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  1. Sep 1, '06 by backbone
    Which state pays nurses best?
    Thanks.

  2. 18 Comments so far...

  3. Sep 3, '06 by neetnik461
    Medscape nursing recently posted an excellent study regarding nursing salaries vs. cost of living (and therefore real buying power) for the 50 states.

    Click here for a table showing the results
    Table 1.doc

    Here's the link to the full article
    http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/541776?src=mp

    Long story short:

    -Texas has the most disposable income for nurses when cost of living is figured in.

    -Hawaii comes in last

    The study talks about the "grass is greener" syndrome in which nurses move cross-country or travel to states paying the highest hourly wage. But how green the grass really is has to do with how much is eaten up with cost of living expenses!
  4. Guide
    Sep 3, '06 by llg
    Quote from neetnik461
    Medscape nursing recently posted an excellent study regarding nursing salaries vs. cost of living (and therefore real buying power) for the 50 states.

    Click here for a table showing the results
    Attachment 5321

    Here's the link to the full article
    http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/541776?src=mp

    Long story short:

    -Texas has the most disposable income for nurses when cost of living is figured in.

    -Hawaii comes in last

    The study talks about the "grass is greener" syndrome in which nurses move cross-country or travel to states paying the highest hourly wage. But how green the grass really is has to do with how much is eaten up with cost of living expenses!
    Thanks for posting the links. I have read this article and think it is a very important study, one that most nurses should read. Far too many nurses underestimate the impact of the cost of living on their actual compensation.

    I deal with it all the time. I live in an area where the cost of living is about average for the state -- but we are about 3 hours away from a metropolitan area that has one of the highest costs of living in the country. It's almost impossible to recruit nurses from that part of the state because our salaries are lower. Those nurses don't seem to see that our cost of living is so much lower, that they would actually make out better here.

    The more education we get about such issues, the better.

    llg
  5. Sep 3, '06 by MuddaMia
    My future plan to reap the best benefit possible is to move from Florida (ridiculous pay) to New Hamp or Rhode Island and commute into Boston to work. I know NH and RH are not "cheap", but there are good areas with great schools that are comparable in home prices to where I am now in Florida (yet the nursing pay in Boston is MUCH higher) so I think I will def. come out ahead.
  6. Sep 3, '06 by Tweety
    Very interesting article neetnik. Thanks for sharing. Florida doesn't do well on both columns.
  7. Sep 4, '06 by HM2VikingRN
    Quote from neetnik461

    Long story short:

    -Texas has the most disposable income for nurses when cost of living is figured in.

    -Hawaii comes in last

    The study talks about the "grass is greener" syndrome in which nurses move cross-country or travel to states paying the highest hourly wage. But how green the grass really is has to do with how much is eaten up with cost of living expenses!
    Minnesota was number 2!
  8. Sep 10, '06 by AdamRN2007
    The table only has 49 listings. 48 states, and the District of Columbia. Maine and New Hampshire have been left out.
  9. Sep 10, '06 by neetnik461
    AdamRN2007 wrote:

    The table only has 49 listings. 48 states, and the District of Columbia. Maine and New Hampshire have been left out.
    Read the entire article at the link above to find out why! It has something to do with inability to get cost of living statistics for these states.
  10. Sep 12, '06 by banditrn
    Well, Illinois, where I live, and Iowa, where I work, don't score very high.
  11. Sep 12, '06 by Ms. RN'02
    Quote from Tweety
    Very interesting article neetnik. Thanks for sharing. Florida doesn't do well on both columns.
    Yep, I figured, without reading the article that Florida would not do well in either. Despite the salary vs. cost of living issue, I won't be living FL. I'm a single-mom with my family and friends (support systems) very near. I've just learned to live within my means. Not to "toot my own horn", but, I'm doing quite well for myself.