How much does a a Registered Nurse make a year?

The U.S. median annual wage is $97,550: half of the people in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less. Source: BLS OES May 2025.

What do the highest- and lowest-paid Registered Nurses earn?

Nationally, the top 10% earn more than $137,470 a year, and the bottom 10% earn less than $68,940. The middle half sit between $80,330 and $112,350.

Which state has the highest median wage for Registered Nurses?

California (CA) has the highest published median, $140,270 — about 44% above the national median. 53 of the 54 areas in the survey publish a figure for this occupation.

How many Registered Nurses work in the United States?

3,379,720 people worked in this occupation in the May 2025 BLS OES survey.

What education do Registered Nurses need?

O*NET rates the education this occupation requires as: Bachelor's. That is a rating of the job, not a survey of what the people doing it studied. O*NET also places the occupation in Job Zone 4 (Considerable preparation).

What is the hourly pay for Registered Nurses?

The national median is $46.90 an hour, or $97,550 a year. That is the national figure — we have not loaded BLS's state-level hourly wages.

Registered Nurse Salary by State

How much does a a Registered Nurse make?

U.S. median, per year: $97,550
Middle 50% of workers: $80,330 to $112,350
Employed in the U.S.: 3,379,720 people
Hourly median: $46.90 an hour
Range of state medians: $39,880 to $140,270

Source: BLS OES May 2025 · retrieved 2026-09-15

The full pay ladder

Percentiles split the people doing this job into ten equal groups. P10 is the point that the lowest-paid 10% fall below; P90 is the point only the top 10% rise above. These are national figures, published by BLS.

	Annual	Hourly
P10 — bottom 10%	$68,940	$33.14
P25 — bottom quarter	$80,330	$38.62
Median (P50)	$97,550	$46.90
P75 — top quarter	$112,350	$54.02
P90 — top 10%	$137,470	$66.09
Average (mean)	$101,420	$48.76

P90 is about 2.0 times P10. That is a ratio between two points on the distribution, not between two groups of people.

The state table below is annual: we downloaded only the annual figures for the states. BLS also publishes state hourly wages, and we have not loaded those yet.

Registered Nurse pay across the 54 areas in the BLS survey

All 54 areas in the BLS survey, ranked by median annual wage. 53 publish a figure for this occupation.

California (CA)$140,270
+44%#1Employed: 338,940
Hawaii (HI)$136,320
+40%#2Employed: 12,940
Oregon (OR)$129,010
+32%#3Employed: 39,730
Washington (WA)$124,200
+27%#4Employed: 69,260
Alaska (AK)$109,480
+12%#5Employed: 7,510
New York (NY)$109,440
+12%#6Employed: 205,810
New Jersey (NJ)$106,500
+9%#7Employed: 92,680
Massachusetts (MA)$104,550
+7%#8Employed: 88,200
Nevada (NV)$103,670
+6%#9Employed: 27,070
Connecticut (CT)$102,740
+5%#10Employed: 40,110
District of Columbia (DC)$102,540
+5%#11Employed: 11,440
Minnesota (MN)$101,510
+4%#12Employed: 70,110
Rhode Island (RI)$100,640
+3%#13Employed: 10,090
Colorado (CO)$100,260
+3%#14Employed: 54,490
Maryland (MD)$99,790
+2%#15Employed: 52,910
New Hampshire (NH)$99,700
+2%#16Employed: 15,390
Delaware (DE)$99,520
+2%#17Employed: 14,290
Arizona (AZ)$99,500
+2%#18Employed: 73,150
Vermont (VT)$97,460
level with the U.S.#19Employed: 7,410
Pennsylvania (PA)$96,430
−1%#20Employed: 146,520
Illinois (IL)$95,990
−2%#21Employed: 138,910
Texas (TX)$95,970
−2%#22Employed: 271,380
Wisconsin (WI)$95,530
−2%#23Employed: 68,060
New Mexico (NM)$94,340
−3%#24Employed: 17,980
Michigan (MI)$94,300
−3%#25Employed: 104,950
Virginia (VA)$93,600
−4%#26Employed: 77,490
Georgia (GA)$93,550
−4%#27Employed: 100,950
Idaho (ID)$92,460
−5%#28Employed: 16,880
Maine (ME)$86,990
−11%#29Employed: 16,540
Montana (MT)$85,280
−13%#30Employed: 10,950
Nebraska (NE)$84,730
−13%#31Employed: 24,720
Utah (UT)$84,600
−13%#32Employed: 27,420
North Carolina (NC)$84,350
−14%#33Employed: 111,120
Florida (FL)$84,190
−14%#34Employed: 229,940
Virgin Islands (VI)$84,120
−14%#35Employed: 470
Wyoming (WY)$83,760
−14%#36Employed: 5,330
Indiana (IN)$83,500
−14%#37Employed: 68,980
Oklahoma (OK)$82,920
−15%#38Employed: 38,270
Ohio (OH)$82,510
−15%#39Employed: 143,730
South Carolina (SC)$82,360
−16%#40Employed: 49,750
Missouri (MO)$81,780
−16%#41Employed: 76,310
Tennessee (TN)$81,500
−16%#42Employed: 72,200
Kentucky (KY)$81,040
−17%#43Employed: 50,300
North Dakota (ND)$80,730
−17%#44Employed: 11,340
Louisiana (LA)$80,230
−18%#45Employed: 48,970
West Virginia (WV)$80,130
−18%#46Employed: 23,430
Kansas (KS)$79,320
−19%#47Employed: 33,800
Arkansas (AR)$78,940
−19%#48Employed: 29,400
Iowa (IA)$78,630
−19%#49Employed: 34,420
South Dakota (SD)$78,060
−20%#50Employed: 14,710
Mississippi (MS)$77,090
−21%#51Employed: 29,060
Alabama (AL)$77,080
−21%#52Employed: 54,340
Puerto Rico (PR)$39,880
−59%#53Employed: 21,270
Guam (GU)Not published
—Employed: 690

