Registered Nurses salary in the US
Here is where pay for registered nurses stands nationally, built from Census microdata rather than job-board postings.
How much do registered nurses earn?
The typical (median) annual earnings for registered nurses come to $78,204, which is 49% more than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. By median pay it lands 46th among 171 groups, in the upper half but not the top tier. The figures come from 166,044 survey records of people aged 25 and older with earnings in this occupation.
| Position | Annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Top 10% start at | $131,257 |
| Top 25% start at | $101,525 |
| Median (top 50%) | $78,204 |
| Bottom 25% earn below | $54,991 |
How wide is the pay range?
Earnings cluster around the middle here. The top-10% line, $131,257, is only 1.7 times the median, with the top quarter beginning at $101,525. A quarter of workers in the field made $54,991 or less over the year — a figure shaped by part-time and seasonal work as much as by hourly rates. Put differently, the middle earner makes 1.4× what someone at the 25th percentile does.
Earnings by age
The age curve is gentle: $71,068 for workers aged 25–34, peaking at $86,296 for those aged 45–54. After the peak, the 65+ group's median falls to $57,869 (33% lower), largely because more older workers cut back their hours.
Men and women
By sex, the medians are $89,375 (men) and $77,159 (women) — a 14% difference. Women account for around 89% of the records behind these figures. The comparison isn't like-for-like on hours or seniority, so read it as a description rather than a pay-equity measure.
| Group | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| Men | $89,375 | 18,947 |
| Women | $77,159 | 147,097 |
Does education change the pay?
From some college or an associate degree to a doctorate, the median rises from $69,208 to $97,756, a 41% gap. 87,167 of the records belong to people with a bachelor's degree, the biggest single group; we suppress levels with fewer than 100.
| Education | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| High school or less | $73,321 | 2,744 |
| Some college / associate | $69,208 | 52,305 |
| Bachelor's | $80,809 | 87,167 |
| Master's | $93,073 | 19,355 |
| Professional degree | $83,958 | 3,023 |
| Doctorate | $97,756 | 1,450 |
Where the most work, and what they earn there
The five states with the most registered nurses in the survey are California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Pay differs noticeably even across these five: $107,392 in California versus $72,618 in Florida. These are nominal dollars — living costs differ just as much between states and aren't adjusted for. 51 states have enough records (100+) for their own figure.
| State | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| California | $107,392 | 16,787 |
| Texas | $79,431 | 12,177 |
| New York | $91,318 | 10,356 |
| Florida | $72,618 | 10,116 |
| Pennsylvania | $78,710 | 7,485 |
Occupations with similar pay
Similar typical earnings show up for wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives ($78,754), market research analysts and marketing specialists ($79,431), accountants and auditors ($80,205), and credit counselors and loan officers ($76,144). Similar pay doesn't mean similar work — training, hours and risk differ — but it's a useful reference when weighing a move.
| Occupation | Median earnings | vs. this job |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Reps | $78,754 | +1% |
| Market Research Analysts And Marketing Specialists | $79,431 | +2% |
| Accountants and Auditors | $80,205 | +3% |
| Credit Counselors And Loan Officers | $76,144 | −3% |
| Non-Retail Sales Supervisors | $75,562 | −3% |
About these figures
About the data: the American Community Survey asks people their occupation and earnings; we pool the 2020–2024 responses, convert them to 2024 dollars, and weight each person to represent the population. The 166,044 records for registered nurses include part-time workers, so these are annual totals rather than full-time salaries.
See where your pay ranks among registered nurses
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Open the calculatorSource: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) — personal earnings (PERNP) in 2024 dollars, person-weighted
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.