Registered Nurse Salary: What an RN Actually Earns

Reviewed July 28, 2026 by the ScrubScope editorial team.

The median registered nurse salary is $97,550 a year in the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 survey, the most recent full OEWS release.^[1] Half of RNs earn more, half less, and which half you land in comes down to your state, your setting, and your years in the role rather than the job title. That is the part the salary roundups skip.

The short answer

On the same May 2025 data, RN salaries span a wide band: the lowest-paid tenth of registered nurses earned less than $68,940 and the highest-paid tenth earned more than $137,470.^[1] A first nursing job pays below the median, because the median covers the whole workforce, experienced nurses included. And the biggest mover of RN pay is the state you work in, not the school you attended: California's statewide median alone is $140,270.^[1] For the full state-by-state breakdown, see RN salary by state.

Why do BLS pages show two different RN medians?

Search for nurse pay and you will meet both $97,550 and $93,600. Both are real BLS numbers for the same occupation. The $93,600 is the May 2024 median, still on the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook page for registered nurses, which updates on a lag.^[2] The $97,550 comes from the May 2025 OEWS release, the current wage survey.^[1] Either is citable if you name its vintage. A page quoting a third number with no BLS link is interpolating.

Entry-level versus experienced RN pay

The headline median describes the whole RN workforce. A new graduate does not start there.

BLS does not publish a separate new-grad wage series, so the planning range for a first job is the band between the tenth percentile and the median: above $68,940 and below $97,550 in most markets, with your state deciding where in that band you land.^[1] The nurses above $137,470 have years in the role, often in a high-acuity or specialized unit. Anchor a first offer on the entry-level end of the band, not the headline number.

What moves the number

Four things move RN pay far more than the program you graduated from.

Geography. The largest single lever. States pay the same RN license very differently, and the gap is wider than cost of living explains. California's median of $140,270 sits $42,720 above the national figure, with Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska rounding out the top five.^[1] The state-by-state guide covers this in detail.

Setting. On the Handbook's May 2024 industry table, RNs in government roles held a $106,480 median, hospital RNs $97,260, ambulatory care $83,780, and nursing and residential care facilities $81,820.^[2] That is a $25,000 spread on the same license.

Experience. First-year pay sits near the bottom of the band; the top belongs to nurses with years in the role.

Shift and overtime. Night, weekend, and on-call differentials, plus overtime, are a real part of many RN paychecks, and a base-wage table does not capture them.

What does not move the number much is the price of the school. A more expensive pre-licensure program does not produce a higher BLS wage; it produces a higher loan balance against the same median.

Does a BSN pay more than an ADN?

On the BLS table, an RN is an RN: the survey reports wages for the occupation, not by entry degree, so there is no government figure showing a BSN salary premium over an ADN. What is documented is access. A growing share of hospitals, including those pursuing Magnet recognition, prefer or require a BSN, so the degree decides which jobs and units are open to you more than it changes the wage on a given posting. Many working ADN nurses close that gap later through an RN-to-BSN program.

Will demand hold the wage up?

BLS projects employment of registered nurses to grow 5 percent from 2024 to 2034, faster than the average for all occupations, with about 189,100 openings each year, many replacing nurses who retire or change occupations.^[2] Strong demand supports the wage. It does not guarantee any individual a job or a salary.

Who shouldn't plan around these numbers

The national median is a fine benchmark and a bad budget.

If your state sits in the lower half of the wage table, the $97,550 figure overstates your market; plan on the BLS median for your own state, which the state guide lists with sources. If you are a new graduate negotiating a first offer, anchoring at the workforce median sets you up to read a normal entry wage as an insult; the tenth-percentile-to-median band is your realistic range. And if you are choosing between nursing programs, do not let a program's marketing attach itself to these figures: the wage belongs to the license and the market, not the school.

Common questions

How much do registered nurses make a year?

The median registered nurse salary was $97,550 in the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey, with the lowest-paid tenth under $68,940 and the highest-paid tenth over $137,470.^[1] State, setting, and experience decide where in that range an RN falls.

What state pays registered nurses the most?

California, with a statewide median of $140,270 in May 2025, followed by Hawaii at $136,320 and Oregon at $129,010.^[1] The RN salary by state page has the full table.

How much do new nurses make?

BLS does not publish a new-graduate wage series. A first-year RN typically earns below the $97,550 workforce median, nearer the tenth-percentile figure of $68,940, with the exact number set by state and employer.^[1]

Do BSN nurses earn more than ADN nurses?

BLS reports one wage for the RN occupation regardless of entry degree, so there is no government figure showing a BSN premium. The documented BSN advantage is access: more hospitals prefer or require it, which opens higher-paying units and employers. An RN-to-BSN program is the usual route for closing that gap later.

Is registered nursing a growing field?

Yes. BLS projects RN employment to grow 5 percent from 2024 to 2034, faster than the all-occupations average, with about 189,100 openings a year over the decade.^[2]

Bottom line

The defensible registered nurse salary figure right now is the BLS May 2025 median of $97,550, inside a range from below $68,940 to above $137,470, driven by state, setting, and experience rather than the school's name.^[1] Expect a first job to pay below that, plan on the current BLS estimate for your own state, and weigh what a program costs against the pay it leads to.

If you are weighing nursing as a career, start with how to become a nurse, and keep the nursing terms glossary open for the abbreviations. If you are already an RN considering an advanced role, the nurse practitioner salary guide covers the next step.

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