- When taken as an overall profession, the median salary for registered nurses was $66,530 per year in 2009, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest paid 10 percent earned $43,970 or less, while the highest paid 10 percent earned $93,700 or more.
- Among the five industries employing the highest level of nurses, salaries range from a low of $59,230 for nursing homes to $67,740 for hospitals. The home health care industry reported a mean annual salary of $63,300, and nurses at outpatient care facilities earned a mean salary of $65,690. Doctor's offices provided the second highest annual mean salary at $67,290.
- According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the five states with the highest annual mean wage for nurses were New Jersey, $74,990; Maryland, $76,330; Hawaii, $80,020; Massachusetts, $81,780; and California, $85,080.
- Specific metropolitan areas statistically pay higher salaries to nurses than others. The five highest paying metropolitan areas in 2009 are all California cities. In the greater Sacramento area, nurses earned an annual mean salary of $89,770, while those in the Oakland area earned $97,280. In the San Francisco-Redwood City-San Mateo area, the mean salary was $98,900. Nurses in the San Jose-Santa Clara area earned $110,080, and those in the Visalia-Porterville metropolitan area earned $111,030.
- Nurses may choose to specialize and become certified in a particular area. According to PayScale.com, nurses certified in critical care can expect to earn between $47,985 and $68,328, while those certified in advanced cardiac life support earn between $47,757 and $66,394. Nurses with a neonatal resuscitation certification earn from $47,611 to $65,832, and those with a certification in pediatric advanced life support earn a salary ranging from $47,715 to $65,582.
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