Highest Paying States for Nurses (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
Written By: Nurse.org Staff
11 Min ReadPublished November 17, 2020
By popular demand, we've adjusted our rankings for RN salaries to factor in the cost of living. To calculate the highest paying states and adjust for this, we took the average annual cost of living for a single adult in the United States ($31,5121), multiplied it by the Cost of Living Index2, and then subtracted that amount from the average nurse's salary for that state. States were then re-ranked by salaries adjusted for cost of living.
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CCNE
Location
Online
Prerequisite
RN Required
Enrollment: Nationwide, excluding NY, RI and CT. Certain programs have additional state restrictions. Check with Walden for details.
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We’ve also included the effective tax rate3 in each state so you have a clearer picture of how far your salary will go.
As expected, many of the highest paying states also had high costs for food, housing, and transportation. Conversely, many of the lowest salaries were found in states with much lower costs for those same basic necessities.
While many of the rankings remained the same, there were also a few surprises. See our list below for how your state ranked.
Popular Online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Programs
Sponsored
GCU's College of Nursing and Health Care Professions has a nearly 35-year tradition of preparing students to fill evolving healthcare roles as highly qualified professionals. GCU offers a full spectrum of nursing degrees, from a pre-licensure BSN degree to a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program.
WGU's award-winning online programs are created to help you succeed while graduating faster and with less debt. WGU is a CCNE accredited, nonprofit university offering nursing bachelor's and master's degrees.
Walden’s online programs for nursing meet rigorous standards for academic quality and integrity, and the School of Nursing teaching faculty all hold doctorates. With three degree completion options, you can choose a bachelor’s in nursing path that makes sense for your busy, unpredictable schedule.
Accreditation
CCNE
Location
Online
Prerequisite
RN Required
Enrollment: Nationwide, excluding NY, RI and CT. Certain programs have additional state restrictions. Check with Walden for details.
At Liberty, you’ll benefit from 30+ years of learning, growing, adapting, and innovating for the distance learner — and more than a decade of researching the needs of the online student. You can be confident that we’ve taken the time to learn what’s important to you.
Sources: 1. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Registered Nurses. May 2016 Occupational Employment Statistics. 2. The Council for Community and Economic Research. Cost of Living Index. Cost of Living Data Series, 2016 Annual Average. 3. WalletHub.com. 2017’s Tax Rates by State. March 2017.