Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020
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 Registered Nurses
Industry profile for Registered Nurses
Geographic profile for Registered Nurses
National estimates for Registered Nurses:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Registered Nurses:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 2,986,500 |
0.5 % |
$ 38.47 |
$ 80,010 |
0.4 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Registered Nurses:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 25.68 |
$ 29.63 |
$ 36.22 |
$ 44.99 |
$ 55.88 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 53,410 |
$ 61,630 |
$ 75,330 |
$ 93,590 |
$ 116,230 |
Industry profile for Registered Nurses:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Registered Nurses are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Registered Nurses, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Registered Nurses:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1,729,200 |
30.90 |
$ 39.27 |
$ 81,680 |
| Offices of Physicians |
192,300 |
7.42 |
$ 34.45 |
$ 71,660 |
| Home Health Care Services |
169,630 |
11.35 |
$ 36.48 |
$ 75,870 |
| Outpatient Care Centers |
150,380 |
15.66 |
$ 42.93 |
$ 89,300 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
143,250 |
9.34 |
$ 34.66 |
$ 72,090 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Registered Nurses:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1,729,200 |
30.90 |
$ 39.27 |
$ 81,680 |
| Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals |
63,910 |
23.93 |
$ 39.86 |
$ 82,910 |
| Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals |
39,840 |
16.47 |
$ 37.14 |
$ 77,250 |
| Outpatient Care Centers |
150,380 |
15.66 |
$ 42.93 |
$ 89,300 |
| Home Health Care Services |
169,630 |
11.35 |
$ 36.48 |
$ 75,870 |
Top paying industries for Registered Nurses:
Geographic profile for Registered Nurses:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Registered Nurses are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Registered Nurses, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Registered Nurses:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
307,060 |
18.69 |
0.87 |
$ 57.96 |
$ 120,560 |
| Texas |
219,330 |
18.12 |
0.84 |
$ 36.92 |
$ 76,800 |
| Florida |
183,130 |
21.69 |
1.01 |
$ 33.42 |
$ 69,510 |
| New York |
178,550 |
20.54 |
0.96 |
$ 43.16 |
$ 89,760 |
| Pennsylvania |
146,640 |
26.60 |
1.24 |
$ 35.66 |
$ 74,170 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Registered Nurses:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| South Dakota |
13,130 |
31.93 |
1.49 |
$ 29.31 |
$ 60,960 |
| West Virginia |
19,800 |
30.46 |
1.42 |
$ 31.31 |
$ 65,130 |
| Rhode Island |
12,150 |
27.42 |
1.28 |
$ 39.81 |
$ 82,790 |
| Delaware |
11,410 |
26.77 |
1.25 |
$ 35.74 |
$ 74,330 |
| Mississippi |
28,800 |
26.74 |
1.25 |
$ 29.45 |
$ 61,250 |
Top paying states for Registered Nurses:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
307,060 |
18.69 |
0.87 |
$ 57.96 |
$ 120,560 |
| Hawaii |
11,260 |
19.62 |
0.91 |
$ 50.40 |
$ 104,830 |
| Massachusetts |
84,030 |
25.08 |
1.17 |
$ 46.27 |
$ 96,250 |
| Oregon |
36,840 |
20.39 |
0.95 |
$ 46.27 |
$ 96,230 |
| Alaska |
6,240 |
21.05 |
0.98 |
$ 45.81 |
$ 95,270 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Registered Nurses:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
173,570 |
19.65 |
0.92 |
$ 45.63 |
$ 94,920 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
109,790 |
18.86 |
0.88 |
$ 54.38 |
$ 113,120 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
95,730 |
21.95 |
1.02 |
$ 37.48 |
$ 77,970 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
70,350 |
26.09 |
1.21 |
$ 38.45 |
$ 79,980 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
62,260 |
23.93 |
