New grad RN pay in big city?

[NurseM17]

I just started interviewing for new grad RN jobs in a major northeast city. I'm surprised at how low the hourly rates seem. I know pay fluctuates a lot geographically but curious what others think. For example, the hourly rates for a new nurse at one of the top academic hospitals are: 

Day shift: $30.39 / Night shift: $35.03

There are a lot of factors in addition to pay that I consider when deciding on a job, but I don't want to get swindled right out of the gate. Thanks for the input!

[ajnurse2b6]

Hi, I don't know about the northeast but I live in Chicago. New grads here make at least $30/hour base rate. When I started 2 years ago, my starting salary was $32/hour with a night shift differential of 5/hour with free parking. I would guess the starting rate is at least $35 now. I do think $30 is a bit low! But the 5/hour night shift differential is good. Some important questions: How much is night differential? Weekend differential? How much does parking cost? Are there yearly raises? 

[TippyTappyMeow, MSN]

If the starting pay would've been that in my area then I probably would've found the motivation to stay bedside. Hospital start around $27-28 and clinics $25-27. Differentials were changed from percentages to a flat rate. Yearly raises are normal in my market.

I recently made the change from hospital to clinic and one thing I had to account for was the benefits package. Since clinic nurses made less I began to crunch the numbers. One organization was willingly to give me a raise but my benefits expense would be doubled.