State or territory	Median annual wage	vs U.S. median	Employed	Rank
California (CA)	$140,270	+44%	338,940	1
Hawaii (HI)	$136,320	+40%	12,940	2
Oregon (OR)	$129,010	+32%	39,730	3
Washington (WA)	$124,200	+27%	69,260	4
Alaska (AK)	$109,480	+12%	7,510	5
New York (NY)	$109,440	+12%	205,810	6
New Jersey (NJ)	$106,500	+9%	92,680	7
Massachusetts (MA)	$104,550	+7%	88,200	8
Nevada (NV)	$103,670	+6%	27,070	9
Connecticut (CT)	$102,740	+5%	40,110	10
District of Columbia (DC)	$102,540	+5%	11,440	11
Minnesota (MN)	$101,510	+4%	70,110	12
Rhode Island (RI)	$100,640	+3%	10,090	13
Colorado (CO)	$100,260	+3%	54,490	14
Maryland (MD)	$99,790	+2%	52,910	15
New Hampshire (NH)	$99,700	+2%	15,390	16
Delaware (DE)	$99,520	+2%	14,290	17
Arizona (AZ)	$99,500	+2%	73,150	18
Vermont (VT)	$97,460	level with the U.S.	7,410	19
Pennsylvania (PA)	$96,430	−1%	146,520	20
Illinois (IL)	$95,990	−2%	138,910	21
Texas (TX)	$95,970	−2%	271,380	22
Wisconsin (WI)	$95,530	−2%	68,060	23
New Mexico (NM)	$94,340	−3%	17,980	24
Michigan (MI)	$94,300	−3%	104,950	25
Virginia (VA)	$93,600	−4%	77,490	26
Georgia (GA)	$93,550	−4%	100,950	27
Idaho (ID)	$92,460	−5%	16,880	28
Maine (ME)	$86,990	−11%	16,540	29
Montana (MT)	$85,280	−13%	10,950	30
Nebraska (NE)	$84,730	−13%	24,720	31
Utah (UT)	$84,600	−13%	27,420	32
North Carolina (NC)	$84,350	−14%	111,120	33
Florida (FL)	$84,190	−14%	229,940	34
Virgin Islands (VI)	$84,120	−14%	470	35
Wyoming (WY)	$83,760	−14%	5,330	36
Indiana (IN)	$83,500	−14%	68,980	37
Oklahoma (OK)	$82,920	−15%	38,270	38
Ohio (OH)	$82,510	−15%	143,730	39
South Carolina (SC)	$82,360	−16%	49,750	40
Missouri (MO)	$81,780	−16%	76,310	41
Tennessee (TN)	$81,500	−16%	72,200	42
Kentucky (KY)	$81,040	−17%	50,300	43
North Dakota (ND)	$80,730	−17%	11,340	44
Louisiana (LA)	$80,230	−18%	48,970	45
West Virginia (WV)	$80,130	−18%	23,430	46
Kansas (KS)	$79,320	−19%	33,800	47
Arkansas (AR)	$78,940	−19%	29,400	48
Iowa (IA)	$78,630	−19%	34,420	49
South Dakota (SD)	$78,060	−20%	14,710	50
Mississippi (MS)	$77,090	−21%	29,060	51
Alabama (AL)	$77,080	−21%	54,340	52
Puerto Rico (PR)	$39,880	−59%	21,270	53
Guam (GU)	Not published	—	690	—

Highest: California (CA) at $140,270. Lowest: Puerto Rico (PR) at $39,880.

