea of the average RN salary by state.
Alaska
Next on the list is Alaska where you can expect RN salaries in the region of $35.66 an hour and $74182 a year. If you compare this to Arizona where the average registered nurse salary is around $31.70 an hour and $65951 a year you can see that it is quite a good rate.
Arkansas
In Arkansas the average registered nurse salary is around $27.08 an hour which means that the overall registered nurse salaries that can be earned in this state are in the region of about $56314 a year. This is not a bad rate at all and you will notice that the trend leans towards the idea that RN nurses warn quite good salaries.
California
Some states do pay a higher average RN salary than others. Let us consider, for example, California. In California you can expect to earn an average salary for RN nurses of about $40.67 an hour which translates to about $84593 a year. If you compare this to the next two states on this alphabetical list you will see that it is a lot higher. In Colorado you can get an average RN nurse salary of about $31.49 an hour and $65482 a year and in Connecticut you will earn something like $34.45 an hour with an overall salary for registered nurse practitioners of about $71666 a year.
Delaware
If you plan to work as an RN in Delaware you can expect a registered nursing salary that is only in the region of around $33.75 an hour and $70188 a year. This is not a bad salary for RN nurses, but there are better paying options available out there.
District Of Columbia
The District of Columbia offers quite a competitive RN nurse salary range with an hourly rate of $35.77 and a yearly rate of about $74406. Other states that offer reasonable RN salaries are Florida, with a registered nurse salary of $30.01 an hour and $62436 a year, and Georgia, where a registered nurse salary of $29.37 an hour and $61081 a year.
There are some states that have very low salary for registered nurse options. One of these is Guam where you can expect an RN salary of only $24.84 an hour and $51658 a year.
Hawaii
The average RN salary for registered nurses who want to work in Hawaii is $38.17 an hour and $79408 a year. This is quite a good rate, especially when compared to many of the other states on the list, including the next one in line, Idaho. In Idaho you will only earn average registered nurse salaries of around $28.30 an hour and $58850 a year, making Hawaii the better bet in that regard.
Illinois
If you are staying in Illinois and if you hope to practice there as an RN you will be eligible for one of the more competitive RN salaries in the region of $31.36 an hour and $65217 a year depending on where specifically in Illinois you choose to work.
Indiana
For some fairly average RN salary estimates you should consider Indiana, with a registered nurse salary of $27.99 an hour and $58229 a year, Iowa, with a registered nursing salary of around $24.83 an hour and $51648 a year, as well as Kansas with a registered nurse salary of about $26.69 an hour and $55519 a year. Kentucky also falls into this category with an average RN salary of around $27.81 an hour and $57842 a year.
Louisiana
For those nurses who would like to practice as RNs in Louisiana the news is very good as the salary for RN nurses in this state is fairly high at $29.05 on an hourly basis and $60429 on a yearly basis. This is quite similar to the RN nurse salary estimates for Maine where you can expect to earn around $29.15 every hour and $60633 every year.
Maryland And Massachusetts
Two states with quite high salary for registered nurse statistics are Maryland and Massachusetts. In Maryland you can expect to earn a very competitive RN salary in the region of $36.42 as the average hourly rate and $75761 as the average yearly rate. In Massachusetts registered nurse salaries are in the region of $38.88 an hour and $80875 a year.
Michigan
In Michigan you can earn the very good registered nurse salary of about $30.91 an hour and $64280 a year. For a slightly higher rate than that try Minnesota where the average RN salary is $34.55 an hour and $71879 a year.
Mississippi Or Missouri
For slightly below average but still very good registered nurse salaries you should consider working as an RN in Mississippi or Missouri. Both these states have every similar salary for RN options. In Mississippi you can earn around $27.50 an hour and $57210 a year while in Missouri you can expect RN salaries of around $27.75 an hour and $57730 a year.
Montana And Nebraska
Two states that have comparatively low rates and are therefore not among the most popular states to work in are Montana and Nebraska. You can see why they are not popular when you consider that in Montana you can expect to earn a registered nurse salary of $26.96 an hour and $56090 a year, and in Nebraska the average RN salary is $26.19 and $54490 a year.
Nevada
However for those of you who plan to work in the great state of Nevada you will be eligible to earn one of the better salaries for RN nurses out there. In Nevada the expected rate is around $34.63 an hour and $72022 a year. This is a lot better than say in New Hampshire where the average RN salary is only around $29.49 an hour and $61336 a year.
