RN salary expectations

[Ashtimus Prime]

How much can you realistically expect to make as a new RN? Is 22$ pushing it. It is not about the money, but i do need money to buy stuff. Or is 22$ to low?

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

It really depends on the area and the cost of living. $22 in a rural area of a midwestern state is going to go a lot farther than $22 in Los Angeles or New York City. You'll have to be more specific. You can also look at various websites to see average wages, with a minimum and maximum, of nursing salaries by areas.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Way too low in my area (I started out at $27/hr as a new grad 9 years ago) but in other areas of the country, it may be par for the course.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

$18 to $20 hourly would be the norm in certain employment markets (e.g. rural south Georgia, eastern Tennessee), while $45+ hourly would be about right in other metro areas such as the SF Bay area and Sacramento.

It is all about location, location, location.

[NurseCard, ADN]

Agreed. 22 per hour sounds about right around my area.

Some facilities around here don't even pay that much to

new grads. Some pay more.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

When will you be an RN?

[Sour Lemon]

When will you be an RN?

I would like to know the salary for an RN in outer space because I have a feeling it's going to get colonized some time in the next 1000 years. I'll probably be brought back to life and immortal by then, assuming things go as planned. I'm thinking of Mars, but possibly Saturn. Discuss.

[loriangel14, RN]

It depends on where you live. RNs start around $30 where I live.

[srercg6]

$22 is about the starting rate in the Midwest as well. Nursing facilities will pay as much as $24-$27 an hour though - but hard to get RN's to work there. There is usually a $4-$5 shift diff for night shift as well. Plus bonus pay when they are short handed. How much is it in Florida?

[shell1983]

That is about average in my area.

[catsmeow1972, BSN, RN]

That's about right around here. Assuming you are thinking ADN. Some larger facilities will pay a smidge more for that BSN. As to whether it is decent for a given area, look at the average rents. I recently moved from an area where you could rent a 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment for $850. The rates were about that. Where I am now, the rates are considerably higher, but rents are also shockingly high. (mine almost doubled:uhoh3:)

The point is, there is no definitive adequate rate for the entirely country. On an average, countrywide, i would say $22 is about right.

[ottersloveoysters]

Totally depends where you live (as others have said) and the type of facility. In my area LTC pays $25/hr-ish but large acute care hospitals pay $30/hr-ish. I live in a fairly high cost of living area but if you travel outside the city, the pay starts to drop.