Nursing OnPoint

Snapshot: This map displays the median RN salary in each state, adjusted for the cost of living in that state. See “RN Salaries Overview” for more information about the methodology.

• This salary-adjusted cost of living index therefore takes into account the different overall cost of living in each U.S. state and raises the median RN salary for states where the cost of living is below the U.S. average, since salaries in those states have more purchasing power, and lowers the median RN salary for states where the cost is living is above the U.S. average, since salaries in those states have less purchasing power.
• For example, while the median RN salary in the state of California is about $91,000, California has a higher than average cost of living, which reduces the purchasing power of that salary to about $74,500. Conversely, while the median RN salary in the state of Texas is about $65,700, Texas has a lower than average cost of living, which raises the purchasing power of that salary to almost $71,000.
• The specific methodology for adjusting RN salaries for the cost of living in each state involves multiplying the median RN salary in that state by that state’s cost of living index, and then finding the difference between that adjusted salary and the median RN salary in the U.S., which is currently about $65,500.
• On the map, dark green colors indicate the highest salary, adjusted by the average cost of living in each state. Dark red colors indicate the lowest salary, adjusted by the local cost of living in each state.
• The states with the highest RN salaries, adjusted for state variations in the cost of living, can be found on the West Coast, and in Texas.
• This means that RN salaries in these places have the most purchasing power, when taking into account the cost of living in each of those states.
• The states with the lowest RN salaries, adjusted for state variations in the cost of living, can be found in Hawaii, the Northeast and parts of the upper Midwest.
• This means that RN salaries in these places have the least purchasing power, when taking into account the cost of living in each of those states.

The 5 states with the highest RN salaries, adjusted for state variations in the cost of living, are:

Each of these dollar figures is the purchasing power of the median RN salary in that state, once the cost of living in that state has been taken into account.

The 5 states with the lowest RN salaries, adjusted for state variations in the cost of living, are: