Nurses in Santa Cruz, Calif., make more money on average than nurses in any other metro area, a Vivian Health ranking found.
Vivian Health used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to find the metro area in each state that paid nurses the highest wages. Rankings of metro areas were based on the dollar difference between a registered nurse's median annual salary and the median salary of all occupations in the area.
The ranking showed that nurses earn some of the highest wages relative to other occupations in the area. California had the highest wage among all states, while Iowa had the lowest.
Here is the top metro area in every state with the median annual wage for nurses:
Alabama — Daphne: $64,700
Alaska — Fairbanks: $107,880
Arizona — Yuma: $82,290
Arkansas — Little Rock: $71,460
California — Santa Cruz: $175,350
Colorado — Pueblo: $82,780
Connecticut — Danbury: $105,370
Delaware — Dover: $78,320
Florida — Sebastian: $79,190
Georgia — Rome: $81,320
Hawaii — Urban Honolulu: $127,020
Idaho — Coeur d'Alene: $83,730
Illinois — Kankakee: $80,470
Indiana — Michigan City: $72,720
Iowa — Sioux City: $62,860
Kansas — Lawrence: $67,150
Kentucky — Owensboro: $78,040
Louisiana — Shreveport: $77,790
Maine — Bangor: $83,750
Maryland — Salisbury: $79,210
Massachusetts — Leominster: $96,410
Michigan — Flint: $86,210
Minnesota — St. Cloud: $85,730
Mississippi — Hattiesburg: $59,910
Missouri — St. Louis: $77,390
Montana — Missoula: $76,550
Nebraska — Grand Island: $74,290
Nevada — Las Vegas: $95,770
New Hampshire — Manchester: $80,560
New Jersey — Ocean City: $85,490
New Mexico — Las Cruces: $78,270
New York — New York City: $103,540
North Carolina — Fayetteville: $82,390
North Dakota — Fargo: $75,710
Ohio — Canton: $74,950
Oklahoma — Lawton: $77,070
Oregon — Bend: $108,310
Pennsylvania — Chambersburg: $84,090
Rhode Island — Providence: $84,770
South Carolina — Spartanburg: $81,520
South Dakota — Rapid City: $62,920
Tennessee — Cleveland: $76,620
Texas — Wichita Falls: $79,800
Utah — Provo: $75,090
Vermont — Burlington: $77,230
Virginia — Winchester: $81,940
Washington — Spokane: $100,280
West Virginia — Huntington: $77,240
Wisconsin — Racine: $77,960
Wyoming — Cheyenne: $81,680