Registered Nurses
Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients. May advise patients on health maintenance and disease prevention or provide case management. Licensing or registration required.Salary by State
| State Name | Employment | Annual Salary | Hourly Salary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 49,780 | $61,920 | $29.77 | |
| Alaska | 6,060 | $97,230 | $46.74 | |
| Arizona | 57,260 | $81,600 | $39.23 | |
| Arkansas | 26,320 | $65,810 | $31.64 | |
| California | 324,400 | $124,000 | $59.62 | |
| Colorado | 51,680 | $80,670 | $38.78 | |
| Connecticut | 34,320 | $88,530 | $42.56 | |
| Delaware | 11,760 | $77,760 | $37.39 | |
| District of Columbia | 11,540 | $98,540 | $47.38 | |
| Florida | 187,920 | $72,000 | $34.62 | |
| Georgia | 78,290 | $75,380 | $36.24 | |
| Hawaii | 11,110 | $106,530 | $51.22 | |
| Idaho | 14,400 | $73,640 | $35.41 | |
| Illinois | 129,260 | $78,260 | $37.63 | |
| Indiana | 66,800 | $68,890 | $33.12 | |
| Iowa | 32,650 | $64,990 | $31.25 | |
| Kansas | 28,980 | $66,560 | $32.00 | |
| Kentucky | 43,540 | $67,260 | $32.34 | |
| Louisiana | 42,870 | $70,380 | $33.84 | |
| Maine | 14,380 | $73,630 | $35.40 | |
| Maryland | 51,550 | $82,660 | $39.74 | |
| Massachusetts | 88,270 | $96,630 | $46.46 | |
| Michigan | 102,480 | $75,930 | $36.51 | |
| Minnesota | 69,000 | $84,030 | $40.40 | |
| Mississippi | 29,140 | $63,130 | $30.35 | |
| Missouri | 69,240 | $67,790 | $32.59 | |
| Montana | 9,640 | $73,610 | $35.39 | |
| Nebraska | 20,660 | $69,850 | $33.58 | |
| Nevada | 24,590 | $88,800 | $42.69 | |
| New Hampshire | 12,890 | $78,270 | $37.63 | |
| New Jersey | 77,980 | $89,690 | $43.12 | |
| New Mexico | 17,030 | $77,590 | $37.31 | |
| New York | 188,300 | $93,320 | $44.86 | |
| North Carolina | 104,810 | $71,200 | $34.23 | |
| North Dakota | 11,810 | $71,200 | $34.23 | |
| Ohio | 129,270 | $71,640 | $34.44 | |
| Oklahoma | 31,510 | $68,180 | $32.78 | |
| Oregon | 37,780 | $98,630 | $47.42 | |
| Pennsylvania | 149,270 | $76,000 | $36.54 | |
| Rhode Island | 10,860 | $85,270 | $40.99 | |
| South Carolina | 46,160 | $69,580 | $33.45 | |
| South Dakota | 14,140 | $60,540 | $29.11 | |
| Tennessee | 62,250 | $66,680 | $32.06 | |
| Texas | 217,630 | $79,120 | $38.04 | |
| Utah | 23,760 | $72,790 | $34.99 | |
| Vermont | 7,210 | $75,160 | $36.13 | |
| Virginia | 66,980 | $76,680 | $36.87 | |
| Washington | 62,470 | $95,350 | $45.84 | |
| West Virginia | 19,800 | $67,640 | $32.52 | |
| Wisconsin | 62,860 | $76,850 | $36.95 | |
| Wyoming | 4,890 | $73,130 | $35.16 |
Education
The programs listed below are typically the education paths that can land you this kind of job.
A program that generally prepares individuals in the knowledge, techniques and procedures for promoting health, providing care for sick, disabled, infirmed, or other individuals or groups. Includes instruction in the administration of medication and treatments, assisting a physician during treatments and examinations, Referring patients to physicians and other health care specialists, and planning education for health maintenance.
A program that prepares registered nurses to manage nursing personnel and services in hospitals and other health care delivery agencies. Includes instruction in principles of health care administration, resource and financial management, health care law and policy, medical personnel management, and managed care operations.
A program that prepares registered nurses to provide general care for adult patients. Includes instruction in adult primary care, adult pathophysiology, clinical management of medication and treatments, patient assessment and education, patient referral, and planning adult health maintenance programs.
A program that prepares registered nurses to provide independent general care for family groups and individuals in the context of family living. Includes instruction in family theory and intervention, role synthesis, family primary care, nursing practice and health care policy, holistic practice, pediatric practice, gerontological practice, health assessment, clinical pharmacotherapeutics, clinical techniques, and pathopsychology.
