Registered nurses, on average, earn the most in the Pacific region of the U.S., according to Medscape's 2019 nurse compensation report.
For the report, Medscape surveyed 5,143 RNs and 2,002 licensed practical nurses in 2019 about their earnings from 2018.
The average RN incomes by region:
1. Pacific (California, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Hawaii) — $96,000
2. New England (New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts) — $87,000
3. Mid-Atlantic (New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Washington, D.C.) — $84,000
4. Mountain (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming)— $79,000
5. West South Central (Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas) — $78,000
6. East North Central (Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio) — $76,000
7. South Atlantic (West Virginia, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina) — $75,000
8. West North Central (North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri) — $73,000
9. East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee) — $70,000
Read the full compensation report here.