RN (Registered Nurse) Salary Statistics

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A huge advantage to becoming a registered nurse is the salary you can expect. Because nurses are in such high demand, hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities are willing to pay top dollar for employees in this field. Although getting your nursing education may at first seem expensive, the cost is well worth the payout, with the schooling paying for itself in just a few years.

How much can you expect to make as a registered nurse? The exact amount depends on a number of variables, including location, the facility where you work, and your experience. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary for registered nurses in 2009 was $66,530, with the middle 50% earning between $52,520 and $77, 970 per year. Considering that you only need an associate’s degree to get started as a registered nurse, that’s a pretty healthy wage. Of course, you’ll make more if you go on to get you bachelor of science in nursing, but even with a two-year degree, you can enjoy a relatively high salary.

Location makes a big difference when it comes to the nursing salaries offered. The states with the highest-paid nurse on average, as of 2009, were California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Maryland, and New Jersey. Looking even more closely at lucrative locations to be a nurse, in 2009, the metropolitan areas offering the highest average salaries were as follows:

  • Visalia-Porterville, CA: $111,030
  • San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: $110,080
  • San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division: $98,900
  • Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division: $97,280
  • Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA: $89,770

Nearly 1.5 million nurses work in hospitals across the country, offering registered nurses an annual salary, on average, of $67,740. You can also find hundreds of thousands of registered nursing jobs in physician offices, home health care facilities, nursing homes, and outpatient care centers. If you want a high-paying nursing job, the best positions, on average can be found in medical equipment and supply manufacturing, the federal government, and civic organizations. In all of these sectors of the industry, registered nurses can make, on average, over $77,000 annually.

The more experience you have as a nurse, the more you can expect to make. According to PayScale.com, new nurses with less than a year of experience can expect to make between $38,113 and $53,556. In contrast, nurses with five to nine years of experience make significantly more – between $46,504 and 65,109. Once you have twenty years or more experience as a nurse, you’ll make even more, with rates averaging up to $72,000.

Remember, you base salary is just a part of your total compensation package. Many hospitals offer nurses a signing bonus to work for them, since nursing is a field with such a high need, and you can also expect to get paid vacation time, health and dental insurance, free on-site education, tuition reimbursement, retirement plans, paid sick days, and access to affordable life insurance. Some health care companies even have day care programs for parents who work there as nurses. So, when comparing offers as a nurse, make sure you look at all the compensation you’ll receive, not just as base salary.

LPN to RN College Programs

While several schools have online nursing degrees available, few offer LPN to RN programs. What's the good news? We have listed some accredited schools below that do offer the program in addition to schools with other bridge programs available. Find out more information and contact each school by using any of the links below.

Indiana State University—Indiana State University offers a robust online program designed for LPNs wanting to become registered nurses and earn their BSN degree. Since ISU's credits transfer to over 80 campus majors, this is an ideal program for people wanting to open opportunities for their career down the road.

The College Network—The College Network is a partnership with several universities and organizations like the National League for Nursing that focuses on online education and programs, with several courses for nurses or those interested in a nursing career. Specifically, TCN helps students prepare for their PN and RN licensures and move on to earn graduate degrees.

Other Nursing Degrees

Walden University—Walden University is typically a graduate school with several masters and doctoral programs available, but they do have BSN and RN to MSN bridge programs available. Walden is based out of Minneapolis and offers several options in transferring your previously earned credits to and from (or even within) the school.

Kaplan University—Kaplan University is one of the nation's largest and leading online educators and offers several bridge programs for registered nurses to earn their BSN or MSN degree. If you have previously earned credits, Kaplan makes it easy for you to transfer to any one of their undergraduate or graduate programs.

Herzing University—While Herzing University does not offer an undergraduate nursing degree, it is a great choice for working nurses wanting to pursue leadership positions in Nurse Education or Management. With over 10 campuses and 45 online programs available, Herzing has a massive network that makes it easy to transfer to or from the school.

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