A program that prepares registered nurses to provide prenatal care to pregnant women and to mothers and their newborn infants. Includes instruction in perinatal and newborn health assessment, stabilization, and care; pathophysiology of pregnancy, fetuses, and the newborn; clinical management of high-risk pregnancies and newborns; perinatal and neonatal technology and clinical procedures; and patient education.
A research program that focuses on the study of advanced clinical practices, research methodologies, the administration of complex nursing services, and that prepares nurses to further the progress of nursing research through experimentation and clinical applications.
A program that prepares registered nurses to provide care for children from infancy through adolescence. Includes instruction in the administration of medication and treatments, assisting physicians, patient examination and referral, and planning and delivering health maintenance and health education programs.
A program that prepares registered nurses to promote mental health and provide nursing care to patients with mental, emotional or behavioral disorders, in mental institutions or other settings. Includes instruction in psychopathology, behavioral health, counseling and intervention strategies, psychoeducation, mental health assessment and dual diagnosis, stabilization and management of psychotic illness, psychiatric care and rehabilitation, substance abuse, and crisis intervention.
A program that prepares registered nurses to promote health and provide preventive and curative nursing services for groups or communities under the supervision of a public health agency. Includes instruction in community and rural health, family therapy and intervention, disease prevention, health education, and community health assessment.
A program that prepares registered nurses to provide care to patients before and during surgery, and provide tableside assistance to surgeons. Includes instruction in operating room safety and preparation, aseptic technique, anesthesia, patient preparation, surgical instruments and procedures, sterilization and disinfecting, surgical drugs and solutions, hemostasis, emergency procedures, and patient/family education.
A program that prepares registered nurses to deliver direct patient and client care in clinical settings. Includes instruction in clinical pharmacotherapeutics, advanced clinical practice, holistic nursing, nursing practice and health care policy, administration and consultation services, health assessment, patient stabilization and care, and patient education.
A program that prepares registered nurses to provide specialized care to patients with life-threatening problems, including those in intensive care facilities and on life support. Includes instruction in adult, neonatal, and pediatric critical care; technical skills; patient monitoring and assessment; normal and abnormal readings; and troubleshooting.
A program that prepares registered nurses to deliver nursing health care services to workers and worker populations in clinical settings and at job sites. Includes instruction in public and community health, occupational safety and health, occupational health surveillance, case management, fitness for duty testing, medication, allergies and immunization, emergency and ambulatory care, and applicable laws and regulations.
A program that prepares registered nurses to deliver advanced, direct patient care in emergency and trauma settings. Includes instruction in advanced health assessment, pharmacology, physiology, emergency management, trauma conditions, trauma assessments and acute care.
A practice-focused program that prepares registered nurses for increasingly complex evidence-based nursing practice, including translating research into practice, evaluating evidence, applying research in decision-making, and implementing viable clinical innovations to change practice. Includes instruction in healthcare delivery systems, health economics and finance, health policy, research methods, translating evidence into practice, concepts in population health, and nursing leadership.
A program that prepares registered nurses to provide a combination of active and compassionate therapies intended to comfort and support patients and their families who are living with life-threatening illness. Includes instruction in pathophysiology, palliative care processes, pain management, pharmacology, loss, grief, death, and bereavement.
A program that prepares registered nurses for careers as clinical nurse leaders in which they work as part of an interdisciplinary team that provides direct medical care for patients based on evidence-based practice and research. Includes instruction in pharmacology, pathophysiology, epidemiology, research in nursing methods, advanced health assessment, statistics, and clinical practice management.
A program that prepares registered nurses to provide health care to aging and elderly patients. Includes instruction in geriatric primary care, geriatric diagnosis, mental health and aging, primary care management, geriatric acute and chronic illness, advanced nursing practices for geriatric patients, evidence-based nursing practice, advanced physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and pharmacotherapeutics.
A program that prepares registered nurses to provide health care specific to women. Includes instruction in the wellness and care of women, gynecology, obstetrics, advanced nursing practices for women, evidence-based nursing practice, advanced physiology and pathophysiology, advanced pharmacology, and pharmacotherapeutics.
A program that prepares individuals to apply the law and forensic science to nursing practice and collaborate with other professionals for the care of victims and the prosecution of criminals. Includes instruction in advanced physical assessment, evidence collection and preservation, forensic anthropology, legal testimony, medicolegal investigation, pathophysiology, pathohistology, pharmacology, and violence prevention.
Any instructional program in registered nursing, nursing administration, nursing research, and clinical nursing not listed above.
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$82,750 per yearNational average salaryModerateJob growth rate
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Bachelor's degreeTypical education requirement
Educational Attainment
The following chart shows the highest education level completed by those working as registered nurses.
- Less than high school 0%
- High school graduate 1%
- College dropout 4%
- Associate’s degree 30%
- Bachelor’s degree 52%
- Master’s degree 10%
- Doctorate degree 2%
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