Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2015

29-1141 Registered Nurses

Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients. May advise patients on health maintenance and disease prevention or provide case management. Licensing or registration required. Includes Clinical Nurse Specialists. Excludes "Nurse Anesthetists" (29-1151), "Nurse Midwives" (29-1161), and "Nurse Practitioners" (29-1171).


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
2,745,910 0.5 % $34.14 $71,000 0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $22.29 $26.59 $32.45 $39.66 $48.86
Annual Wage (2) $46,360 $55,320 $67,490 $82,490 $101,630


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 1,587,040 30.08 $35.09 $72,980
Offices of Physicians 194,370 7.75 $31.42 $65,350
Home Health Care Services 173,590 13.36 $32.94 $68,510
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) 154,060 9.32 $30.53 $63,490
Outpatient Care Centers 110,580 15.00 $35.39 $73,620

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 1,587,040 30.08 $35.09 $72,980
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals 59,750 23.99 $36.69 $76,310
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals 36,480 15.81 $32.49 $67,580
Outpatient Care Centers 110,580 15.00 $35.39 $73,620
Home Health Care Services 173,590 13.36 $32.94 $68,510

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services 520 0.06 $44.64 $92,840
Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers (8) (8) $41.60 $86,530
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 75,250 3.79 $39.72 $82,620
Oil and Gas Extraction 50 0.03 $39.57 $82,300
Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds 40 0.55 $38.51 $80,090


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.




States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 255,010 16.46 0.83 $48.68 $101,260
Texas 198,650 17.17 0.86 $33.60 $69,890
New York 171,880 19.13 0.96 $37.96 $78,950
Florida 168,870 21.31 1.07 $30.75 $63,960
Pennsylvania 136,090 23.84 1.20 $32.47 $67,550



States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
South Dakota 11,950 28.92 1.45 $26.49 $55,100
West Virginia 20,020 28.32 1.42 $27.89 $58,010
Rhode Island 11,950 25.35 1.27 $36.74 $76,410
Mississippi 27,810 25.13 1.26 $27.39 $56,980
Massachusetts 83,780 24.66 1.24 $42.62 $88,650



Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 255,010 16.46 0.83 $48.68 $101,260
Hawaii 10,990 17.73 0.89 $43.33 $90,130
Massachusetts 83,780 24.66 1.24 $42.62 $88,650
Alaska 5,910 18.05 0.91 $42.55 $88,510
Oregon 32,490 18.72 0.94 $40.29 $83,800




Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 119,070 18.38 0.92 $41.54 $86,410
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 70,810 17.26 0.87 $46.61 $96,960
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 67,030 18.77 0.94 $35.96 $74,800
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 46,700 15.94 0.80 $36.92 $76,790
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division 44,200 25.09 1.26 $46.05 $95,790
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 37,640 16.15 0.81 $34.89 $72,570
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 36,200 14.59 0.73 $31.73 $65,990
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 35,370 18.81 0.94 $37.00 $76,960
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 34,810 18.56 0.93 $35.34 $73,510
St. Louis, MO-IL 33,810 25.56 1.28 $29.20 $60,750



Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA 3,100 72.80 3.66 $26.51 $55,150
Rochester, MN 8,080 72.37 3.63 $31.11 $64,720
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN 3,760 50.80 2.55 $26.91 $55,980
Greenville, NC 3,730 50.28 2.53 $28.66 $59,610
Morgantown, WV 2,850 45.17 2.27 $30.43 $63,300
Gainesville, FL 5,630 44.97 2.26 $30.00 $62,390
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 12,650 43.95 2.21 $31.43 $65,380
Rome, GA 1,450 40.76 2.05 $27.72 $57,650
Lawrence-Methuen Town-Salem, MA-NH NECTA Division 3,180 39.61 1.99 $38.25 $79,560
Ann Arbor, MI 8,130 38.81 1.95 $34.04 $70,810



Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division 12,160 11.92 0.60 $64.26 $133,650
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 2,860 22.84 1.15 $61.77 $128,480
Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division 19,200 18.22 0.92 $60.05 $124,910
San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division 1,770 15.75 0.79 $59.59 $123,940
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 1,500 16.72 0.84 $59.25 $123,250
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 13,720 13.56 0.68 $58.47 $121,610
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 17,460 19.97 1.00 $54.33 $113,000
Salinas, CA 2,470 15.28 0.77 $50.05 $104,110
Modesto, CA 3,040 18.30 0.92 $49.39 $102,730
Stockton-Lodi, CA 3,780 17.29 0.87 $48.26 $100,380

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 5,520 16.78 0.84 $28.02 $58,270
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 5,490 22.02 1.11 $27.40 $56,990
Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 4,930 22.03 1.11 $24.58 $51,120
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 4,540 18.59 0.93 $26.76 $55,650
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 4,320 15.85 0.80 $29.04 $60,400

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
West Central New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 2,320 36.60 1.84 $34.70 $72,180
East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 3,550 33.65 1.69 $25.12 $52,250
Southeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 4,140 27.04 1.36 $24.96 $51,920
Southern Ohio non-metropolitan area 4,100 26.80 1.35 $27.59 $57,380
Southwest Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 1,860 25.07 1.26 $27.03 $56,220

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 810 20.11 1.01 $48.84 $101,580
North Valley Region of California nonmetropolitan area 310 10.65 0.53 $45.91 $95,490
Border Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 680 11.79 0.59 $43.18 $89,810
Hawaii / Maui / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 1,750 18.43 0.93 $41.42 $86,160
Balance of Alaska nonmetropolitan area 860 11.32 0.57 $40.55 $84,330


About May 2015 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2015 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2015 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2015 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2015 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2015 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 30, 2016