Utah RN pay, Salt Lake City area

nurseman78, BSN, RN, NP · Oct 26, 2011

Lol, by the way, "Ludacris" is the rapper. "Ludicrous" is the adjective. Made me chuckle.

nurseman78, BSN, RN, NP · Oct 26, 2011

Hey! I've always wanted to live in Tennessee. I'm a student at Weber State too but I am going for my Bachelors. Does it make a difference over there? Is the cost of living lower than it is here?

I think the cost of living is pretty similar. As for whether having a BSN versus an ADN results in more pay, it doesn't at Vanderbilt.

As for this dilemma of poor pay for nurses in Utah, honestly, making $45,000 to $50,000 with an Associate's degree to me is pretty doggone good. Aside from sales, respiratory therapy or dental hygiene, I don't know of many other professions that pay as well with an Associate's degree. It's more money than I've ever made, or probably could have made without getting my RN.

Also, don't forget to factor in the shift differentials for night and weekend shifts, which can usually mean $3 to $9 dollars more an hour. And there are a lot of options to make more money as an RN. Hospital shift work is usually a starting point for many people. Managers, educators, Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Anesthetists all make much more, obviously. So if you want to make more, it is possible. I know home health nurses can make nearly $60,000 a year.

Plus, there are additional perks to nursing. The schedule really can't be beat, in my opinion. Work three 12 hour shifts, take the remaining four days off for the week, take the first four days off of the next week then work the last three days of that week. Being able to get 4 to 8 days off in a row without having to use any vacation time is pretty sweet.

As for being able to feed and clothe a family of 5 or so on an RN's salary, yes, it would be hard. But if you get a few years experience in a hospital, you'll be surprised at the options that can open up to you.

For me as a single man right now, the pay works fine, and I know that as I keep working and furthering my education, it will get even better. I plan on getting my NP eventually, too. I actually enjoy aspects of being a nurse besides just the pay, too. And if you get burned out on one type of nursing, you really can switch to something else.

Luis2012 · Apr 18, 2012

Ladies and gents a little help... so average is around 19.00-21.00 an hour, what about if you get your 4 year bachelor Nursing degree then how much.. I was really looking into this but after seeing how low the average is not sure anymore. I looked up on indeed.com and it stated the average salary of a Nurse in utah was 62k a year. I take it that is not accurate, or am I wrong ladies..?? Reason i'm so shocked is because My GF got a job at the Univeristy of Utah as a Respiratory Therapist at 26.50 an hour. Any advice would help thank you

Surgery182 · Apr 19, 2012

Yes average is $21 an hour. Typically no you will not get paid more for having a bachelors degree although I believe that IHC prefers it to increase their "magnet status." (That last part may not be correct). $62,000 a year average is probably correct because nurses start out around $45,000 while veterans are probably up to $75,000 so $62,000 is somewhere in the middle. The pay in Utah is awful. If you love the state that much, people will stay and accept it. I moved 100 miles away out of state and made double that as a new grad. It's all about where you want to live. My plan is to work out of state for a few more years and save up enough money that if I want to move my family back to Utah it will offset the ridiculously low wages.

Brybee1 · Jul 25, 2012

DO NOT move to TN, then. Starting pay for RNs is $18.10/hr. $22 doesn't sound so bad!

Euskadi1946 · Jul 29, 2012

BSNS and ADNS make the same amount of money in hospitals, clinics, etc. unless the BSN goes into management. The only places I know of where your BSN can get you more money is with VA, Military and USPH hospitals.

DisneyNurseGal, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2012

I know MOST teachers would be happy with $22 dollars an hour. I live in St. George and I am happy with the cost of living here, and I know and accept that a job making 45k ish is what I am working my tail off for.

I lived in Las Vegas for 38 years and moved to St. George 3 and 1/2 years ago. I worked in the construction industry, and I was making 60k a year as a Project Manager with no college diploma. My husband was an Construction installation supervisor and made 70k. We all know how that part of my story ended when the housing market tanked. We were spoiled during that time, and it set our expectations way to high as to what we thought our skills were worth.

