Registered Nurse Salary
When considering income, there are many factors to consider in registered nurse salary comparisons. Location, setting, and specialty are three major factors that affect a nurse’s income.
A registered nurse salary in a major city will almost surely be higher than a nurse with an almost identical position in a small town. Registered nurses in cities such as New York or Los Angeles will most likely be higher than a registered nurse holding a similar job in Birmingham or Omaha.
The registered nurse salary for someone in a well-known hospital such as the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, or Cedars-Sinai in the Los Angeles area is probably going to be higher than a similar job in a county hospital in those same cities. Registered nurses working in major hospitals or research centers can probably expect to earn more than a registered nurse working in private practice, home care, or public school.
Where specialties are concerned, the registered nurse salary for someone in the oncology department of a major research facility will probably be higher than the registered nurse working in a nursing home or hospice. The more specialized the service, the more likely the pay will be higher. For example, a nurse specializing in cardiovascular issues in the neonatology ward can probably expect to earn more than a nurse working with general pediatrics in the same facility.
With these factors in mind, however, we can get a pretty good idea of what the typical registered nurse salary is based upon data published by the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Each year, the data is updated and the most recent numbers pertain to the year 2004.
According to the BLS, in 2004, the median registered nurse salary was $52,330. Those earning in the lowest ten percent of figures reported earned less than $37,300 and those earning in the upper ten percent earned more than $74,760.
The typical registered nurse salary that fell within the middle fifty percent of reported income fell within the range between $43,370 and $63,360.
These registered nurse salary statistics represent the incomes of nurses working in the private sector only. The incomes of nurses working in government-operated facilities are not included in these figures.