Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of student nurse salary by state for the United States:
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Hawaii has the highest student nurse salary of $72,543
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Alabama has the lowest student nurse salary of $25,825
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The national average salary for student nurses is $37,281
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The national hourly pay for student nurses is $17.92
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
In today’s job market, salary remains a critical factor for job seekers across all demographics. For many aspiring student nurses, understanding how much they can earn in their specific location is essential for informed career planning.
While individual circumstances may vary, robust data on average salaries for student nurses by state—adjusted for seniority level—provides a clear picture of potential earnings. Your city may have a unique cost of living, but these averages will help you gauge what to expect.
The state with the best salary for student nurses? That would be Hawaii.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for student nurse salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Student Nurses By State
| Rank | State | Average Student Nurse Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | $72,543 | $61,000 | $85,000 |
| 2 | California | $52,725 | $37,000 | $74,000 |
| 3 | Alaska | $51,631 | $44,000 | $59,000 |
| 4 | Oregon | $49,159 | $37,000 | $64,000 |
| 5 | Washington | $45,374 | $35,000 | $58,000 |
| 6 | Connecticut | $43,805 | $30,000 | $63,000 |
| 7 | New York | $43,723 | $29,000 | $64,000 |
| 8 | New Jersey | $43,624 | $29,000 | $64,000 |
| 9 | Rhode Island | $43,507 | $30,000 | $62,000 |
| 10 | Nevada | $43,280 | $31,000 | $59,000 |
| 11 | Delaware | $42,793 | $28,000 | $63,000 |
| 12 | Arizona | $42,088 | $30,000 | $59,000 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | $41,331 | $31,000 | $53,000 |
| 14 | Minnesota | $41,066 | $32,000 | $52,000 |
| 15 | Massachusetts | $39,270 | $28,000 | $54,000 |
| 16 | Idaho | $39,243 | $30,000 | $50,000 |
| 17 | Colorado | $39,181 | $29,000 | $52,000 |
| 18 | Maryland | $38,862 | $26,000 | $57,000 |
| 19 | North Dakota | $38,004 | $30,000 | $47,000 |
| 20 | Michigan | $36,796 | $27,000 | $49,000 |
| 21 | New Hampshire | $35,900 | $26,000 | $48,000 |
| 22 | Montana | $35,772 | $28,000 | $45,000 |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | $35,717 | $24,000 | $52,000 |
| 24 | Utah | $35,597 | $27,000 | $46,000 |
| 25 | Illinois | $35,586 | $26,000 | $47,000 |
| 26 | Virginia | $35,407 | $24,000 | $52,000 |
| 27 | New Mexico | $35,323 | $25,000 | $48,000 |
| 28 | Ohio | $35,231 | $25,000 | $48,000 |
| 29 | Wyoming | $35,147 | $26,000 | $45,000 |
| 30 | Indiana | $34,629 | $25,000 | $46,000 |
| 31 | Texas | $34,499 | $24,000 | $48,000 |
| 32 | South Dakota | $34,487 | $26,000 | $44,000 |
| 33 | Kansas | $33,783 | $25,000 | $45,000 |
| 34 | Oklahoma | $33,572 | $24,000 | $46,000 |
| 35 | West Virginia | $33,325 | $23,000 | $47,000 |
| 36 | Arkansas | $32,414 | $23,000 | $44,000 |
| 37 | South Carolina | $32,248 | $22,000 | $45,000 |
| 38 | Iowa | $32,062 | $24,000 | $42,000 |
| 39 | Maine | $31,922 | $24,000 | $41,000 |
| 40 | Nebraska | $31,855 | $24,000 | $42,000 |
| 41 | Vermont | $31,560 | $23,000 | $41,000 |
| 42 | Missouri | $31,030 | $23,000 | $41,000 |
| 43 | Florida | $30,903 | $21,000 | $44,000 |
| 44 | Kentucky | $30,610 | $22,000 | $42,000 |
| 45 | Louisiana | $30,496 | $21,000 | $43,000 |
| 46 | North Carolina | $30,470 | $21,000 | $43,000 |
| 47 | Tennessee | $30,113 | $21,000 | $41,000 |
| 48 | Georgia | $29,267 | $20,000 | $41,000 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $28,803 | $20,000 | $40,000 |
| 50 | Alabama | $25,825 | $18,000 | $36,000 |
Methodology: Student Nurse Salary By State
To better understand student nurse pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for student nurses by state.
We took the average annual salary data for student nurses from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for student nurses.
Student Nurse Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for student nurses?
The highest-paid state for student nurses is Hawaii with an average salary of $72,543 per year.
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What city pays student nurses the most?
Oxnard, CA pays student nurses the most with an average salary of $53,258 per year.
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What is the worst state for student nurses?
The worst state for student nurses is Alabama with an average salary of $25,825 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