New Jersey
Next on our list are three of your better options. If it is possible for you to pick and choose the state that you would like to work in, consider New Jersey, New Mexico and New York. In New Jersey the registered nurse salary is quite good at $35.69 an hour and $74233, but it is even better in New Mexico at $30.29 on an hourly basis and $62986 on a yearly basis. Unsurprisingly New York is one of the best places to work as the RN nurse salary statistics in this state are great at $35.83 an hour and $74528 a year.
North Carolina
Slightly below average salary for registered nurse rates can be found in North Carolina where you only earn around $28.30 an hour and $58871 a year, North Dakota where you can expect an RN salary of only $27.07 on an hourly basis and $56293 on a yearly basis, and Ohio where the rates are $28.78 an hour and $59849 a year.
Oklahoma
A state with a particularly low salary, however, is Oklahoma where the most you can expect to earn is about $25.41 an hour and $52850 a year. If possible, stay away from this state as a registered nurse.
Oregon
In comparison if you would like to work in Oregon you are in luck as the basic salary for RN nurses in this state is quite high at a rate of $34.87 on an hourly basis and $72542 on a yearly basis.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has a relatively good RN salary that is definitely below average. IN this state you will be eligible to earn something around $30.06 an hour and $62538 a year depending on where exactly you are working in the state.
Puerto Rico
The state with the most dismally low RN nurse salary rates in Puerto Rico. In this state you will be lucky if you can earn more than $13.84 an hour or $28799 a year. If you compare this to, for example, Rhode Island where you can earn about $33.21 an hour and $69078 a year you will be able to understand how bad it actually is.
South Carolina
South Carolina, South Dakota and Tennessee all come with RN salaries that are below average to average. In South Carolina the average salary for registered nurse practitioners is about $28.22 an hour and $58687 a year. In South Dakota registered nurse salaries weigh in at about $25.76 an hour and $53584 a year while in Tennessee you can expect the lower, but not ultimately bad RN salary of $28.90 an hour and $60103 a year.
Texas
In Texas the average registered nurse salary is $30.26 as the hourly rate and $62935 as the yearly rate. For salaries that are almost as good consider working in Utah where the salary for RN nurses is about $28.43 an hour and $59136 a year, or Vermont where the average RN nurse salary is $29.68 an hour and $61743 a year.
Virgin Islands
Although not the lowest in terms of RN salaries, the Virgin Islands do not have great rates. Here you can expect to earn $22.89 an hour and $47604 a year.
Virginia
In Virginia and Wisconsin you will earn very similar salary for registered nurse rates. In Virginia the salary is about $30.26 an hour and $62935 a year while in Wisconsin the rate is around $30.44 an hour and $63302 a year. These are good rates, but not as good as what you can expect to earn in Washington where the average salaries are in the region of about $34.84 on an hourly basis and $72470 on a yearly basis.
West Virginia
West Virginia and Wyoming have some of the lower rates with West Virginia paying about $25.63 an hour and $53319 a year, and Wyoming paying about $26.88 an hour and $55906 a year to their registered nurses.
Other factors affecting RN Salary
- Employer Type: The type of employer you work for, as I am sure you have gathered from the above discussions, can affect the RN salary you earn.
- Nursing Education: There are a number of different levels of education that you can have to be an RN. The higher your education level the higher your RN salary is likely to be, so keep this in mind when it comes to selecting an RN training program. The differences in terms of the jobs you are eligible for and the salary that you can earn can be quite drastic if you are looking at the situation from an education perspective alone. Increase your chances by getting the best education possible in your state and in your areas.
- Work Experience: The amount of prior work experience that you have before applying for a job always affects the RN salary that you are eligible to earn. This should not surprise you as it holds true for all jobs out there. Employers are aware of the very important fact that nothing beats actual experience when it comes to selecting job applicants. You can gain a lot of experience during your training years which will stand you in good stead later on in life when you start looking out for those RN jobs that pay the highest salaries.
- Specialty Area: RN nurses have the option of choosing to specialize in one or other area. If you want to specialize this will also increase you RN salary. IN some ways specializing may make you over qualified or ineligible for certain jobs, but in the long run this can increase your salary quite remarkably, depending of course on what particular area you choose to specialize in.
Now that you have all of the facts about RN salary options that are available it should be easy enough for you to decide firstly if you want to be an RN, secondly where you would like to be an RN, and lastly what you can do in order to ensure the highest salary possible.