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Occupational Employment Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

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)
2,951,960 0.5 % $36.30 $75,510 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $24.42 $28.25 $34.48 $42.47 $51.22
Annual Wage (2) $50,800 $58,770 $71,730 $88,350 $106,530


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 1,698,700 30.62 $37.37 $77,730
Offices of Physicians 197,790 7.63 $32.59 $67,790
Home Health Care Services 181,180 12.50 $34.54 $71,850
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) 153,120 9.51 $32.39 $67,370
Outpatient Care Centers 141,830 15.38 $38.09 $79,230

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 1,698,700 30.62 $37.37 $77,730
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals 62,980 24.06 $37.74 $78,500
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals 39,170 16.24 $35.38 $73,590
Outpatient Care Centers 141,830 15.38 $38.09 $79,230
Home Health Care Services 181,180 12.50 $34.54 $71,850

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing 320 0.11 $45.87 $95,400
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 81,390 4.06 $42.99 $89,430
Business Schools and Computer and Management Training 80 0.11 $41.31 $85,920
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 120 0.02 $40.64 $84,530
Legal Services 320 0.03 $39.80 $82,790


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 294,510 17.32 0.85 $51.42 $106,950
Texas 210,350 17.36 0.85 $35.04 $72,890
New York 182,490 19.44 0.95 $41.16 $85,610
Florida 177,600 20.63 1.01 $31.83 $66,210
Pennsylvania 148,520 25.40 1.25 $33.84 $70,390




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 12,760 30.21 1.48 $28.05 $58,340
West Virginia 19,930 28.61 1.40 $29.70 $61,780
Mississippi 29,860 26.57 1.30 $28.12 $58,490
Delaware 11,840 26.40 1.29 $35.96 $74,800
Rhode Island 12,630 26.21 1.29 $37.70 $78,420




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 294,510 17.32 0.85 $51.42 $106,950
Hawaii 11,310 17.63 0.86 $47.16 $98,080
District of Columbia 11,110 15.59 0.76 $44.40 $92,350
Massachusetts 80,630 22.58 1.11 $44.30 $92,140
Oregon 36,020 19.10 0.94 $43.79 $91,080





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-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 176,780 18.61 0.91 $43.83 $91,160
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 103,910 16.98 0.83 $48.05 $99,930
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 98,790 21.28 1.04 $37.36 $77,710
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 72,910 25.59 1.25 $37.35 $77,680
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 59,730 16.74 0.82 $35.65 $74,140
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 59,060 21.41 1.05 $45.80 $95,270
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 53,400 20.62 1.01 $33.41 $69,500
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 53,250 17.85 0.88 $38.54 $80,160
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 43,100 21.86 1.07 $35.77 $74,390
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 42,870 13.67 0.67 $39.17 $81,470




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 2,880 70.82 3.47 $31.85 $66,250
Greenville, NC 3,930 51.36 2.52 $30.95 $64,380
Morgantown, WV 3,380 51.05 2.50 $31.28 $65,070
Gainesville, FL 5,690 42.75 2.10 $32.97 $68,570
Sioux Falls, SD 6,270 40.47 1.98 $28.27 $58,800
Rome, GA 1,500 39.96 1.96 $31.39 $65,290
Iowa City, IA 3,680 39.76 1.95 $32.27 $67,110
Winston-Salem, NC 10,400 39.33 1.93 $33.21 $69,070
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 12,090 39.18 1.92 $32.23 $67,030
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 5,010 38.34 1.88 $30.29 $63,000




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)
Salinas, CA 2,510 13.98 0.69 $63.32 $131,710
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 38,740 16.01 0.79 $62.01 $128,990
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 16,450 14.70 0.72 $61.83 $128,610
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 1,480 15.13 0.74 $61.27 $127,440
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 18,830 19.13 0.94 $57.95 $120,530
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 3,000 21.74 1.07 $55.72 $115,900
Stockton-Lodi, CA 4,540 18.39 0.90 $53.43 $111,140
Napa, CA 1,890 25.03 1.23 $50.99 $106,060
Modesto, CA 4,550 24.63 1.21 $50.98 $106,040
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 3,060 16.34 0.80 $50.33 $104,680

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)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 8,400 21.42 1.05 $27.08 $56,330
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 6,190 23.89 1.17 $29.46 $61,270
Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 5,740 24.61 1.21 $26.39 $54,880
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 5,500 16.42 0.80 $28.79 $59,880
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 4,710 18.88 0.93 $29.58 $61,520

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)
Upper Savannah South Carolina nonmetropolitan area 2,960 36.48 1.79 $30.20 $62,830
West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 3,160 30.99 1.52 $35.90 $74,670
East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 3,070 30.65 1.50 $28.27 $58,800
Southern Ohio non-metropolitan area 4,490 28.39 1.39 $29.80 $61,990
Northwest Nebraska nonmetropolitan area 1,130 28.19 1.38 $29.43 $61,210

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)
Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 910 15.45 0.76 $49.27 $102,470
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 1,340 13.48 0.66 $46.60 $96,930
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 1,250 11.81 0.58 $46.05 $95,780
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 1,330 13.26 0.65 $44.82 $93,220
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area 1,960 18.49 0.91 $44.39 $92,320


About May 2018 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 OES estimates and related information:

May 2018 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 29, 2019