1.11 |
$ 47.79 |
$ 99,410 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
60,140 |
16.76 |
0.78 |
$ 37.50 |
$ 77,990 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
56,520 |
19.04 |
0.89 |
$ 40.85 |
$ 84,960 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
53,900 |
21.49 |
1.00 |
$ 34.76 |
$ 72,300 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI |
43,250 |
24.31 |
1.13 |
$ 36.64 |
$ 76,210 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
42,820 |
14.17 |
0.66 |
$ 40.14 |
$ 83,490 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Registered Nurses:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Rochester, MN |
11,700 |
101.72 |
4.74 |
$ 34.67 |
$ 72,110 |
| Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA |
2,590 |
66.90 |
3.12 |
$ 33.98 |
$ 70,680 |
| Morgantown, WV |
3,200 |
51.66 |
2.41 |
$ 32.52 |
$ 67,640 |
| Greenville, NC |
3,460 |
46.91 |
2.18 |
$ 32.88 |
$ 68,390 |
| Ann Arbor, MI |
9,690 |
46.51 |
2.17 |
$ 39.09 |
$ 81,310 |
| Iowa City, IA |
4,000 |
46.25 |
2.15 |
$ 33.14 |
$ 68,940 |
| Sebring, FL |
1,120 |
45.49 |
2.12 |
$ 32.61 |
$ 67,830 |
| Sioux Falls, SD |
6,550 |
42.69 |
1.99 |
$ 29.70 |
$ 61,770 |
| La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN |
3,020 |
42.10 |
1.96 |
$ 36.67 |
$ 76,270 |
| Carbondale-Marion, IL |
2,120 |
42.09 |
1.96 |
$ 30.64 |
$ 63,740 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Registered Nurses:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
40,600 |
17.42 |
0.81 |
$ 71.73 |
$ 149,200 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
17,750 |
16.10 |
0.75 |
$ 70.61 |
$ 146,870 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
3,690 |
27.76 |
1.29 |
$ 68.34 |
$ 142,140 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
21,920 |
22.63 |
1.05 |
$ 64.59 |
$ 134,350 |
| Salinas, CA |
2,910 |
16.96 |
0.79 |
$ 63.54 |
$ 132,160 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
3,640 |
18.78 |
0.87 |
$ 60.02 |
$ 124,840 |
| Modesto, CA |
4,720 |
26.30 |
1.23 |
$ 58.21 |
$ 121,090 |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA |
4,780 |
19.29 |
0.90 |
$ 55.70 |
$ 115,860 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
109,790 |
18.86 |
0.88 |
$ 54.38 |
$ 113,120 |
| Redding, CA |
1,650 |
25.66 |
1.20 |
$ 53.78 |
$ 111,860 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Registered Nurses:
| Nonmetropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Kansas nonmetropolitan area |
7,840 |
20.73 |
0.97 |
$ 28.39 |
$ 59,050 |
| Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area |
5,460 |
22.22 |
1.03 |
$ 31.52 |
$ 65,550 |
| Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area |
5,340 |
23.83 |
1.11 |
$ 27.47 |
$ 57,130 |
| North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous) |
5,210 |
16.70 |
0.78 |
$ 31.11 |
$ 64,700 |
| Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area |
4,470 |
24.48 |
1.14 |
$ 33.22 |
$ 69,100 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Registered Nurses:
| Nonmetropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area |
3,080 |
32.25 |
1.50 |
$ 28.40 |
$ 59,080 |
| West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area |
3,010 |
30.47 |
1.42 |
$ 36.21 |
$ 75,310 |
| Southern Ohio nonmetropolitan area |
4,390 |
29.32 |
1.37 |
$ 31.03 |
$ 64,540 |
| Northwest Nebraska nonmetropolitan area |
1,090 |
29.08 |
1.35 |
$ 31.65 |
$ 65,830 |
| South Illinois nonmetropolitan area |
2,310 |
27.43 |
1.28 |
$ 29.25 |
$ 60,840 |
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Registered Nurses:
About May 2020 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.
(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 OEWS estimates and related information:
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021
United States Department of Labor
