Nurse Salary in the USA: USD 97,550 Median a Year
Cross-agency · employment
Quick answer
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median registered nurse wage at USD 97,550 a year, or USD 46.90 an hour, on May 2025 data. The lowest 10 percent earned under USD 68,940 and the highest 10 percent above USD 137,470.
Every figure on this page is from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics's own published documents.
Last verified 1 source, listed below
Occupational Outlook Handbook, Registered Nurses1. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with any agency.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes registered nurse pay in its Occupational Outlook Handbook. The median is USD 97,550 a year, or USD 46.90 an hour, on May 2025 data.
That is a government statistic, not a jobs board average, which is why this page carries it.
The national figure
| Median annual wage | USD 97,550 |
| Median hourly wage | USD 46.90 |
| Lowest 10 percent earned less than | USD 68,940 |
| Highest 10 percent earned more than | USD 137,470 |
The gap between the two tails is USD 68,530 a year. That subtraction is arithmetic on the published figures, not a number BLS prints.
BLS is explicit about what a median is: the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more and half earned less. It is not a starting salary and not an offer.
By industry
Median annual wages in May 2025, in the top industries where registered nurses worked.
| Industry | Median annual wage |
|---|---|
| Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals | USD 110,780 |
| Hospitals, state, local and private | USD 100,220 |
| Ambulatory healthcare services | USD 91,230 |
| Nursing and residential care facilities | USD 84,300 |
| Educational services, state, local and private | USD 78,620 |
The spread across those five is USD 32,160. Government pays USD 26,480 more than nursing and residential care, which is where a large share of overseas recruitment sits. Both subtractions are arithmetic on the published figures.
The context BLS gives it
| Registered nurses, median | USD 97,550 |
| Healthcare diagnosing or treating practitioners, median | USD 103,500 |
| All occupations, median | USD 50,980 |
A registered nurse median sits USD 46,570 above the all-occupations median and USD 5,950 below the wider practitioner group.
The job market behind it
| Number of jobs, 2025 | 3,465,400 |
| Projected growth, 2025 to 2035 | 6 percent |
| Employment change, 2025 to 2035 | 194,700 |
| Projected openings a year | About 180,800 |
BLS calls 6 percent faster than the average for all occupations, which it puts at 3 percent. Most of those 180,800 annual openings are expected to come from replacing workers who move to other occupations or leave the workforce, not from new positions.
What this page does not tell you
BLS states that registered nurses must be licensed, and that they usually enter through one of three education paths: a bachelor’s degree in nursing, an associate’s degree, or a diploma from an approved nursing program.
The Handbook page does not publish licensing requirements, the NCLEX, credential evaluation, English testing, or anything about visas and immigration. None of that is stated here, because BLS does not publish it and this page carries only what its source does.
Nor are these figures state-level. The Handbook page read for this guide gives national figures only.
The Philippine side
The exit documents are the Philippine government’s, whatever the United States decides about entry.
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| DMW processing, direct hire | USD 100, in peso equivalent |
| DMW processing, manual OEC through a landbased agency | ₱200.00 |
| OWWA membership | USD 25 |
| Pag-IBIG | ₱600.00 |
Charging above the allowable schedule is illegal recruitment under RA 10022, carrying 12 years and 1 day to 20 years and a fine of ₱1,000,000.00 to ₱2,000,000.00.
The recruitment agencies guide covers the licence directory, the work visa requirements guide explains what DMW controls and what it does not, and the OEC guide covers the exit certificate.
Related
The nurse salary abroad comparison puts this beside the other destinations that publish nurse pay, the nurse salary in Canada guide covers the nearest comparable market, the caregiver salary in the USA guide covers the same country’s care work at a USD 35,800 median, and the PEOS guide covers the free seminar to take before applying.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a registered nurse earn in the United States?
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median at USD 97,550 a year, or USD 46.90 an hour, on May 2025 data. Half of registered nurses earned more than that and half earned less.
- What is the range?
- The lowest 10 percent earned less than USD 68,940 a year and the highest 10 percent earned more than USD 137,470. That is a spread of USD 68,530 between the two ends BLS publishes.
- Which employers pay the most?
- By median annual wage in May 2025: government excluding state and local education and hospitals at USD 110,780, hospitals at USD 100,220, ambulatory healthcare services at USD 91,230, nursing and residential care facilities at USD 84,300, and educational services at USD 78,620.
- Is nursing a growing occupation there?
- BLS projects 6 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations, on a base of 3,465,400 jobs in 2025. It projects about 180,800 openings a year over the decade, most from workers leaving the occupation.
- How does that compare with other US work?
- The median for all occupations was USD 50,980 in May 2025. A registered nurse median of USD 97,550 is USD 46,570 above it, which is arithmetic on the two published figures.
- Do I need a US licence?
- Yes. BLS states plainly that registered nurses must be licensed. Licensing is handled state by state and the Handbook does not publish the requirements, the NCLEX or any process for a nurse trained outside the United States, so none is stated here.
- Does the Philippine side still apply?
- Yes. You still need an Overseas Employment Certificate, OWWA membership and either a licensed agency or a qualifying direct hire, whatever your US immigration position is.
- How current is the figure?
- The wage data are from May 2025 and the Handbook page was last modified 27 August 2026. BLS revises these annually, so check the source before using a figure in a negotiation.