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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

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)
3,047,530 0.2 % $ 39.78 $ 82,750 0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for Registered Nurses:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 28.58 $ 29.71 $ 37.31 $ 46.91 $ 57.81
Annual Wage (2) $ 59,450 $ 61,790 $ 77,600 $ 97,580 $ 120,250


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 1,752,210 31.32 $ 40.88 $ 85,020
Offices of Physicians 199,130 7.39 $ 35.51 $ 73,860
Home Health Care Services 173,790 11.47 $ 37.59 $ 78,190
Outpatient Care Centers 147,720 14.97 $ 44.74 $ 93,070
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) 131,320 9.33 $ 34.74 $ 72,260

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 1,752,210 31.32 $ 40.88 $ 85,020
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals 65,070 24.09 $ 40.77 $ 84,800
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals 41,290 17.26 $ 38.59 $ 80,260
Outpatient Care Centers 147,720 14.97 $ 44.74 $ 93,070
Home Health Care Services 173,790 11.47 $ 37.59 $ 78,190

Top paying industries for Registered Nurses:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Nonscheduled Air Transportation 100 0.21 $ 54.15 $ 112,630
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing 200 0.06 $ 50.61 $ 105,270
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only) 750 0.20 $ 48.67 $ 101,240
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) 90,350 4.29 $ 46.93 $ 97,600
Office Administrative Services 6,650 1.37 $ 46.46 $ 96,630

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.



Map of employment of registered nurses by state, May 2021


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 324,400 19.63 0.91 $ 59.62 $ 124,000
Texas 217,630 17.80 0.82 $ 38.04 $ 79,120
New York 188,300 21.72 1.00 $ 44.86 $ 93,320
Florida 187,920 21.84 1.01 $ 34.62 $ 72,000
Pennsylvania 149,270 26.73 1.24 $ 36.54 $ 76,000


Map of location quotient of registered nurses by state, May 2021


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 14,140 33.56 1.55 $ 29.11 $ 60,540
West Virginia 19,800 30.11 1.39 $ 32.52 $ 67,640
North Dakota 11,810 29.89 1.38 $ 34.23 $ 71,200
Delaware 11,760 26.99 1.25 $ 37.39 $ 77,760
Pennsylvania 149,270 26.73 1.24 $ 36.54 $ 76,000


Map of annual mean wages of registered nurses by state, May 2021


Top paying states for Registered Nurses:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 324,400 19.63 0.91 $ 59.62 $ 124,000
Hawaii 11,110 20.26 0.94 $ 51.22 $ 106,530
Oregon 37,780 20.70 0.96 $ 47.42 $ 98,630
District of Columbia 11,540 17.43 0.81 $ 47.38 $ 98,540
Alaska 6,060 20.48 0.95 $ 46.74 $ 97,230



Map of employment of registered nurses by area, May 2021


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 180,540 20.80 0.96 $ 47.34 $ 98,460
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 113,890 19.91 0.92 $ 55.82 $ 116,110
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 96,750 22.86 1.06 $ 39.09 $ 81,300
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 73,510 27.69 1.28 $ 39.35 $ 81,860
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 66,120 25.58 1.18 $ 48.05 $ 99,950
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 62,840 17.51 0.81 $ 39.55 $ 82,260
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 54,540 18.83 0.87 $ 40.33 $ 83,890
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 53,110 21.66 1.00 $ 35.69 $ 74,220
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 43,810 24.32 1.12 $ 37.11 $ 77,180
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 43,560 14.86 0.69 $ 42.82 $ 89,060


Map of location quotient of registered nurses by area, May 2021


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 9,190 79.27 3.66 $ 41.57 $ 86,470
Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA 2,600 65.79 3.04 $ 34.47 $ 71,700
Morgantown, WV 3,400 54.55 2.52 $ 32.47 $ 67,540
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 15,230 48.76 2.25 $ 35.10 $ 73,000
Ann Arbor, MI 9,600 47.64 2.20 $ 40.79 $ 84,830
Iowa City, IA 4,120 47.15 2.18 $ 34.16 $ 71,050
Sioux Falls, SD 7,310 46.99 2.17 $ 28.35 $ 58,970
Gainesville, FL 6,010 45.19 2.09 $ 35.57 $ 73,980
Greenville, NC 3,310 43.98 2.03 $ 33.96 $ 70,630
Bismarck, ND 2,810 40.40 1.87 $ 34.01 $ 70,740


Map of annual mean wages of registered nurses by area, May 2021


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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 20,640 19.32 0.89 $ 74.63 $ 155,230
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 41,160 18.36 0.85 $ 72.90 $ 151,640
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 3,530 27.28 1.26 $ 70.37 $ 146,360
Santa Rosa, CA 3,510 18.31 0.85 $ 68.00 $ 141,440
Napa, CA 1,520 22.10 1.02 $ 67.15 $ 139,680
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 1,520 16.33 0.75 $ 67.11 $ 139,590
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 21,770 22.16 1.02 $ 65.14 $ 135,490
Salinas, CA 3,250 19.20 0.89 $ 62.75 $ 130,520
Modesto, CA 4,900 27.12 1.25 $ 61.41 $ 127,730
Hanford-Corcoran, CA 970 22.62 1.05 $ 60.00 $ 124,790

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 7,950 21.15 0.98 $ 29.38 $ 61,110
Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 5,580 25.19 1.16 $ 29.62 $ 61,620
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 5,340 21.85 1.01 $ 32.70 $ 68,010
North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous) 5,250 16.70 0.77 $ 32.08 $ 66,720
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 4,530 18.87 0.87 $ 31.06 $ 64,610

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 3,130 32.78 1.52 $ 29.02 $ 60,370
West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 2,970 30.60 1.41 $ 37.83 $ 78,690
Northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 3,230 28.22 1.30 $ 33.52 $ 69,730
Southern Ohio nonmetropolitan area 4,290 28.05 1.30 $ 32.47 $ 67,540
Southeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 3,860 26.93 1.25 $ 27.49 $ 57,180

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Registered Nurses:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 1,750 17.86 0.83 $ 55.37 $ 115,160
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area 1,840 18.37 0.85 $ 53.25 $ 110,760
Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 1,100 19.22 0.89 $ 52.88 $ 109,990
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 1,290 13.28 0.61 $ 48.30 $ 100,470
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 1,660 18.68 0.86 $ 48.10 $ 100,050

About May 2021 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:

May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022