Missouri RN pay? Relocating from Hawaii.

[michellebelle808]

Hi, my husband is researching our moving to Missouri to be closer to his family. We were looking at the city of Columbia, MO. Anyone have input on RN (BSN) pay rates in MO? I know we will experience a major difference in both cost of living and incomes... I currently make $59/hr as an Operating Room nurse (circulator/scrub) in my home state of Hawai’i, with 3 years of experience. I also get an additional $3/hr for being charge nurse and additional $3/hr for evening shift. I’m thinking based on some research, that average MO RN pay for 2019 is around $25/hr... hoping with my experience and in the O.R. Specialty, maybe I can get closer to $30/hr? Would love any input and / or stories and / or advice! Mahalo!

[Aliens05, ASN]

Well, get ready for quite the change of scenery... I live one state over in Nebraska but I used to live at Lake of the Ozarks for 4-5 years, which is about an hour south of Columbia. Columbia isn't too bad of a town thanks in large part to the University. Lake of the Ozarks is a fun place for summer vacations, be sure to check it out at least once, if you haven't before.

In terms of pay I would say $25-30 is probably about right. In Nebraska we are a little higher on RN wage than Missouri is, and we range from about $26-30 for new grad nurses. You should be able to get a little closer to the 30 mark I would think with some experience and the right job. Probably will help that the University is there in terms of amount of jobs available, as I know Missouri overall as a state doesn't have as good of job market as Nebraska does, but probably not as bad as some other states.

GOOD LUCK!