Bottom line, is everyone will ALWAYS think that they deserve to be paid more than they are. You can not compare any city to another because no two are the same. St. George is not the same as SLC or Logan. My cousin is a Labor and Delivery nurse in Chicago who makes 68k a year (she graduated 5 years ago). She also pays $4 for a gallon of milk and her 900 sq foot apartment near her hospital costs her $1800 a month.

I hear a lot of people say IHC "because they can". Is this a simple supply and demand issue? Schools are churning out nurses at record rates because of the hypothetical "nursing shortage" - so new nurses will take the $22 an hour to get their foot in the door? I wonder what the starting pay was before the economy crashed? The friends I know who work there, speak highly of the company and the benefits package. Would you take a lower per hour rate if it meant you received a better insurance and benefits package? Just rambling :)

yourmomisanurse · Aug 26, 2012

I've been working for IHC for 3 years now and still make less money than I did before I was a nurse with no education. Maybe I was just lucky before. The medical insurance is some of the worst insurance I have ever had (have been to my pcp a couple of times for minor things and my wife for her standard check-ups and the bills we are getting are ridiculous and piling up). We will be switching to my wife's insurance in a couple of months when they have open enrollment. IHC owns the insurance company Select, so there is no competition for better premiums. Other companies that use Select could go somewhere else so they end up getting better insurance premiums than IHC's own employees. That is so wrong. Back to the money...there are nurses getting jobs in northern cali for $50-$70/hr (not hear-say, I've talked to them - one who is supporting the family and buying a really nice house on top of it). Is the 'cost of living' really 4 times as much?? Even if it is, Utah doesn't have the lowest cost of living and IHC doesn't really pay attention to that anyway, although your manager will tell you that is why you are payed what you are payed - "cost of living and great benefits". My ass.

StudyinginCT · Jan 7, 2013

This is all terribly disappointing news! I graduated in 2009. I made $27.50 to start in Hartford, CT. From what I have seen online, real estate prices in Utah are very comparable to prices in the greater Hartford area. I have since moved to northern rural NH where I can only find per diem work, but I work FT hours. My base is $26, plus I make a 20% differential per hour for being per diem. I am tired of the lack of predictability in my schedule, no ability for paid time off or education benefits, since I am considering going back to school for my masters/DNP. We have wanted to move to Utah for years since we are avid skiers and my husband works in the outdoor industry and many of those companies are located in and around SLC. Hearing that I will take such a massive pay cut is very disheartening. I was hoping to stay at or above my current salary. It is certainly a deterrent to moving there. Nursing is a physically and emotionally demanding job that is hazardous to your health. We take risks everyday caring for our patients with grave illnesses. To think that this work is rewarded at a rate I could make behind a bar in a resort town in beyond unfair. Perhaps we will have to wait until I become an NP or CRNA to move there. I don't know that we can afford to maintain our current lifestyle and manage our significant school debt without our current rate of pay.

St_Claire, ADN, RN · Feb 9, 2013

Why are the RN salaries lower than other similar sized Western cities? Denver pays more why? Please do not say cost of living because Intermountain does not take cost of living into consideration when considering salary. Just curious of nurse in Utah ever questioned their salaries here. Thanks for any input.[/quote']
Utah is overwhelmed with nurses and its a right to work state so no unions. When the nursing shortage hit there was a boom of schools becoming accredited to handle the load. Every semester hundreds of nurses are released into the workforce. There is no reason for any place to pay a great wage when the pool of nurses to pick from is so vast. This also means the employers do not have to make an investment in their staff because there are literally hundreds in line needing a job.
Home health agencies are popping up like crazy; they pay the highest wage and jobs are definitely available there.
I am an LPN taking my NCLEX-RN next week. I will literally be upgrading myself out of a job because there are plenty of lifetime LPNs that make a lower salary than a beginning RN. When I told my employer I was taking the big test they literally put an ad in the local paper to replace me.
Home health here I come!

jcurrier79 · Jan 19, 2015

I grew up in SLC, I left in 2007 became a nurse in 2013. I currently work in Olympia WA, I am an ADN nurse on s med/tele floor and I make $39/hr at a not for profit hospital and that is in a residency. I would love to move back to Utah but there is no way I could take that kind of a hit.

dixiejoe88 · Aug 7, 2015

Does anyone know if their hospitals in Utah use travelers? Ever heard about what they make? I'd love to take a winter travel assignment in SLC.