1 of the 54 areas have no published median for this occupation. BLS's own footnote for the cells it does explain: “Estimate not released.”. We leave the gap empty rather than estimate a number.

These are survey estimates, not counts: two neighbouring ranks are not necessarily a real difference. No median or percentile figure on this page carries a relative standard error — the OES data we download has no such field for them — and the state-level relative standard errors are not downloaded either. BLS measures the reliability of an estimate with the relative standard error; its own definition: “The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.”

Nominal wages, with no adjustment for cost of living. A higher state median does not mean a higher standard of living, and it is not a forecast of what any one person would earn.

What the job usually takes

O*NET's preparation level for this occupation, its rated education requirement, and what the people in the occupation reported. These describe the typical route in — they are not requirements you have to meet.

Preparation level (O*NET Job Zone): Zone 4 — Considerable preparation
Usually a bachelor's degree plus several years of related experience.
Rated education requirement: Bachelor's

31.0 · rated by people doing the job · 28 respondents · collected 08/2021

O*NET flags this rating as low precision: few respondents. Read it as an indication, not a measurement.

What people in this occupation reported

Bachelor's — 56%
Vocational certificate — 23%

Its Holland code is SCI

O*NET gives every occupation an interest code: the RIASEC directions its work draws on most. This one is SCI — Social · Conventional · Investigative.

SSocial
CConventional
IInvestigative

An occupation's code and a person's code are not the same measurement. The questionnaire asks how much you like an activity; the occupation profile describes how much of that interest area the work contains. No equivalence study links the two, so a match is a starting point for research, not a verdict that this job suits you.

More occupations whose code starts with SCI

Find your own code

O*NET's own relatedness ranking for this occupation: the occupations it judges similar in what workers do, know and are called. It is not a record of who moved where.

Acute Care NursesSocial · Investigative
Nurse PractitionersInvestigative · Social · Conventional
Critical Care NursesSocial · Investigative · Conventional
Clinical Nurse SpecialistsSocial · Investigative · Conventional
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational NursesSocial · Conventional · Realistic

Names are O*NET's official occupation titles — the ones used in U.S. labour-market data.

Common questions

How much does a a Registered Nurse make a year?: The U.S. median annual wage is $97,550: half of the people in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less. Source: BLS OES May 2025.
What do the highest- and lowest-paid Registered Nurses earn?: Nationally, the top 10% earn more than $137,470 a year, and the bottom 10% earn less than $68,940. The middle half sit between $80,330 and $112,350.
Which state has the highest median wage for Registered Nurses?: California (CA) has the highest published median, $140,270 — about 44% above the national median. 53 of the 54 areas in the survey publish a figure for this occupation.
How many Registered Nurses work in the United States?: 3,379,720 people worked in this occupation in the May 2025 BLS OES survey.
What education do Registered Nurses need?: O*NET rates the education this occupation requires as: Bachelor's. That is a rating of the job, not a survey of what the people doing it studied. O*NET also places the occupation in Job Zone 4 (Considerable preparation).
What is the hourly pay for Registered Nurses?: The national median is $46.90 an hour, or $97,550 a year. That is the national figure — we have not loaded BLS's state-level hourly wages.

Where these numbers come from

O*NET Database 31.0 (CC BY 4.0) — occupation names, interest (Holland) codes, Job Zone and the rated education requirement. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), May 2025 release — every wage and employment figure on this page. Retrieved 2026-09-15. Public domain. OES does not include self-employed workers, and annual figures are hourly figures multiplied by 2,080 hours where hourly ones are published.
For these figures, BLS publishes a relative standard error:
- U.S. employment: 3,379,720 — BLS relative standard error 0.3%
- National average annual wage (mean): $101,420 — BLS relative standard error 0.2%
This is BLS's own definition: “The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.”A relative standard error belongs to the figure it is listed against, and to that figure only. The median and the percentile figures on this page have none — the OES data we download carries no relative standard error for them — and the state-level relative standard errors are not downloaded, so no state figure carries one.
O*NET and BLS both use the same SOC occupation code, so the join here is exact: BLS publishes this occupation's wages under 29-1141.

How to cite this page

Registered Nurses salary data, Career Interest Test, from O*NET 31.0 and BLS OES May 2025, exported 2026-09-16.

We are not licensed career counselors. The figures on this page are occupation-level statistics published by the U.S. government: they describe what people in this job earn, not what any one person would earn.

Registered Nurses