How Much Do Nurses Make?

Due to high demand, nurse salaries have steadily increased over the years and are projected to continue upward. While specific earnings depend on your state, specialty, and related factors, the overall career outlook for nurses is positive.

Salary and Compensation for Nurses
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Median & Average Nurse Salaries 2022

The following nurse salary information comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as of May 2022:

Career Median Annual Salary Median Hourly Pay Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Pay
Orderlies Salary1 $34,520 $16.60 $36,070 $17.34
Nursing Assistants Salary2 $35,760 $17.19 $36,220 $17.41
Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurses Salary3 $54,620 $26.26 $55,860 $26.86
Postsecondary Nursing Instructors & Teachers Salary4 $75,470 N/A $84,060 N/A
Registered Nurses Salary5 $81,220 $39.05 $89,010 $42.80
Nurse Midwives Salary6 $120,880 $58.12 $122,450 $58.87
Nurse Practitioners Salary7 $121,610 $58.47 $124,680 $59.94
Nurse Anesthetists Salary8 $203,090 $97.64 $205,770 $98.93

*Median data is the wage at which half of workers earned more and half earned less, while average (mean) data is based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ wage estimates.

Highest Nursing Salaries by State 2022

Location plays an important role in your earning potential as a nurse. Below are the highest-paying states (based on annual mean wages) for nurses across specialties as of May 2022:

StateEmploymentEmployment per Thousand JobsLocation QuotientHourly Mean WageAnnual Mean Wage
California4,3800.250.82$23.81$49,520
Hawaii800.140.45$21.54$44,800
New York3,7500.411.36$20.74$43,140
Alaska800.260.85$19.80$41,180
Oregon3200.170.56$19.79$41,160
StateEmploymentEmployment per Thousand JobsLocation QuotientHourly Mean WageAnnual Mean Wage
Alaska1,7705.770.65$21.35$44,420
District of Columbia2,9504.280.48$21.07$43,820
California99,9305.670.64$20.95$43,570
New York80,1008.790.99$20.89$43,450
Oregon12,4506.570.74$20.65$42,960
StateEmploymentEmployment per Thousand JobsLocation QuotientHourly Mean WageAnnual Mean Wage
Washington6,4301.890.44$33.63$69,950
California73,7404.180.98$33.62$69,930
Massachusetts15,6304.381.03$32.78$68,170
Rhode Island9401.970.46$32.10$66,770
Alaska3901.280.30$32.07$66,710
StateEmploymentEmployment per Thousand JobsLocation QuotientHourly Mean WageAnnual Mean Wage
Florida3,9800.471.07N/A$116,650
District of Columbia1300.200.44N/A$111,940
Massachusetts2,3000.691.56N/A$106,950
California3,5100.210.49N/A$106,420
New York5,1000.591.34N/A$98,850
StateEmploymentEmployment per Thousand JobsLocation QuotientHourly Mean WageAnnual Mean Wage
California325,62018.460.89$64.10$133,340
Hawaii11,80019.840.96$54.43$113,220
Oregon37,40019.720.95$51.26$106,610
Massachusetts94,10026.391.27$50.07$104,150
Alaska6,73021.981.06$49.67$103,310
StateEmploymentEmployment per Thousand JobsLocation QuotientHourly Mean WageAnnual Mean Wage
California9100.050.96$81.50$169,530
West VirginiaN/AN/AN/A$79.70$165,780
HawaiiN/AN/AN/A$75.01$156,020
Massachusetts2900.081.52$69.17$143,870
Oregon1500.081.47$65.46$136,150
StateEmploymentEmployment per Thousand JobsLocation QuotientHourly Mean WageAnnual Mean Wage
California19,1301.080.62$76.02$158,130
New Jersey6,6401.620.93$68.87$143,250
Massachusetts7,1902.021.16$66.68$138,700
Oregon1,8800.990.57$65.51$136,250
Nevada1,8001.280.73$65.49$136,230

Additional Factors Influencing Nurse Salaries

There are a number of reasons why you may earn more or less than the median and average nursing salaries listed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The following are several of the most prominent that our team of nurses identified:

Years of Experience & Education Level

The amount of professional and educational experience you have plays a role in how much you’ll make as a nurse. Similarly, whether your career mandates a certification (and how rigorous its requirements are) factors into how much you’ll earn.

An entry-level nursing assistant, for example, might only earn in the 25th percentile of all nursing assistants, which is about $5,000 under the mean.6 However, a nurse anesthetist earning in the 25th percentile would make about $140,000 more than the equivalent nursing assistant given the far higher level of education and specialization required.3

Industry or Care Setting

Even with the same levels of experience and education, the specific industry or care setting you work in can affect your salary. For example, on average, registered nurses who work in home health care services earn about $7,500 less than those who work at general medical and surgical hospitals.1

Location within a State

Depending on your location within a state, nurse salaries can vary widely. Consider how large the population is (e.g., rural vs urban settings). You might also see cost-of-living adjustments (places that cost more to live in usually pay more to offset these costs).

For example, nurse practitioners who live in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex earn approximately $13,000 more than those who live in less-populous Amarillo, TX, further west.9

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