Why are Nurses paid so low in the south ??

caliotter3 · Dec 3, 2014

It probably has a lot to do with the fact that everybody is paid lower in the South, and the cost of living, in general, is lower in the South.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Dec 3, 2014

Do you watch HGTV? Do you see how much houses and apartments are in other parts of the country? That is one reason. As long as the facilities can find someone to accept the pay they will not raise it

nurse4ever08 · Dec 3, 2014

The part of south I am in COL is high and pay low

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 3, 2014

Nurses generally receive lower pay in the South because:

1. Lower cost of living in the South

2. Southern facilities are vehemently against unionization

3. Healthcare facilities have no reason to increase pay rates when new grad RNs are applying in droves for jobs that pay in the $18 to $21/hr. range.

RNperdiem, RN · Dec 3, 2014

My brother lived in a large luxury gated community apartment with a pool and garage in small town Georgia for a rent of $600/month. The cost of living is lower in some places.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Dec 3, 2014

I believe nurses in the south should be paid much more that is where the elderly go to retire! that isnt fair LPN"S in Michigan make $20-28 per hour. Somebody should stand up and fight for the pay that you guys deserve and the stress that it takes to care for patients are worth more than the wages they give you.

What does it being the location elderly go to retire have to do with nursing pay? Pay in the South is generally lower in ALL industries, not just healthcare.

firstinfamily, RN · Dec 4, 2014

I lived in south-east Virginia for 18 years, when we moved to northern Maryland I started out making $10.00 more per hour with my first position as a staff RN. I think it is more of a supply and demand type of thing, there were a lot of nurses in Virginia(we lived close to the navy bases). Cost of living was less in that area of Va. In MD, the pay is higher up north, not in southern MD. There is a limited supply of nurses and limited facilities also.

MunoRN, RN · Dec 4, 2014

I don't think it's really true that the pay is actually lower in the south. The value of one's pay is determined by your pay relative to the cost of living. In general, the increase in cost of living of other areas compared the south isn't only partially made up for with increased wages. So while the actual number of a nurse's wage in the south is smaller, they can buy much more with that smaller amount than what a nurse in other areas can buy.

And actually there are old people everywhere, so I'm not sure what that has to do with anything.

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · Dec 4, 2014

Just south of the Michigan border, LPNs start out at 14-16 dollars on average. I couldn't believe how much the LPNs started out where I work now in Michigan. My coworker used to work at a nursing home. I was shocked. Heck, I should have become an LPN and I would only make six dollars less than I make now. Granted that's 11,000 less a year but then my school loans would have been cut in half.

llg, PhD, RN · Dec 4, 2014

One thing about Michigan though ... It is a heavily unionized state, and that has driven up compensation. (In some cases, to the point of hurting industry and the economy. The high wages were one of the reasons Michigan cities were hit so hard by the Great Recession.) You can view that result of unionization as either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Like most things in life, it has its advantages (high compensation) and disadvantages (precarious conditions for businesses and local economies).

I worked in Michigan several years ago and had a compensation package that was far better than I have seen in any other of my jobs -- and I have lived in about 10 different states. Where I worked in Michigan, we had a union contract that included both high hourly wages and fantastic benefits. Even hospitals that were unionized had to pay well in order to compete for staff.

Most other states aren't that heavily unionized. Lower wages ... but lower cost of living ... and less community economic risk.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Dec 4, 2014

My brother lived in a large luxury gated community apartment with a pool and garage in small town Georgia for a rent of $600/month. The cost of living is lower in some places.

I'd hazard a guess that the garage alone would cost that in the SF Bay area of CA!