Nevada Lowest Paying Nurses?????

MikeyJ, RN · Jan 16, 2007

Hi me and my monkey again :monkeydance: . OK a friend of mine's wife who I guess was a nurse in Vegas said that Nevada is the lowest paying state for nursing? It says right on www.nvnurses.com that it's in the upper 25% ? Does this person not have all her facts together or what?

We are actually one of the highest paying states in the U.S. As far as I remember, Las Vegas/Henderson is within the top 20 cities in the U.S. for best nurses pay. The LOWEST you will make at a hospital is right around $21, which is at UMC (county hospital). I've heard of some new grads making excess of $26 at St. Rose hospitals. The flip side to our high pay is the horrible working conditions. Las Vegas hospitals are notorious for the horrible nurse:patient ratios.

Reno1978, BSN, RN · Jan 16, 2007

In northern NV, the going rate for new grads is $25/hr.

caballoazul78 · May 15, 2007

We are actually one of the highest paying states in the U.S. As far as I remember, Las Vegas/Henderson is within the top 20 cities in the U.S. for best nurses pay. The LOWEST you will make at a hospital is right around $21, which is at UMC (county hospital). I've heard of some new grads making excess of $26 at St. Rose hospitals. The flip side to our high pay is the horrible working conditions. Las Vegas hospitals are notorious for the horrible nurse:patient ratios.

that's considered good? OMG, here in SF bay area a new grad starts in between 40-50 dollars/hour...

MikeyJ, RN · May 15, 2007

that's considered good? OMG, here in SF bay area a new grad starts in between 40-50 dollars/hour...

Yes, and the cost of living in SF is RIDICULOUS. My partner and I looked into SF and we couldn't find a decent home for less than 450K.

Almost all of CA has high wages for nurses and you are not considering cost of living.

caballoazul78 · May 15, 2007

Yes, and the cost of living in SF is RIDICULOUS. My partner and I looked into SF and we couldn't find a decent home for less than 450K.
Almost all of CA has high wages for nurses and you are not considering cost of living.

Unfortunately, my student loans have SF levels. I will not make it just earning 24/hr.

MikeyJ, RN · May 15, 2007

Unfortunately, my student loans have SF levels. I will not make it just earning 24/hr.

How much do you have in student loans?? I know of students who graduated with $50K+ in loans and do fine. I will personally have $55K+ in loans and am not worried at all. You have to understand that Vegas's cost of living is far lower than SF. Yes, you may be making $50/hr in SF but think of how much of that will be going toward housing.

caballoazul78 · May 15, 2007

I will be living still with my parents. I wanna pay it off in 1 year. I owe around 32,000 right now.

DesertRain · May 16, 2007

Yeah there is definitely a link between salary and cost of living anywhere in the country. Nurses will make more in a city that costs more, but in the end, it all equivalates. So Sally, RN in San Francisco making $40/hour has the same 2500 sq ft., 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home as Allen, RN making $25/hour in Las Vegas. You're basically going to live a similar "financial" lifestyle.

Sheri257 · May 28, 2007

The average RN nationwide makes a little under $60K a year ...

The average Nevada RN makes $63K a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nv.htm#b29-0000

So I wouldn't say that Nevada pay is the lowest.

:typing

Nakia · May 31, 2007

I work at UMC and the starting rate is 23. Employees at UMC actually make more because the only taxes we have to pay is FICA and medicaid. I can work the same amt of hours as an emplyee at St. Rose and actually make more money because we don't have all the taxes.

DesertRain · Jun 4, 2007

Nakia, how many hospitals did you apply at and did you do research before deciding to work for UMC. I heard UMC is a great place to work and I was wondering how hard is it to get in?