The average hourly pay for registered nurses in the U.S. is $39.78, according to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment statistics survey. Wages and living costs vary from place to place, however.
The highest average hourly wage for RNs is in California, but the state also holds the nation's third-highest cost of living after Hawaii and Massachusetts, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. Even still, after adjusting for cost of living, RNs in California are paid the most, on average, of any state. Texas' low cost of living puts it at a close second.
Hawaii's sky-high living expenses means that even though it pays RNs the second-most of any state, after adjusting for cost of living, RNs there make the least of any state.
Here is every state, ranked by its living cost-adjusted average RN wage:
|
Rank |
State |
Cost of living vs. US avg. |
COL-adjusted RN wage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
California |
$59.62 |
+39.8% |
$42.65 |
|
2 |
Texas |
$38.04 |
-9.1% |
$41.85 |
|
3 |
Minnesota |
$40.40 |
-3.2% |
$41.74 |
|
4 |
Georgia |
$36.24 |
-12.2% |
$41.28 |
|
5 |
Illinois |
$37.63 |
-8.6% |
$41.17 |
|
6 |
Nevada |
$42.69 |
+5.4% |
$40.50 |
|
7 |
Washington |
$45.84 |
+13.9% |
$40.25 |
|
8 |
New Mexico |
$37.31 |
-6.4% |
$39.86 |
|
9 |
Michigan |
$36.51 |
-8.4% |
$39.86 |
|
10 |
Oregon |
$47.42 |
+20.6% |
$39.32 |
|
11 |
Wisconsin |
$36.95 |
-5.2% |
$38.98 |
|
12 |
Wyoming |
$35.16 |
-8.2% |
$38.30 |
|
13 |
Oklahoma |
$32.78 |
-14.3% |
$38.25 |
|
14 |
Ohio |
$34.44 |
-8% |
$37.43 |
|
15 |
Pennsylvania |
$36.54 |
-2.1% |
$37.32 |
|
16 |
Indiana |
$33.12 |
-11.1% |
$37.26 |
|
17 |
Kansas |
$32.00 |
-13.6% |
$37.04 |
|
18 |
Colorado |
$38.78 |
+5.1% |
$36.90 |
|
19 |
Alaska |
$46.74 |
+26.7% |
$36.89 |
|
20 |
Missouri |
$32.59 |
-11.4% |
$36.78 |
|
21 |
West Virginia |
$32.52 |
-11.5% |
$36.75 |
|
22 |
Nebraska |
$33.58 |
-8.5% |
$36.70 |
|
23 |
Arizona |
$39.23 |
+6.9% |
$36.70 |
|
24 |
Connecticut |
$42.56 |
+16.7% |
$36.47 |
|
25 |
Louisiana |
$33.84 |
-7.2% |
$36.47 |
|
26 |
New Jersey |
$43.12 |
+18.6% |
$36.36 |
|
27 |
North Carolina |
$34.23 |
-5% |
$36.03 |
|
28 |
Rhode Island |
$40.99 |
+13.8% |
$36.02 |
|
29 |
Delaware |
$37.39 |
+3.9% |
$35.99 |
|
30 |
Tennessee |
$32.06 |
-10.5% |
$35.82 |
|
31 |
Mississippi |
$30.35 |
-15.1% |
$35.75 |
|
32 |
Virginia |
$36.87 |
+3.2% |
$35.73 |
|
33 |
Idaho |
$35.41 |
-0.3% |
$35.52 |
|
34 |
South Carolina |
$33.45 |
-5.8% |
$35.51 |
|
35 |
North Dakota |
$34.23 |
-3.3% |
$35.40 |
|
36 |
Arkansas |
$31.64 |
-10.1% |
$35.19 |
|
37 |
Iowa |
$31.25 |
-11% |
$35.11 |
|
38 |
Utah |
$34.99 |
+2.4% |
$34.17 |
|
39 |
Alabama |
$29.77 |
-12.5% |
$34.02 |
|
40 |
Kentucky |
$32.34 |
-4.8% |
$33.97 |
|
41 |
Montana |
$35.39 |
+4.8% |
$33.77 |
|
42 |
Florida |
$34.62 |
+3% |
$33.61 |
|
43 |
New Hampshire |
$37.63 |
+13.2% |
$33.24 |
|
44 |
New York |
$44.86 |
+36.8% |
$32.79 |
|
45 |
Maryland |
$39.74 |
+25.1% |
$31.77 |
|
46 |
Massachusetts |
$46.46 |
+47.9% |
$31.41 |
|
47 |
South Dakota |
$29.11 |
-6.2% |
$31.03 |
|
48 |
Vermont |
$36.13 |
+16.7% |
$30.96 |
|
49 |
Maine |
$35.40 |
+16.9% |
$30.28 |
|
50 |
Hawaii |
$51.22 |
+89.9% |
$26.97 |
Methodology
Figures in the far right column are calculated by multiplying the state's average RN wage and its cost of living modifier. The resulting figure is then multiplied by 100 to convert it back into a dollar amount.