California has the highest hourly mean wage for registered nurses, even after adjusted for cost of living, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Below are the mean hourly wages for nurses in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., adjusted for cost of living. Becker's calculated these figures using May 2023 salary data from BLS and 2024 cost of living index data from the World Population Review.
State |
RN hourly mean wage |
Cost of living index |
RN hourly mean wage, adjusted by cost of living |
California |
$66.20 |
134.5 |
$49.22 |
Minnesota |
$45.59 |
94.1 |
$48.45 |
Georgia |
$43.27 |
91 |
$47.55 |
Oregon |
$54.54 |
115.1 |
$47.38 |
New Mexico |
$44.30 |
94.2 |
$47.03 |
Texas |
$43.37 |
93 |
$46.63 |
Illinois |
$42.14 |
90.8 |
$46.41 |
Washington |
$53.38 |
115.1 |
$46.38 |
Nevada |
$46.97 |
101.3 |
$46.37 |
Oklahoma |
$39.48 |
86 |
$45.91 |
Michigan |
$41.45 |
92.7 |
$44.71 |
Delaware |
$45.51 |
102.6 |
$44.36 |
Wisconsin |
$41.93 |
95 |
$44.14 |
Wyoming |
$40.38 |
92.8 |
$43.51 |
Indiana |
$39.76 |
91.5 |
$43.45 |
Connecticut |
$48.96 |
113.1 |
$43.29 |
Ohio |
$40.59 |
94 |
$43.18 |
New Jersey |
$49.02 |
114.1 |
$42.96 |
Nebraska |
$38.36 |
90.1 |
$42.57 |
Mississippi |
$36.30 |
85.3 |
$42.56 |
Pennsylvania |
$42.08 |
99 |
$42.51 |
Alaska |
$52.51 |
124.4 |
$42.21 |
Louisiana |
$38.83 |
92 |
$42.21 |
Missouri |
$37.30 |
88.4 |
$42.19 |
Kentucky |
$39.31 |
93.8 |
$41.91 |
Colorado |
$44.10 |
105.5 |
$41.80 |
Kansas |
$36.65 |
87.7 |
$41.79 |
Tennessee |
$37.61 |
90.4 |
$41.60 |
Rhode Island |
$45.71 |
110.5 |
$41.37 |
North Carolina |
$39.68 |
96.1 |
$41.29 |
Virginia |
$42.48 |
103.1 |
$41.20 |
Arizona |
$43.96 |
107.2 |
$41.01 |
New York |
$51.26 |
125.1 |
$40.98 |
South Carolina |
$39.13 |
96.5 |
$40.55 |
West Virginia |
$36.53 |
90.3 |
$40.45 |
North Dakota |
$38.07 |
94.6 |
$40.24 |
Iowa |
$35.87 |
89.7 |
$39.99 |
Florida |
$40.75 |
102.3 |
$39.83 |
Utah |
$39.95 |
101.5 |
$39.36 |
Arkansas |
$35.05 |
90.3 |
$38.82 |
Alabama |
$34.31 |
88.8 |
$38.64 |
Montana |
$39.88 |
103.7 |
$38.46 |
Idaho |
$39.95 |
106.1 |
$37.65 |
New Hampshire |
$42.98 |
115 |
$37.37 |
Maryland |
$44.27 |
119.5 |
$37.05 |
Vermont |
$42.49 |
114.9 |
$36.98 |
Maine |
$40.55 |
111.5 |
$36.37 |
South Dakota |
$33.19 |
93.8 |
$35.38 |
Massachusetts |
$52.33 |
148.4 |
$35.26 |
District of Columbia |
$51.37 |
148.7 |
$34.55 |
Hawaii |
$57.55 |
179 |
$32.15 |