How Much Do Registered Nurses Earn?
Two and a half million registered nurses work in the United States, making up the largest profession in the health care industry. Most registered nurses work in hospitals, but many also work in other health care facilities, such as nursing homes, and in the community, visiting schools and homes. Registered nurses do a wide variety of activities to monitor patients' health, take care of patients and educate about health.
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Average Salaries
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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the average annual salaries of registered nurses in the United States based on information from May 2008. The median salary of registered nurses is $62,450 while the mean salary is $65,130. The middle 50% of registered nurses earn between $51,640 and $76,570. Only 10% earn less than $43,410 and only 10% earn more than $92,240.
Average Hourly Wages
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The BLS also reports average incomes as hourly wages. The median wage is $30.03 and the mean wage is $31.31. The middle 50% earn wages of $24.83 to $36.81, with 10% of registered nurses earning less than $20.87 and 10% earning more than $44.35 an hour.
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Income by Industry
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Earnings for registered nurses vary significantly by industry. In general, for medical and surgical hospitals, which employ 1.5 million registered nurses, the mean annual wage is $66,490. In the offices of physicians, where over 200,000 registered nurses are employed, the mean wage is $65,070. In the three other industries with the highest levels of employment--home health care services, nursing care facilities and employment services--the mean wages are $61,490, $58,360 and $69,110, respectively.
Income by State
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Earning also vary significantly by state. In South Dakota, the state with the highest concentration of registered nurses, hourly mean wages are $25.29 and annual mean wages are $52,600. In California, the state the highest-paid registered nurses, hourly mean wages are $39.92 and annual mean wages are $83.040.
Wages by Experience
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Payscale.com breaks the median range of registered nurses' wages down by their years of experience. Registered nurses with less than one year of experience typically earn between $19.50 and $24.97 an hour. Those with one to four years of experience earn between $20.84 and $27.43. Those with five to nine years earn $23.62 to $31.37 while those with 10 to 19 years earn $25.28 to $33.64. Registered nurses with more experience typically earn between $26.22 and $35.25 an hour.
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