Nursing Salary Factors That Influence A Nurses Pay
Its no surprise that nurses salaries depend on a variety of factors. Supply and demand influences and other popular factors listed below explain the variations in pay:
- Location The state where a nurse works has a big impact on their income. Dense metropolitan areas will always offer a better pay compared to rural environments, even if the demand is high.
- Career specialization Nurses who work in a specialized field of nursing can earn significantly more. Specialized fields usually welcome registered nurses that already hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree or a MSN.
Read more about the best nursing certifications a great way to pursue specialization in the nursing field.
- Experience and work hours Nobody can underestimate the power of acquired years of valuable experience, which is why senior nurses make more than those just entering the workforce.
One rule of thumb that generally applies to nursing salaries is that the more you learn, the more you earn. So, every step you take on the educational ladder will propel you toward higher wages. You probably noticed this trajectory even through this article. LPNs make on average $50,090 RNs earn up to $80,010, while RNs that have a Bachelors Degree have average salaries of $93,590. By climbing even higher on the academic ladder and pursuing an MSN you unlock your potential to earn APRN level salaries that range from $114,510 to $189,190 .
How Much More Nurses Can Earn In Australia Than In New Zealand
- 20/05/2021
- Dan Satherley
Nurses threatening to move to Australia for better pay after the Government offered them less than one-tenth of the hike they’re after might not be bluffing.
The pay across the ditch is indeed much better.
“There’s only so much capacity we have right now,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday, asked why the district health boards aren’t offering more.
“COVID has cost this country a lot. As much as I would wish to be in a position to be able to reward everyone who has worked so hard, I have to keep that in mind as well – I can’t.”
The current pay rates were set in 2018. The nurses have been pushing for 17 percent hikes, saying without them staff will head across the Tasman, now that the borders between New Zealand and Australia are open.
“I worked there for a year and I was able to work one day less a week, so four days a week, have three day weekends,” registered nurse Helen Kemp told The AM Show on Wednesday.
She also had “wonderful working conditions where you were guaranteed you would get your breaks on time”.
So, what will it take to avoid an exodus, let alone the planned strike for June 9?
Take Care Of Your Personal Nurse Brand
In a previous article, I discussed what a personal nurse brand is, and why its so important. Check out that article for a deeper dive, but in a nutshell, its protecting your reputation.
Your reputation can easily follow you throughout your nursing career especially if you continue to live in the same area. The nursing community is not as big as you think it is, and within specialties, it gets even smaller.
Nurses move in and out of management often. Nurses also change jobs frequently. With that said you never know when one of the interviewers for that job you really want is the hiring manager from a past job.
You may think people wont remember you but Im reminded of that quote from Maya Angelo that reads Ive learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Let that sink in for a bit.
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Rn Salary: How Much Money Does A Registered Nurse Make
RN Salary-How much does a registered nurse make in income per year? Do registered nurses make good money? What is the hourly wage for nurses? These are questions that nursing students and aspiring nurses often ask. Nursing salary comparisons can also be an important tool to help nursing facilities determine an estimated starting salary for employees. RNs earn a competitive salary, but the income of a registered nurse depends on several factors including the following: location, type of specialization, industry, advanced certifications or degrees, and years of experience.
Dont Stay At Your Job If It Sucks

Im probably going to get a lot of flack for this advice, but just because its your first nursing job doesnt mean you have to stick with it.
Im not saying leave just because things are stressful or hard, but if its turning out to not be what you want or if you find out the units culture doesnt fit you, count your losses.
There are a lot of other opportunities out there. You can find nursing jobs here. You can also check out this article we wrote on some good jobs for new nurses.
For the record theres a right and wrong way to to quit your nursing job. Check out some of these articles.
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Want To Get Ahead Of The Game And Ease Your Anxiety About Your First Nursing Job
The FreshRN® New Nurse Master Class is the first-ever self-guided holistic nurse residency program. This comprehensive program was specifically created for the ambitious newly licensed acute care nurses who want to get ahead of them and build both their confidence and their clinical skills – all while learning how to adjust to the unique lifestyle of a nurse.
Licensed Practical Nurse Salary
A licensed practical nurse provides patients with essential day-to-day care, such as preparing equipment, and administering medications and immunizations under a physicians supervision. LPNs can also assist RNs and physicians with patients, maintaining medical records and coordinating contact between the whole medical care team, making sure that patients and families know what proper at-home care consists of outside the hospital or clinic.
Youll find these nurses in doctors offices, clinics and hospitals. They also offer targeted care directly to patients, including at-home visits.
