What States Pay the Highest and Lowest Nursing Salaries

[allnurses]

As with any job, salaries for nurses vary greatly from state to state and even city to city within the same state. Below are listed average high and low state salaries by degree based on the results of the allnurses salary survey. In order to find the "best" state to work in, more than just the numbers below have to be considered.

These figures represent nurses of all levels of experience, age, position, specialty area, work setting, etc. The figures also do not account for the cost of living indexes.

Cost of Living

We all know that the cost of living index greatly affects the value of the salary and what that salary will buy.

Generally, the cost of living is highest on the West Coast and in the Northeast. The states in the South, Midwest, and sections of the Mountain West have the lowest cost of living.

Based on cost of living data provided by research conducted by the Council for Community and Economic Research, the cost of living indexes for the highest and lowest states are as follows.

States with the Highest Cost of Living:

HAWAII: 167.1

WASHINGTON DC: 144.8

CONNECTICUT: 132.7

ALASKA: 134.5

NEW YORK: 130.4

States with the Lowest Cost of Living:

TENNESSEE: 90.6

KENTUCKY: 91

ARKANSAS: 91.5

INDIANA: 91.7

KANSAS: 91.9

How does your salary stack up to the ones listed?

Are you thinking about moving in search of a higher salary?

Remember......it's more than the numbers that count.

what-states-pay-the-highest-and-lowest-nursing-salaries.pdf

[Dogen]

Orphan RN said:

I just don't understand cost of living disclaimers - it pretty much cost the same in every state to fly some where, buy certain items, and pay to live. We are under paid ladies and gentlemen, no two ways about it.

A lot of things differ in price from state to state, even city to city. Gas and housing vary wildly. You can find 450sqft studio apartments in Portland that rent for $1700/month, which is a house payment (or two) in most places. You can also compare average price of the consumer index to what you pay to see if you pay more or less than the average price of goods. in my case, I pay more than the average for virtually everything except apples. If you multiply the10-20% more I pay across 10-30 items, every week for a year, it's several thousand dollars. Plus the high cost of housing, where I pay as much to rent a 2-bedroom apartment as I paid for a whole house in Washington.

Alternately, if I move across the river to Vancouver (which a lot of people who work in Portland do) my effective salary increases about 10-15% based entirely on differences in cost of living.

[Double Dunker]

I'm sorry, but this info is completely unhelpful. I live in Indiana and I just got a $2.50/hr raise for a market adjustment. My base yearly salary still puts me in the bottom 6 states for BSN salaries, but Indiana isn't listed there. Without info about how much OT people work and how much shift diff is, this info is worthless. I'd like to know the average salary in Indiana. Rumor has it my hospital is at the bottom of the payscale in my area, but I have no way to verify that info.

[Tjhughes7]

Florida has one of lowest pay scales. After 35+ years of nursing starting pay less than 30$/hr. Was making ~ 35$/hr in Kansas and it was ranked #5

[zzbxdo]

I always see people jumping the ship for California, but understand California is a huge state and the offerings vary greatly by region. Raised in the south bay, went to school in the central valley, worked my BSN career in Socal. You can make 130k in norcal but rent can be 3k+ for a 1br apartment or less than 2 in the east bay. Even a 2/2 in Oakland is going to run you close to 3k. You make a tad less in the central valley but cost of living drops significantly. In southern California you earn about a third less but renting is proportionately high. The rental market is outpacing wage increses quickly, especially in the bay area of course.

[lisaanngardner]

I'm moving from Alaska to Kansas. Sounds like I should prepare for a big salary drop

[Jenlois]

Which part of California would you suggest

[Danlop9]

You're good peeps!

[SuccessInProgress]

I didn't see Texas on there either. As a brand new graduate nurse in Texas, right outside of Houston, with only an ADN, I started at 31/hour. Being in an area with a generally low cost of living, the starting salary was great! The benefits are awesome too!

[Rnwaymack]

I recently moved to Alabama and expected a much lower salary than my salary in Virginia. I was pleasantly surprised that I actually got a decent amount as a raise.

[glitterjen86, ASN, BSN]

So awesome! What kind of nurse are you? Is that the type of salary someone in less or nicu could get?

NickiLaughs said:

California state been pretty good to me. I make about 130k a year, part time. I do 4 8s (32 hours) a week. When you add in vacation time, holiday pay, etc. It's pretty hard to beat. My benefits are good. And some people cringe at cost of living, but bringing home 7k a month allows me to very comfortably afford that 1900/mo mortgage. I'm working on paying off my student loans and cars, hopefully that will be done in the next 5 years and we can live the low stress lifestyle. ?

[TeeDotNurse]

Hey any info available from last year's survey for Canada?

[blue_bug]

Was the entire list posted somewhere?