Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011

29-1111 Registered Nurses*

* This occupation has the same title, but not necessarily the same content, as the 2010 SOC occupation

Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients. May advise patients on health maintenance and disease prevention or provide case management. Licensing or registration required. Include advance practice nurses such as: nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives, and certified registered nurse anesthetists. Advanced practice nursing is practiced by RNs who have specialized formal, post-basic education and who function in highly autonomous and specialized roles.


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
2,724,570 0.5 % $33.23 $69,110 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $21.62 $25.85 $31.71 $38.65 $46.46
Annual Wage (2) $44,970 $53,770 $65,950 $80,390 $96,630


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 1,556,930 29.98 $33.56 $69,810
Offices of Physicians 235,710 10.06 $35.04 $72,890
Home Health Care Services 156,730 13.92 $31.31 $65,120
Nursing Care Facilities 138,080 8.27 $29.25 $60,830
Outpatient Care Centers 95,180 15.56 $34.72 $72,220

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 1,556,930 29.98 $33.56 $69,810
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals 51,150 23.20 $35.73 $74,310
Outpatient Care Centers 95,180 15.56 $34.72 $72,220
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals 34,810 14.84 $31.85 $66,250
Home Health Care Services 156,730 13.92 $31.31 $65,120

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Personal Care Services 470 0.08 $41.32 $85,940
Lessors of Real Estate (8) (8) $39.35 $81,850
Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage 40 0.01 $38.98 $81,090
Oil and Gas Extraction 60 0.04 $38.80 $80,700
Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing 60 0.02 $38.60 $80,290


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 250,230 17.82 0.84 $43.68 $90,860
Texas 184,890 17.94 0.84 $32.49 $67,580
New York 176,180 20.91 0.98 $36.23 $75,370
Florida 164,800 23.04 1.08 $30.78 $64,020
Pennsylvania 130,740 23.56 1.11 $32.28 $67,140




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
South Dakota 11,120 28.32 1.33 $26.78 $55,710
Mississippi 29,640 27.62 1.30 $28.59 $59,480
Massachusetts 87,040 27.57 1.30 $41.74 $86,810
Rhode Island 12,340 27.37 1.29 $34.96 $72,720
West Virginia 18,280 26.11 1.23 $27.32 $56,820




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 250,230 17.82 0.84 $43.68 $90,860
Massachusetts 87,040 27.57 1.30 $41.74 $86,810
Hawaii 10,210 17.69 0.83 $40.36 $83,950
Alaska 5,460 17.44 0.82 $39.46 $82,080
Nevada 16,470 14.80 0.70 $37.42 $77,840





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 96,210 19.01 0.89 $39.93 $83,060
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 77,530 21.64 1.02 $34.05 $70,820
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 69,540 18.19 0.86 $41.03 $85,340
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 48,950 29.21 1.38 $45.48 $94,600
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division 45,820 25.25 1.19 $35.80 $74,460
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 44,600 17.48 0.82 $35.63 $74,100
St. Louis, MO-IL 36,190 28.51 1.34 $29.02 $60,370
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 35,380 17.30 0.81 $32.86 $68,350
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 33,270 19.44 0.92 $36.52 $75,970
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 32,270 14.48 0.68 $31.13 $64,750




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Rochester, MN 6,980 70.58 3.32 $39.25 $81,650
Gainesville, FL 5,380 45.24 2.13 $30.07 $62,540
Greenville, NC 3,210 44.63 2.10 $28.97 $60,260
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 4,760 43.95 2.07 $29.46 $61,270
Morgantown, WV 2,550 42.93 2.02 $28.67 $59,630
Jackson, TN 2,380 42.08 1.98 $25.89 $53,860
Lima, OH 2,020 41.62 1.96 $28.88 $60,070
Florence, SC 3,210 40.69 1.92 $28.42 $59,110
Cape Girardeau-Jackson, MO-IL 1,790 40.69 1.92 $27.84 $57,900
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 10,880 40.68 1.92 $30.91 $64,280




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 3,370 28.72 1.35 $57.95 $120,540
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 12,120 13.82 0.65 $56.53 $117,590
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division 20,090 21.10 0.99 $51.31 $106,730
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 18,400 19.17 0.90 $50.80 $105,670
Salinas, CA 2,670 17.57 0.83 $49.67 $103,310
Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, CA 14,850 18.44 0.87 $47.71 $99,230
Napa, CA 1,370 22.16 1.04 $47.53 $98,870
Hanford-Corcoran, CA 970 26.65 1.25 $46.61 $96,950
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 1,690 20.35 0.96 $46.52 $96,760
Modesto, CA 3,300 22.04 1.04 $45.93 $95,530

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 8,410 22.08 1.04 $26.17 $54,420
East Central Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area 6,240 26.65 1.25 $34.83 $72,440
Other North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 5,870 20.12 0.95 $28.35 $58,960
Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 5,410 25.99 1.22 $25.71 $53,470
Western Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 5,110 21.09 0.99 $28.97 $60,260

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area 3,400 59.16 2.79 $31.63 $65,800
Western New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 2,360 38.72 1.82 $34.18 $71,090
Hammond nonmetropolitan area 1,420 27.96 1.32 $30.29 $63,000
Other New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 2,620 27.08 1.28 $30.69 $63,830
Southern Ohio nonmetropolitan area 4,290 26.95 1.27 $28.53 $59,340

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 1,020 16.80 0.79 $45.16 $93,930
Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 900 22.55 1.06 $43.50 $90,490
North Valley Region of California nonmetropolitan area 250 8.91 0.42 $42.39 $88,170
Eastern Sierra Region of California nonmetropolitan area 210 15.17 0.71 $42.17 $87,710
Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard nonmetropolitan area 200 14.19 0.67 $39.27 $81,690


About May 2011 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2011 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2011 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped XLS files

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 27, 2012