Best states for nursing - salary vs. housing costs

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So, over on the Florida thread, we frequently bemoan the fact that nursing pay in Florida bites - about $19-22 an hour for a new grad, I'm hearing, and housing is nowhere near as cheap as it used to be. I am in one of the cheaper parts of Florida, and I've been in my house for several years - but for a halfway-decent not fancy 3/2 house in a decent neighborhood in my county, it would most likely run $175,000 to $250,000, and that is only because the housing market has slowed down.

In Tampa or Orlando, from what I hear, it would be more like $300,000 on up. Maybe $275,000 on up.

When I see nurses in New Jersey and New York and California talk about making $35 to $40 an hour base pay, I drool...then I remember that houses cost a lot more.

Sooo....what states start out with higher pay then I'm mentioning for Florida, or end up with higher pay then I'm mentioning - we're taking RN base pay here, just to compare apples to apples - and have affordable housing? And for those who answer, how much is an average 3/2 house or rent on a 2 or three bedroom apartment in your area? (In my area, $800 to 1000 for 2 bedroom, $1100 to $1500 for a three.)

I may move when I get through school, although I love Florida. Or I may do the travel nurse, working for an agency, working nights and weekends thing just so I can make ends meet.

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Specializes in OB L&D Mother/Baby.

I'm in michigan. I live in a smaller community. Our base pay is about 20/h I think (it's been a while since I looked into that) but it's more in the bigger cities. But then again housing is probably more... We bought a brand new 3/2 home a few years ago at a serious bargain of 135,000 We are blocks from the beach, have a corner lot, full basement and 2 car garage. But I'd say that normally you can get a very nice house here for more like 150,000. Not sure that anyone in FL wants to move to MI but then again I could be wrong!!!

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Specializes in CMSRN.

New Grads in central VA start around 20. Housing however is sky high for the salary. I live in a very very small house (less than 900 sf) and it appraises at 150K. I do not have central air either. Most houses around here start at minimum 200K for a smaller than average house. To get a decent looking average size it would be about 300K.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
So, over on the Florida thread, we frequently bemoan the fact that nursing pay in Florida bites - about $19-22 an hour for a new grad, I'm hearing, and housing is nowhere near as cheap as it used to be. I am in one of the cheaper parts of Florida, and I've been in my house for several years - but for a halfway-decent not fancy 3/2 house in a decent neighborhood in my county, it would most likely run $175,000 to $250,000, and that is only because the housing market has slowed down.

In Tampa or Orlando, from what I hear, it would be more like $300,000 on up. Maybe $275,000 on up.

When I see nurses in New Jersey and New York and California talk about making $35 to $40 an hour base pay, I drool...then I remember that houses cost a lot more.

Sooo....what states start out with higher pay then I'm mentioning for Florida, or end up with higher pay then I'm mentioning - we're taking RN base pay here, just to compare apples to apples - and have affordable housing? And for those who answer, how much is an average 3/2 house or rent on a 2 or three bedroom apartment in your area? (In my area, $800 to 1000 for 2 bedroom, $1100 to $1500 for a three.)

I may move when I get through school, although I love Florida. Or I may do the travel nurse, working for an agency, working nights and weekends thing just so I can make ends meet.

*** The best states for nursing pay vs cost of living are Tx, Mn, &

Wi.

I live in Wisconsin and new grad starting pay is $28.61/hour and a decent house can be purchased for under $60K and a real nice house in the country with some land can be purchased for

Go here:

http://www.ga.unc.edu/NCCN/research/quickfacts/Salary%20Adjustment%20Table.htm

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
*** The best states for nursing pay vs cost of living are Tx, Mn, &

Wi.

I live in Wisconsin and new grad starting pay is $28.61/hour and a decent house can be purchased for under $60K and a real nice house in the country with some land can be purchased for

Go here:

http://www.ga.unc.edu/NCCN/research/quickfacts/Salary%20Adjustment%20Table.htm

Thanks, PMFB-RN. As soon as I saw this thread, I was going to post that this information was available -- but I didn't have the reference handy. You beat me to it, saving me the work of looking it up.

llg

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Wow, is that an awesome list! Thank you so much. And I am AMAZED at how well nurses are paid in Wisconsin - I never would have guessed! Hmmm....wonder if I could work half the year in Florida and half in Wisconsin...I love, love, love the weather in Florida, find the people really friendly, I love beaches, I love all the seabirds...the pay for nurses is just depressing.

But seriously...if my starting base pay was $28 an hour and I could buy a nice house for $100,000 or less...I could live quite well.

By the way, how do you do the "thank you" thing on this board? I saw it once...can't find it again...

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Wow! Where do you live in Wis? I am a new grad in Milwaukee, and just started out at one of the major hospitals for about $22.00 which sounds standard according to other friends in the area. I am looking to buy a house and am looking at at least 130,000 in one of the seminice areas. I have heard that new grads in Madison start at about $25-26.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Newly graduated RNs in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas start at $19 to $22 per hour in hospitals and $23 to $25 hourly in LTCs/SNFs.

I'm an LVN/LPN with 1.5 years of experience, and I earn $19 hourly at a nursing/rehab center. My house is 1,860 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, built in 2004, located in a desirable part of town, and situated in a good school district. Best of all, it cost only $104,000. Housing is very affordable around here when contrasted with the pay rates for nurses.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
By the way, how do you do the "thank you" thing on this board? I saw it once...can't find it again...
You'll find a "Thank You" option at the bottom right-hand corner of everyone's posts. If you see a helpful or insightful post, you simply click on the "Thank You" option.
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I'm jealous of a friend who is from Arizona. Wages are comparable to here and houses are 1/3 the cost.

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Specializes in OB L&D Mother/Baby.

One of our docs was moving to Arizona and he said the housing was outrageous but maybe it was the area he was in. They ended up going to North Carolina I think.

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One of our docs was moving to Arizona and he said the housing was outrageous but maybe it was the area he was in. They ended up going to North Carolina I think.

I live in Southern California. Arizona is really cheap compared to here.

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