Nursing Salary by State

A day in the life of Veronica Pasha, a senior staff nurse at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, is long. She’s up by 5 a.m. and at the hospital by 7 a.m., serving as a float nurse who works across all units in the women and children’s health division. She is also on call for the hospital’s emergency department three times a month, according to a CNBC profile.

Her shifts are long — typically 12.5 hours, but sometimes stretching as long as 16 hours — but it’s rewarding work. She told CNBC that the most meaningful part of her job involves creating a “rapport” with her patients.

“Especially in this specific area of labor and delivery, you’re fostering a family and you’re bringing a child into the world and you’re creating a family,” she said. “There’s no better feeling.”

If you’re considering a career in nursing, it can be a rewarding and lucrative profession. Pay ranges differ depending on geographic location, work environment and a nurse’s discipline. 

Each of these pathways within nursing comes with different salary expectations:

• Licensed Practical Nurse
• Registered Nurse 
• Advanced Practice Nurse — including Certified Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Certified Nurse-Midwife, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

Location matters. Nurse salary by state varies widely. But what state has the highest-paid nurses? For registered nurses, California currently stands at the top of the 10 best-paying states for RNs, followed by Hawaii, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Oregon, Alaska, New York, Nevada, New Jersey, and Washington, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Here’s a general look at nursing salaries throughout the United States, as reported by the BLS. 

Licensed Practical Nurse Salary

A licensed practical nurse provides patients with essential day-to-day care, such as preparing equipment, and administering medications and immunizations under a physician’s supervision. LPNs can also assist RNs and physicians with patients, maintaining medical records and coordinating contact between the whole medical care team, making sure that patients and families know what proper at-home care consists of outside the hospital or clinic.

You’ll find these nurses in doctor’s offices, clinics and hospitals. They also offer targeted care directly to patients, including at-home visits. 

The median annual wage for an LPN is $46,240, according to the BLS. In 2018, the bottom 10 percent of LPNs earned below $33,680 per year, while the highest 10 percent earned over $62,160.

Here’s an overview of the highest-paying states for licensed practical nurses, according to 2018 BLS data:

LPN Salary Rhode Island: $59,130

LPN Salary Massachusetts: $58,990

LPN Salary Alaska: $58,250

LPN Salary Nevada: $57,140

LPN Salary Connecticut: $56,970

As with other nursing disciplines, the salary for LPNs varies by geography, according to 2018 BLS data. The LPN salary in Florida, for instance, is $44,400 per year on average, while the LPN average annual salary in California is $56,200. In Missouri, it’s $42,580 and in Pennsylvania, it stands at $48,120. Salaries vary per state and work setting.

Interested to see where your state falls? Here are the numbers for LPN salaries from 2018 BLS data below.

Licensed Practical Nurse Salary by State

Annual mean salary (in U.S. dollars)

Registered Nurse Salary

A registered nurse is someone who earned a license to practice nursing in their state, providing patient care in a range of settings from major hospitals to clinics to nursing homes and schools. RNs include clinical nurse specialists, but not advanced practice registered nurses. RNs care for patients, diagnosing and treating conditions that fall under specific areas, such as oncology and geriatrics.

Registered nurse salaries can vary but the average annual pay for registered nurses was $75,510, according to 2018 BLS data. The top 90th percentile earned an annual salary of $106,530.

According to the BLS, the top five states for RN salaries are:

RN Salary California: $106,950

RN Salary Hawaii: $98,080

RN Salary District of Columbia: $92,350

RN Salary Massachusetts: $92,140

RN Salary Oregon: $91,080

Registered Nurse Salary by State

Here’s registered nurse salary by state according to 2018 data from the BLS.

Annual mean salary (in U.S. dollars)

Advanced Practice Nurse Salary

Advanced practice nurses, or advanced practice registered nurses, have finished advanced clinical and educational certifications. They’re nurses who’ve chosen to further their education, specialize in a specific area, and obtain additional certification credentials.

Here are three types of nurses who fall in this category, according to the BLS:

Certified nurse practitioner: Cares for patients of all ages, diagnosing and treating illnesses, and focusing on wellness and overall changes that promote better health outcomes.

Certified nurse-midwife: Cares for pregnant women and their families, assisting with prenatal care, labor and delivery to helping new mothers in the postpartum phase adjust to life with a newborn.

Certified nurse anesthetist: Administers anesthesia before and after surgery.

Nurse Practitioner Salaries by State

Curious about annual APRN salary? Here are the various salaries for certified nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives and certified nurse anesthetists in the U.S., according to 2018 data from the BLS.

Disclosure: “Not available” indicates that the BLS has not provided data for it. All data was accessed in 2019.