Why are Nurses paid so low in the south ??

ontheway2crna · Dec 4, 2014

I am a RN in the south, and my hospital seems to have a hard time recruiting nurses, actually, and the pay is not great. I thought they should offer more money to attract more experienced nurses, not just a bunch of new grads they have to pay to train, whom leave after 6 months to a year anyways. I went to nursing school up north, and I disagree that the cost of living is cheaper here. I rent a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house for 650.00. If I rented the same thing up north it may cost 850-1,000 a month for this. Also depending what city you live in, the cost of living may be comparable to living up north, while still earning crappy wages. When you do the math, the "cost of living" aka cheaper rent in some towns, doesnt really justify the lower wages. I am sure the hospital bills down here cost just as much as they do up north and the hospitals could afford to pay their nurses more reasonably. Gas, milk, utilities, all cost about the same down here as they do up there.

VANurse2010 · 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.

The South is not as cheap as many believe, particularly if you live in a semi-decent state like Virginia vs a pit like Alabama or Texas.

steeni203 · Dec 4, 2014

I live and work in the Metro Atlanta area. Previously I worked/lived in both Washington, DC and the Tristate area in the NE. Overall the cost of living is extremely cheaper in the South. One bedroom apartments in this area range from $600-$800 and I currently rent a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home in a nice neighborhood with over an acre of land for $1300 a month. That is less than half of what I paid for a room in a 2 bedroom apartment in DC and comparable to what you would pay for a low end 1 bedroom in the metropolitan NYC area. I make more than I did per hour here than I did in NYC and DC but that has a lot to do with my specialty and lack of experienced nurses in it.

Additionally, theres tons of other cost benefits to living in the South. In Georgia the university system is incredibly strong and focused on good academics for a low price. I attend a masters program at a Georgia university for free, its all covered by money from the Hope scholarship(lottery $$) and free grants from the state. Also taxes here are unbelievably cheaper. Property taxes on our home were round $300 a year, while in the metro areas up north I knew many people in Jersey, CT and NY/Long Island paying around 20 to 50 thousand a year on property taxes.

Our food and utilities are cheaper here also. There's no tax on gas like in CT, paying around 2.65 a gal for regular. I can tell you that at least in the Atlanta area, demand for nurses with experience(at least 1 year) is high.

canigraduate · Dec 4, 2014

I lived/worked in MI and in NC. They are fairly comparable when it comes to the COL/wages ratio. Both are pretty crappy.

Wages are generally lower in the South for a multitude of reasons. The biggest reasons are that the cost of living is low, then the lack of unionization. The next biggest (in my mind, no studies I can think of to reference) is that most of the states are right to work, which generally means they can fire you if you make too much and hire someone who is cheaper. Have had it happen, have seen it happen. Another reason is that nursing is mostly a "woman's profession" in the South, and women make less than men in general. (There have been many studies on this, nationwide.)

As far as Florida goes, the job market supports the low wages, from the data I've seen on job sites. To get decent wages, you pretty much have to move.

Bezoars · Dec 4, 2014

Who could ever afford to live IN San Francisco? It always perplexes me how people can even aford to live there at all. Georgia sounds good to me. You've sold me.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Dec 4, 2014

The South is not as cheap as many believe, particularly if you live in a semi-decent state like Virginia vs a pit like Alabama or Texas.

OUCH! "a pit"?!

I'm thinking there are those who live in pit-designated areas who would disagree....!!

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Dec 4, 2014

I am a RN in the south, and my hospital seems to have a hard time recruiting nurses, actually, and the pay is not great. I thought they should offer more money to attract more experienced nurses, not just a bunch of new grads they have to pay to train, whom leave after 6 months to a year anyways. I went to nursing school up north, and I disagree that the cost of living is cheaper here. I rent a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house for 650.00. If I rented the same thing up north it may cost 850-1,000 a month for this. Also depending what city you live in, the cost of living may be comparable to living up north, while still earning crappy wages. When you do the math, the "cost of living" aka cheaper rent in some towns, doesnt really justify the lower wages. I am sure the hospital bills down here cost just as much as they do up north and the hospitals could afford to pay their nurses more reasonably. Gas, milk, utilities, all cost about the same down here as they do up there.

I would honestly like to know where up north you think you could rent a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom house for $850. I paid more than that for a studio apartment 7 years ago. My uncle rents his 2 bedroom 2 bath house in the suburbs for like $1500 and that's considered cheap for a house that size. If I were to rent my house (3 bed, 1.5 bath), the rent would be no less than $2500. My friends rent a 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment in the suburbs/in an area where apartments are not exactly in demand and they pay over $1200. The cost of living is definitely cheaper down South.

canigraduate · Dec 4, 2014

I would honestly like to know where up north you think you could rent a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom house for $850. I paid more than that for a studio apartment 7 years ago. My uncle rents his 2 bedroom 2 bath house in the suburbs for like $1500 and that's considered cheap for a house that size. If I were to rent my house (3 bed, 1.5 bath), the rent would be no less than $2500. My friends rent a 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment in the suburbs/in an area where apartments are not exactly in demand and they pay over $1200. The cost of living is definitely cheaper down South.

Depends on the area. There were some very affordable houses in MI. We paid $775/month rent for a 2 BR, 2 BA, with a full basement and 2 car garage. It was on the nicest street in the town, too.

WookieeRN, BSN, MSN, RN · Dec 4, 2014

Depends on the area. There were some very affordable houses in MI. We paid $775/month rent for a 2 BR, 2 BA, with a full basement and 2 car garage. It was on the nicest street in the town, too.

I just moved south from the northeast (Philadelphia). My dump of an apartment outside the city was a tiny 1br and it was $775/mo. I didn't even have a living room. It was one heck of a rundown apartment and everything was falling apart, and I still had to do my laundry at a laundromat, but it was the cheapest I could find 3 years ago.

Down here, my rent + electric + cable is only $700/month in a much nicer apartment. A 2br back home would have started at $1k/mo for the dumpiest and I've seen nicer 1brs like mine go for close to $1600/mo starting (add utilities and you're close to $2k/mo).

The south is MUCH cheaper from up north where I come from.

VANurse2010 · Dec 5, 2014

OUCH! "a pit"?!
I'm thinking there are those who live in pit-designated areas who would disagree....!!

I'm entitled to my opinion, as they are to theirs.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2014

Depends on the area. There were some very affordable houses in MI. We paid $775/month rent for a 2 BR, 2 BA, with a full basement and 2 car garage. It was on the nicest street in the town, too.

I guess you could call Michigan the north... I consider it the Midwest (as does the US Census Bureau), which is its own distinct region in that aspect. I can't speak to cost of living or salary in the Midwest because I don't and have never lived there. Though I imagine Michigan's economy isn't exactly comparable to the rest of the Northern US since its largest city has filed for bankruptcy.

canigraduate · Dec 5, 2014

Getting kind of nit picky. I was speaking geographically, not culturally. Michigan is way north of North Carolina.