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Top 10 Best and Worst States to Be a Nurse
NursingLink.com and CareerVoyages.gov
There is a projected need for 1,001,000 nurses needed in the United States by 2016. Nurses are one of the most in demand professions in America, but with so many job openings, it begs the question: Where should you work? NursingLink is committed to providing its members with the most most pertinent career research available. Below is the 10 best and worst places to be a Nurse based on salary and job openings.
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Top 10 Lowest Nurse Paying States
| State | Salary (hourly) |
| 1. North Dakota | $17.60 |
| 2. Louisiana | $17.50 |
| 3. Wyoming | $16.88 |
| 4. Oklahoma | $16.76 |
| 5. Kansas | $16.74 |
| 6. West Virginia | $16.52 |
| 7. Arkansas | $16.44 |
| 8. Mississippi | $16.42 |
| 9. Iowa | $16.36 |
| 10. South Dakota | $16.35 |
verna34
about 5 years ago
4 comments
I'm an LPN in Colorado, and average starting wage is $15.33/hr. I fortunately make $20.00/hr with 1 yr experience. Colorado didn't make either list...lol...I guess we are just average...lol
gdhipp
about 5 years ago
40 comments
I agree that with the shortage the nursing industry will have to do something about the wages to attract more people to be nurses. But we all knew coming into this field that the hours were long and wages weren't great. There are many other jobs out there with half the job description that make more money. But for me are not as rewarding. I make alittle over $26/hour with one year experience as a floor nurse. and loving every minute of it.
iCY
about 5 years ago
6 comments
i HAVE AlMOST 2 YEARS OF EXPEiRiANCE..
i'M A ROOKiE i GUESS..
iCY
about 5 years ago
6 comments
O' YEA.. i FORGOT TO ADD i MAKE $33 PER HOUR.. BUT SOME OF MY COllEGUES MAKE UP TO $40 AN HOUR. YOUR SAlARY Will PROBABlY DEPEND ON WHETHER YOUR HAVE AN "ADN" OR A "BSN. iT Will AlSO DEPEND ON YOUR YEARS OF EXPERiANCE WHERE YOU WORK.. liKE iF YOU WORK iN A NURSiNG HOME, A HOSTPiTAl, OR AS A TRAVEliNG NURSE.
AlSO THE OVERTiME, BONUS', & BENEFiTS ARE EXCEllENT. i MAKE AlMOST $50 AN HOUR FOR OVERTiME. iF ANYONE iS CONSiDERiNG GOiNG inTO A NURSiNG CAREER, i WOUlD HiGHlY RECCOMEND iT iF YOU liVE iN THE HiGH PAYiNG STATES.. iT'S A VERY SATiSFYiNG CAREER CHOiCE. & YOU CAN AlWAYS FURTHER YOUR CAREER iF YOU ARE NOT SATiSFiED WiTH jUST BEiNG AN "RN". BY THE WAY, THiS CHART iS EXTREMElY iNACCURATE.. iT MiTE BE ClOSE TO BEiNG ACCURATE iF WE WERE TAlKiNG ABOUT "LPN'S"..
iCY
about 5 years ago
6 comments
i liVE iN MARYLAND, AND i MUST SAY THAT MARYLAND iS THE 2ND HiGHEST PAYiNG STATE FOR RN'S NEXT TO CAliFORNiA.. WE EARN $30 OR MORE PER HOUR HERE iN EASTON, MD
AND THE liViNG EXPENSES ARE NOT NEARlY AS HiGH AS CAliFORNiA.. AND THE DEMAND HERE iS AlSO VERY HiGH. i HAVE EARNED AN ASSOSiATE DEGREE iN NURSiNG(ADN), AND iT DOESN'T TAKE VERY lONG. iF U DON'T WORK, U CAN BE DONE iN A YEAR AND A FEW MONTHS.. BUT iF U WORK, iT MAY TAKE 2 YRS. OR lONGER. BUT iT'S All WORTH iT iN THE STATE OF MARYlAND i MUST SAY..
patpat
about 5 years ago
4 comments
i have been to cna school & would love to be a nurse,i need help on line to get my ged do you have any information? thanks patty
patpat
about 5 years ago
4 comments
i need some help with my ged,any suggestions for on line ? patty
snowbunnyRN
about 5 years ago
254 comments
My state , Pa. , didn't even make the top 10 list ! After reading the comments from nurses in Tx and California , I realize how low my hourly pay is - $27. ! I have been at this hospital for 15 yrs! Believe it or not this is considered the "higher pay scale " for my area. I live 1 hr north of Pittsburgh!
SPECIALTY_RN
about 5 years ago
2 comments
I live in MI. I only have 6 yrs of RN exp and making $30.29/hr working for a Union Hospital. The economy and cold weather are terrible MI. Local community hospitals are making about $4/00/hr lesser then Union Hospitals in MI. I want to move to Grand Prarie TX so I can be closer to my relatives. What do you think?
loricuff
about 5 years ago
4 comments
Where is Wisconsin in the statistics?
kalongde
about 5 years ago
4 comments
Tennessee should be added to the lowest paying list, I just moved to East TN from SouthEast VA and make $4.00 less an hour than what I was making before I moved, actually I am making less here in TN than what I started out making as a new grad. My base salary is now $ 18.02 / hr, and cost of living is not any cheaper no matter what they say
nursetb38
about 5 years ago
60 comments
OK, I am currently working here in CA and am making roughly $37.00/ hour. full time with benifits. However one must remember that along with the higher pay nowadays you generally also have to worry about staff shortages and increased work load. This is why the higher wages are being paid to encourage nurses to come there to work. Problem being... politics and health care growth are changing policies and overtime is now a mondatory thing as well as increased pt accuity and higher pt/nurse ratios then what are promised at times. As a nurse we are subjected to many dangerous situations in our careers. From overwhelming stress causing fatigue and burn-out to needle sticks with dangerous outcomes, to a simple case of contact isolation gone wrong. Think before you react to an increadible offer you "can"t" refuse..... Perhaps there is a reason you should......
squirmals
about 5 years ago
42 comments
In California as a LPN I made over $30/hr. Here in WY the GNs start at $20/hr in acute.
Account Removed
about 5 years ago
this is a bogus list. I happen to know in Northern California, new grads start out at over 35/hr
Account Removed
about 5 years ago
I hear that the RN's here in NY are getting paid much higher than this article is showing for the state of California. I hear they are making between $40-50 an hour. I feel the shortages are also their own fault. They make it very difficult to get into nursing school in the first place. I graduate in 2009 and can't wait to take the NCLEX and get my RN license. NY here I come...or NJ, whichever will take me first. LOL