Find a Job You Really Want In
Registered Nurses are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as registered nurses in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since registered nurses are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where registered nurses have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for registered nurses.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s registered nurses:
So there you have it — Registered Nurses is the best of the best when it comes to being a registered nurse.
How did Registered Nurses end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for registered nurses and for more on the top ten states.
If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Detroit
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Warren
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Michigan
How we determined the best states to be a registered nurse
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:
- Availability of jobs
- Higher Pay
So in order to find out the best states for registered nurses in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well registered nurses get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2018:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for registered nurses in California is $106,950 and the average salary in Illinois is $73,890, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for registered nurses in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for registered nurses.
1. Michigan
Total Jobs: 96,680
Average Annual Salary: $71,330
Average Entry Level Salary: $53,750
Average Experienced Salary: $93,590
Location Quotient: 1.1
2. Minnesota
Total Jobs: 69,000
Average Annual Salary: $78,920
Average Entry Level Salary: $56,150
Average Experienced Salary: $102,680
Location Quotient: 1.18
3. Delaware
Total Jobs: 11,840
Average Annual Salary: $74,800
Average Entry Level Salary: $55,280
Average Experienced Salary: $100,060
Location Quotient: 1.29
4. Illinois
Total Jobs: 129,400
Average Annual Salary: $73,890
Average Entry Level Salary: $51,190
Average Experienced Salary: $101,650
Location Quotient: 1.06
5. Oregon
Total Jobs: 36,020
Average Annual Salary: $91,080
Average Entry Level Salary: $66,830
Average Experienced Salary: $121,120
Location Quotient: 0.94
6. Texas
Total Jobs: 210,350
Average Annual Salary: $72,890
Average Entry Level Salary: $52,590
Average Experienced Salary: $98,170
Location Quotient: 0.85
7. Nevada
Total Jobs: 22,560
Average Annual Salary: $85,620
Average Entry Level Salary: $64,720
Average Experienced Salary: $111,690
Location Quotient: 0.82
8. Arizona
Total Jobs: 54,690
Average Annual Salary: $77,000
Average Entry Level Salary: $55,580
Average Experienced Salary: $100,720
Location Quotient: 0.96
9. Wisconsin
Total Jobs: 59,030
Average Annual Salary: $71,470
Average Entry Level Salary: $54,290
Average Experienced Salary: $94,290
Location Quotient: 1.02
10. New Mexico
Total Jobs: 16,730
Average Annual Salary: $71,730
Average Entry Level Salary: $53,620
Average Experienced Salary: $95,320
Location Quotient: 1.01
There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Registered Nurse
If you’re looking to start out your career as a registered nurse these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be a registered nurse in America:
For more reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Best States For registered nurses
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan | $71,330 |
| 2 | Minnesota | $78,920 |
| 3 | Delaware | $74,800 |
| 4 | Illinois | $73,890 |
| 5 | Oregon | $91,080 |
| 6 | Texas | $72,890 |
| 7 | Nevada | $85,620 |
| 8 | Arizona | $77,000 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | $71,470 |
| 10 | New Mexico | $71,730 |
| 11 | Ohio | $66,820 |
| 12 | Missouri | $65,130 |
| 13 | Washington | $82,670 |
| 14 | Indiana | $64,860 |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | $70,390 |
| 16 | Georgia | $68,950 |
| 17 | Idaho | $67,110 |
| 18 | California | $106,950 |
| 19 | Nebraska | $64,470 |
| 20 | Wyoming | $67,360 |
| 21 | Colorado | $74,240 |
| 22 | Kentucky | $63,100 |
| 23 | North Carolina | $64,850 |
| 24 | Mississippi | $58,490 |
| 25 | Massachusetts | $92,140 |
| 26 | Arkansas | $60,780 |
| 27 | Oklahoma | $63,080 |
| 28 | Montana | $67,450 |
| 29 | Utah | $65,670 |
| 30 | West Virginia | $61,780 |
| 31 | North Dakota | $65,740 |
| 32 | Tennessee | $61,320 |
| 33 | Alabama | $59,470 |
| 34 | Louisiana | $63,970 |
| 35 | Kansas | $61,030 |
| 36 | Rhode Island | $78,420 |
| 37 | New Jersey | $82,750 |
| 38 | Virginia | $69,790 |
| 39 | Florida | $66,210 |
| 40 | Alaska | $89,310 |
| 41 | Iowa | $59,130 |
| 42 | South Carolina | $64,940 |
| 43 | Maine | $67,610 |
| 44 | South Dakota | $58,340 |
| 45 | New York | $85,610 |
| 46 | New Hampshire | $72,760 |
| 47 | Vermont | $69,160 |
| 48 | Maryland | $76,820 |
| 49 | Connecticut | $81,220 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $98,080 |
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.
