NURSE SALARY GUIDE 2024

Find Your Nursing
Salary Guide

Find Your Nursing Salary Guide

Find Your Nursing Salary Guide

Are you thinking about pursuing a career in nursing? You may be asking yourself, “How much do nurses make?” Or maybe you’re already working as a registered nurse and are looking to relocate to another state, in which case, you’d want to know which states pay nurses the most.

Compared to the national average in the United States, a nursing salary can be quite competitive, especially depending on which state you work in (cue travel nursing), what nursing specialty or role you work in, and how many hours you work weekly. Explore our salary guides to discover the salary in your home state or desired state you wish to live or travel to.

While there are a variety of factors that affect net income as a nurse—compensation, cost of living, even taxes—there are some clear trends over time in terms of which states tend to pay registered nurses the most competitive salaries. Here are the top 10 highest-paying states for nurses in 2024.

Highest-Paying States for Nurses in 2024

STATE                                    YEARLY PAY
California                  $85,080–$140,740
 
Hawaii                      $94,870–$106,550
 
Alaska                         $85,150–$99,090
 
Massachussetts             $79,720–$96,510
 
New York                    $66,890–$93,280
 
Oregon                       $79,800–$92,940
 
Connecticut                 $69,670–$92,380
 
Nevada                       $78,800–$91,330
 
Washington State         $69,850–$90,730
 
Arizona                       $69,450–$85,510

See What Your Nursing Salary Could Be in Your City

We combined proprietary data with official nurse salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to create the most comprehensive view of nurse salary in the United States. We present our findings in hourly pay for staff nurses and gross weekly pay for travel nurses to account for the different ways nurses think about pay.

Use Salary Explorer to:

  • View facilities in any city and save them for later when you’re ready to find your next job.
  • Get detailed insights on what it actually costs to live in the city, including average rent, groceries and more.
  • Toggle between Staff Nurse and Travel Nurse pay and compare against state and national pay.

Login to your profile to compare average nursing salaries in cities near you!

Salary Explorer