How Much Does an RN Make in 2026?

The honest answer to “how much do registered nurses make in 2026” is that the national median number gets cited a lot and matters less than people think. Whether you earn $72,000 or $148,000 next year depends on five things in roughly this order: your state, your specialty, your shift, your setting, and your years of experience. The national median is the average of all of those, and almost no individual nurse actually earns it.

This guide breaks down what RNs actually earn in 2026 and which variables matter most.

The national picture

The most reliable single source for RN pay is the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), updated annually. Based on the most recent published OEWS data:

• Median annual: approximately $93,600 for registered nurses nationally.
• Mean annual: approximately $98,400 — pulled up by California, the high-cost coastal states, and unionized hospital systems.
• Median hourly: roughly $35–$42, depending on geography and setting.
• Top decile: over $130,000 per year, mostly California, Hawaii, the Pacific Northwest, and unionized hospital systems.
• Bottom decile: roughly $63,000–$72,000, mostly low cost-of-living states and rural settings.

By state: where RNs earn the most

State is by far the biggest single variable, and the spread is wider for RNs than for almost any other healthcare role. California alone earns roughly 60% above the national median.

Tier	Approx. mean annual	Representative states
Top	$110k–$148k+	California (top), Hawaii, Oregon, Massachusetts, Alaska, Washington, New York
Upper-mid	$95k–$110k	New Jersey, Connecticut, Minnesota, Colorado, Nevada, Rhode Island, DC
Middle	$80k–$95k	Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Virginia, Texas, Florida (varies by metro)
Lower-mid	$72k–$80k	Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Missouri
Bottom	$67k–$72k	Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, West Virginia, Iowa

The cost-of-living catch is bigger for RNs than for any other healthcare role. A California RN earning $148k in San Francisco often has less disposable income than an Oregon or Texas RN earning $90k. If you’re considering moving for pay, look at cost-of-living-adjusted wages rather than absolute numbers. Oregon consistently tops cost-of-living-adjusted RN pay rankings; California drops several places after the adjustment.

By setting: hospital vs ambulatory vs SNF vs home health

• Hospital (acute care). The pay floor for most experienced RNs. Hospitals offer the best benefits, the strongest shift differentials, the most overtime opportunity, and the most room for specialty premiums. The trade-off is the highest acuity, the most physical demand, and the worst schedules.
• Outpatient surgery centers, infusion centers, and ambulatory clinics. Lower pay than hospital staff, but better hours, no nights or weekends, and less acuity. The lifestyle premium is real even if the dollar premium isn’t.
• Skilled nursing and long-term care. Lower pay than hospital, broader scope of practice (you’re often the only RN on the floor), more autonomy.
• Home health and hospice. Pay can be competitive on a per-visit basis, but unpaid drive time is the killer. Annualized pay is usually lower than the hourly suggests.
• Public health, school nursing, corrections. Lower than hospital pay, but pension benefits and predictable hours offset some of that for many nurses.
• Travel and per diem. See below.

By specialty: which units pay more

Specialty premiums for RNs are real but smaller than most internet content suggests. Critical care, ED, OR, and L&D often carry modest premiums over med-surg base rates — usually $1–$5 per hour in the same hospital — but the bigger pay levers are shift differentials, certification stipends, and overtime, not the unit type itself.

• ICU / critical care: typically $1–$4/hr above med-surg in the same hospital, with CCRN stipends and night-shift differentials adding more.
• Emergency department: similar to ICU, with TNCC and CEN stipends in some systems.
• OR / perioperative: often above med-surg, with CNOR stipend; on-call pay can be substantial.
• Cath lab and IR: high call burden but often the highest hourly rates after differentials.
• L&D and NICU: small to moderate premium, with RNC certifications adding to base.
• Med-surg: the baseline. Not low; just the floor.
• Psych: varies widely. State psychiatric facilities often pay above medical hospital rates due to staffing difficulty.

APRN tracks (separate from staff RN)

• Nurse Practitioner (NP): requires MSN or DNP. Average around $125,000+ annually depending on specialty. Family practice NPs cluster lower; psych NPs and acute care NPs cluster higher.
• Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA): requires DNP and CRNA certification. Average $210,000–$220,000+ annually. The highest-paying nursing role by a wide margin and effectively a separate career track.

