The national estimated annual wage average for registered nurses is $68,910, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2013 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates report.
However, some RNs are earning well below the national average. The following are the top ten states with the lowest average annual estimated wage for RNs.
1. South Dakota – $53,050
2. Iowa – $53,520
3. West Virginia – $55,240
4. North Dakota – $56,030
5. Arkansas – $56,150
6. Kansas – $56,410
7. Mississippi – $56,530
8. Tennessee – $56,730
9. Alabama – $55,870
10. Nebraska – $56,920
Note: The Occupational Employment Statistics survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Each year, forms are mailed to two semiannual panels of approximately 200,000 sampled establishments, one panel in May and the other in November. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57.5 percent of total national employment. Response rates are slightly lower for these estimates due to the Federal shutdown in October 2013.