The median annual wage for an LPN is $46,240, according to the BLS. In 2018, the bottom 10 percent of LPNs earned below $33,680 per year, while the highest 10 percent earned over $62,160.
LPN Salary Rhode Island: $59,130
LPN Salary Massachusetts: $58,990
LPN Salary Nevada: $57,140
LPN Salary Connecticut: $56,970
As with other nursing disciplines, the salary for LPNs varies by geography, according to 2018 BLS data. The LPN salary in Florida, for instance, is $44,400 per year on average, while the LPN average annual salary in California is $56,200. In Missouri, its $42,580 and in Pennsylvania, it stands at $48,120. Salaries vary per state and work setting.
Interested to see where your state falls? Here are the numbers for LPN salaries from 2018 BLS data below.
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Dont Make Your Supervisor Look Bad
This to me seems like an obvious one, but Ive noticed its something a lot of people dont follow.
Butt chewing is a top-down hierarchy.
It starts from the top and works its way down. If your boss gets chewed out, especially if its because of youLets just say youll know!
The other thing to keep in mind is that you wont be making any friends and it will be harder for you to get your manager to help you out or put in a good word for you if youre going for a promotion or applying for another job, or transferring.
Pro TipEven if you dont care about all of that then keep this in mind. The worse your manager looks the increased likelihood that upper management will be monitoring your department.
What Are Top 5 Best Paying Related Graduate Nurse Jobs In The Us
We found at least five jobs related to the Graduate Nurse job category that pay more per year than a typical Graduate Nurse salary. Top examples of these roles include: Nurse Manager Director, Graduate Nurse Practitioner, and RN GN.
Importantly, all of these jobs are paid between $17,965 and $40,646 more than the average Graduate Nurse salary of $62,146. If youre qualified, getting hired for one of these related Graduate Nurse jobs may help you make more money than that of the average Graduate Nurse position.
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Registered Nurse Average Salaries And Wages By State:
Registered nurse average salaries and hourly wages can vary from state to state. Some states may offer a significantly higher salary compared to other states, however, keep in mind these states may also have a higher cost of living. The Bureau of Labor Statistics report the following states as the states with the highest average RN salaries :
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Best Nursing Jobs For New Nurse Grads
January 21, 2020 By Kati Kleber, MSN RN CCRN-K
What jobs should new nurses look for? What are the best nursing jobs for a new grad nurse?
Knowing where you want to work is helpful, but alls not lost if you dont know.
Please dont think that if you dont get your dream job right away that youve failed, that you will never work where you want to and that all your effort was in vain. So many of us start in different areas, discover new passions, and our career journeys look vastly different than what we thought in nursing school
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Starting Salaries For Registered Nurses: How Much Will A New Rn Grad Earn
The starting salary of a Registered Nurse can range from around $28,000-$50,000 per year, depending on location and job industry. The starting hourly wage of an RN can range from $16.50-26.00 per hour. This salary will increase over time as nurses gain experience, certifications, and specialize in a specific area. Registered nurses can also advance their career to management positions, in addition to regular annual raises offered by many employers.
Keep in mind that these figures can vary depending on the location. RNs in Tennessee, for example, may start at an hourly rate of $18-23, while an RN at a busy New York hospital may start at $26 or more. Certifications and experience also factor into the salary or wages. A new RN with a degree only and no experience will usually not make as much as an RN with years of experience and many certifications and an impressive portfolio. Here is a graph representing the average RN hourly wage since 2009:
Highest Paying States For Rns

Its no surprise that California tops the list of highest-paying states for registered nurses. However, some of the other states that cracked the top five were somewhat surprising, offering high annual mean wages for RNs:
Massachusetts is the only East Coast state among the highest paying states for RNs, whereas the other four states that round out the top 5 are located on the West Coast or outside of the continental U.S.
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Highest & Lowest Paying States For Msn Rns
Nurse Educators have the highest annual mean wages in Florida, Massachusetts, California, and New York. In Florida, Nursing Instructors make $116,650. Massachusetts offers salaries of around $106,950, fairly close to Californias wages for Nurse Educators $106,420. Among the states where Nurse Educators make the least money are Arkansas $60,790 West Virginia $61,140, and Oklahoma $63,690.
Nurse Practitioners have the best chance of making the most money in California, New Jersey, Washington, New York, and Massachusetts. The highest annual mean wage is offered by the Golden State $145,970. In New Jersey, Nurse Practitioners make around $130,890, followed by Washington $126,480. The lowest salaries for Nurse Practitioners will be encountered in Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. On average, in Tennessee, NPs earn $99,370 in Alabama $99,790 and in the sunshine state, the mean wages are $101,060.