By shift: differentials matter more than people think

• Evening shift (3p–11p): typically $2–$5/hr extra.
• Night shift (7p–7a or 11p–7a): typically $4–$8/hr extra. The biggest single lever you can pull on hourly pay without changing jobs.
• Weekend differential: typically $2–$5/hr extra, sometimes layered on top of evenings or nights.
• Holiday pay: often time-and-a-half or double-time at most hospitals.
• Charge nurse stipend: usually a flat amount ($1–$3/hr) when you’re assigned charge.
• Certification stipend: some hospitals pay an extra $0.50–$2/hr for CCRN, CEN, CMSRN, CNOR, or other recognized certs.

An RN working full-time nights with a $6/hr night differential earns roughly $12,500 more per year than the same RN working day shift on the same unit. Night-shift weekend differentials stack on top, and some RNs build comp packages worth 25–30% above their base hourly through differentials alone.

The travel nurse reality check

This is the section the affiliate-driven sites won’t write honestly. Travel nursing pay has cooled significantly from the pandemic peak and stabilized at a much lower level.

• Pandemic peak (2021–2022): average travel RN gross pay around $4,000 per week, with crisis contracts in hot spots reaching $8,000–$10,000+ per week.
• Current (2025–2026): average travel RN gross pay around $2,300 per week. Down roughly 42% from peak.
• Travel revenue industry-wide: peaked around $44.6 billion in 2022, fell to about $39.4 billion in 2025, with a slight rebound projected.

The “make $10k a week” era is over. Travel nursing is still viable — people we know are still doing it and choosing the lifestyle — but you need to evaluate it on annualized net pay, not gross weekly stipend. Things to factor in:

• No paid time off. If you take 6 weeks unbooked between contracts, that’s 6 weeks at zero.
• No employer health insurance. Marketplace plans for a healthy single adult run $300–$700/mo, more for families.
• No employer 401k match. Most agencies don’t match.
• Tax-free stipends require a tax home. If you don’t maintain one, the IRS treats stipends as taxable wages and your effective rate drops.
• Housing. Either you take agency housing (often substandard) or you rent and the stipend rarely covers the actual cost in expensive markets.

Done well, an experienced travel RN can still net significantly above their staff equivalent. Done poorly, the gross stipend looks great and the annual pay barely matches a regular hospital job.

What new grads can realistically expect

New grad RN starting salaries are highly geographic. Rough ranges for a first-year RN in 2026:

• California, Hawaii, Pacific Northwest: $85,000–$110,000+ annual.
• Northeast urban (NYC, Boston, DC): $80,000–$100,000.
• Major Sun Belt and Midwest metros: $65,000–$80,000.
• Rural and lower-cost states: $55,000–$70,000.

Expect a meaningful raise (often 5–15%) at the 1-year mark when you finish residency or transition out of new grad status. After that, raises are typically modest until you change roles, settings, certifications, or specialties.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average RN salary in 2026?

The most recent BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data puts the national median RN wage at about $93,600 per year, with a mean of about $98,400. Hourly rates typically run from the mid-$30s to the low-$40s, depending heavily on state, specialty, and setting. California, Hawaii, Oregon, Massachusetts, Alaska, Washington, and New York lead by absolute pay.

Which states pay RNs the most?

California is by far the highest, with a mean RN wage around $148,000 per year. Hawaii, Oregon, Massachusetts, Alaska, Washington, and New York round out the top tier. Cost-of-living adjusted, Oregon often tops the list and California drops several places.

Do ICU and ED nurses make more than med-surg nurses?

Modestly, in most markets. Critical care, ED, OR, and L&D often carry small premiums over med-surg base rates, but the bigger driver of pay is the unit’s shift differentials, overtime pay, and certification stipends rather than the unit type itself. The largest single pay jump available to a staff RN is moving to a higher-cost-of-living state or to a unionized hospital system.

How much do travel nurses make in 2026?

Average travel RN pay is around $2,300 per week in 2025-2026, down roughly 42% from the pandemic peak of about $4,000 per week. The “make $10,000 a week” era is over. Travel nursing is still viable but should be evaluated on actual annualized pay net of benefits, not gross weekly stipend.

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