Assessing the Progress on the Future of Nursing
December 7, 2015A Nursing Student’s Holiday Wish List
December 8, 2015[responsive]
RN Salary Report 2015
Are you curious which setting an RN makes the most? How about where you should move to in order to make the most amount of money as an RN? Medscape recently released a report outlining the results of a survey by members asking about salaries and benefits. Respondents were required to be working in the United States as a nurse. 8,256 nurses completed the 10 to 15 min online survey. Nursing specialties included Registered Nurses, LPNs, and APNs. We segmented the findings of the survey to pertain to RNs. Check out some of the RN salary results below.
Nurse Specialty Compensation:
Here is a breakdown by specialty of the average annual gross salary (before taxes).
- APN, Nurse Anesthetist – $170,000
- APN, Nurse Practitioner – $102,000
- APN, Nurse Midwife – $99,000
- APN, Clinical Nurse Specialist – $95,000
- RN – $79,000
- LPN – $46,000
The survey reveals that the average gross salary for RNs is $79,000. That number is a difference of $16,000 – $91,000 between different APN specialty salary and RN salary. The highest salary is an APN Nurse Anesthetist, which only compromises .1% of all nurses in the United States.
Do Male Nurses Make More Than Females?
Below is the difference between what a female nurse makes and a male nurse makes.
APN
- Male $109,000
- Female $100,000
RN
- Male $85,000
- Female $78,000
LPN
- Male $49,000
- Female $46,000
As you can see, the gender disparity favors men. This is the case in a lot of professions around the United States. Male APNs tend to make $9,000 more than females, male RNs tend to make $7,000 more than females, and male LPNs tend to make $3,000 more than females. The survey indicated that the nursing profession is the largest in healthcare and is predominantly female.
Which Regions do RNs Make the Most?
- Northeast – $87,000
- Mid Atlantic – $77,000
- Great Lakes – $76,000
- North Central – $69,000
- South Central –$77,000
- Northwest – $81,000
- Southwest – $81,000
- West – $105,000
As you can see, RNs that live in the West region of the United States make the most amount of money by a lot ($105,000). This is followed by RNs that live in the Northeast ($87,000). The worst paying region is North Central ($69,000).
RNs Make the Most in Which Work Setting?
- School / college health services – $63,000
- Non-hospital based medical office / urgent care clinic – $66,000
- Public health / occupational health setting – $68,000
- Skilled nursing facility / other LTC facility – $68,000
- Faculty – $72,000
- Home health / visiting nurse – $72,000
- Hospital based outpatient setting or clinic – $79,000
- Hospital inpatient care – $83,000
- Military / government – $93,000
- Agency / contract / travel nurse – $95,000
As you can see from the survey, RNs that work as agency / contract / travel nurses tend to make the most amount of money at an average of $95,000. The work setting that makes the 2nd most is military / government nurses at an average of $93,000. Some of the data may be skewed based on the survey only using RNs with full-time compensation. The work setting in which RNs make the least on average is in the school at $63,000.
Registered Nurse Compensation by Degree:
- Doctoral Degree – $96,000
- Master’s Degree – $87,000
- Bachelor’s Degree – $79,000
- Associate’s Degree – $73,000
- RN Diploma Program – $73,000
As in almost every profession, the more schooling and higher degree that you achieve, the higher you are paid. It is no different in the nursing profession. If RNs achieve their doctoral degree, they will make around $96,000. If they achieve their Master’s degree in nursing, they will make about $87,000. If the RN achieves their Bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) they will make around $79,000. Most hospitals and healthcare facilities are now requiring nurses to have their BSN. This will put a heavy burden on RNs in terms of cost of schooling. Is it worth the extra money in student loans for around $6,000 more?
RN Part Time Hourly Rate by Work Setting:
- Agency – $32
- Home – $33
- Hospital, outpatient – $38
- School – $32
- Public Health – $29
- Hospital Inpatient – $40
- Skilled Nursing Facility – $30
- Faculty – $38
For RNs that were paid hourly, the highest rate is in the hospital settings (inpatient at $40 and outpatient at $38). The lowest hourly rate by work setting was public health at $29 per hour.
What’s the Most Rewarding Aspect of Nurse’s Job?
- Relationships with patients – 26%
- Being very good at what I do – 22%
- Proud of being a nurse – 18%
- Making good money – 11%
- Respect from peers and team – 9%
- Working in variety of settings – 8%
- Nothing – 2%
About a quarter of the nurses surveyed said that their relationship with patients was the most rewarding aspect of being a nurse. Since this report is all about the money, a surprising 11% said that the most rewarding part was making good money. Apparently there are nurses out there that think there is nothing rewarding about the career, as evidence by 2% responding with “nothing”.
Are you looking for a Registered Nurse Job in New York? We have job openings in many different settings. Give us a call or fill out an online application form today!