The best states to work as a Nurse Midwife in, from a financial standpoint, are California, Utah, Mississippi, New York, and Minnesota. In California, Nurse Midwives earn on average $159,590 annually. Utah is second among the top paying states for NMs $133,680. In Mississippi, your earning potential in this role is also way above average $127,960. On the other side of the coin, Florida, Idaho, and Georgia offer the lowest salaries for Nurse Midwives. In Florida, you can expect to earn on average $67,530, in Idaho, $72,150 and in Georgia, $92,840.
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$231,250 |
Employers That Recruited In The Last 2 Years
- Strength Required Lift up to 20 kg
- SOCIAL
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Interest in speaking to collaborate with members of an interdisciplinary health team to plan, implement, co-ordinate and evaluate patient care in consultation with patients and their families may teach and counsel patients and their families on health-related issues in collaboration with other health care providers
- METHODICAL
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Interest in compiling information to monitor, assess, address, document and report symptoms and changes in patients’ conditions and in administering medications and treatments as prescribed by physicians or according to establish policies and protocols
- DIRECTIVE
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Interest in operating medical apparatus or equipment and in supervising licensed practical nurses and other nursing staff may develop and implement discharge planning process on admission of patients
The interest code helps you figure out if youd like to work in a particular occupation. Its based on the Canadian Work Preference Inventory , which measures 5 occupational interests: Directive, Innovative, Methodical, Objective and Social.
Each set of 3 interest codes is listed in order of importance.
A code in capital letters means its a strong fit for the occupation.
A code in all lowercase letters means the fit is weaker.
Registered nurses may work on their own or as members of a health care team.
Key roles include:
In hospitals and other health care settings, these roles may include tasks such as:
- Strength Required Lift up to 20 kg
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Take Care Of Yourself
As already stated above its easy to get overcommitted in both your personal and work life if youre not careful. Its easy as a nurse to focus on taking care of others that you never get a chance to take care of yourself.
I want to give you permission and encourage you to make sure youre taking care of yourself. When youre well and doing good, youll have so much more you can give to others.
Heres some articles thatll help you on that:
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Mental health practitioners have a very delicate job that integrates both psychology and psychiatry knowledge. Their work implies treating patients diagnosed with mental illnesses, and in order to do that they work side by side with psychiatrists and other physicians. Their salary is in the ballpark of $123,600.
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Long Term Acute Care Hospitals
LTAC is another really great stepping stone that looks fantastic on a resume. Essentially, these are patients who are stable but need nursing care. Think of patients who are too stable to really need to be in a hospital, but require too much nursing care and interventions to be at a nursing home
Depending on the level of care, Youll get comfortable with things like your assessment skills, patient positioning, PEG tubes, etc. You get used to working with CNAs who are a wealth of information and knowledge.
Want to learn more about LTACH? This guide breaks down 7 common myths, its a fascinating read.
Registered Nurses Working For District Health Boards
- Graduate registered nurses working for district health boards usually earn $60,000 a year.
- Registered nurses with three to seven years’ experience usually earn $68,000 to $83,000.
- Senior registered nurses with more experience and responsibility usually earn $85,000 to $136,000.
Registered nurses may do some or all of the following:
- assess patients
- plan and carry out nursing care in partnership with other health professionals
- monitor patients’ conditions and record changes
- give patients immunisations, medicine and intravenous drugs
- advise patients and help them to manage their own health
- visit and educate patients, families and community groups about health and preventing accidents and illness
- delegate work to enrolled nurses and health care assistants
- give further education to trained nurses and other staff
- do health-related research and evaluations.
Enrolled nurses care for patients while a registered nurse or nurse practitioner supervises them.
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Average Nurse Salary In 2022
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average pay for nurses in 2020 was $75,330 per year. But thats just an average across nurses with different kinds of degrees, experience, specialties, locations, and oh, so many more factors.
In order to shed some light on this, we asked the Nurse.org community to weigh in. 3,000 U.S. nurses answered our salary survey, sharing where they are in their nursing careers, how much they make, and a number of factors that contribute to what they earn.
Source: May 2020 BLS National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
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My Salary Used To Suck

My journey into nursing was a long one . . .
To spare you the lengthy details, I will simply say that I debated entering the field for nearly 5 years. I was accepted twice into different schools only to back out at the last minute for various reasons.
Eventually I took a job as a buyer with a large sporting goods store. It sounded like the PERFECT job for me. After my first day on the job I came home and told my wife I had made the wrong decision. It was simply mind numbing, soul crushing work! To top it off the job only paid about $38,000/year. We were hoping to eventually have children and we knew that wasnt enough money to support a growing family.
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