Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2007

29-1111 Registered Nurses

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
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area 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)
2,468,340 0.5 % $30.04 $62,480 0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $20.20 $23.95 $28.85 $35.18 $41.97
Annual Wage (2) $42,020 $49,810 $60,010 $73,170 $87,310

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 Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 1,409,220 $30.69 $63,820
Offices of Physicians 209,870 $29.68 $61,740
Home Health Care Services 127,230 $28.43 $59,140
Nursing Care Facilities 123,480 $27.12 $56,410
Employment Services 96,550 $32.49 $67,570

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Motion Picture and Video Industries 30 $35.93 $74,740
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations 610 $35.90 $74,680
Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing 70 $34.49 $71,730
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 52,500 $34.33 $71,410
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 40 $32.74 $68,100

State profile for this occupation: Top

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

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
South Dakota 9,670 $24.44 $50,830 2.483%
Massachusetts 78,280 $36.03 $74,940 2.440%
West Virginia 16,970 $24.53 $51,020 2.379%
Maine 13,850 $27.89 $58,010 2.308%
Mississippi 25,350 $25.67 $53,400 2.245%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
California 233,200 $37.76 $78,550 1.534%
Massachusetts 78,280 $36.03 $74,940 2.440%
Hawaii 9,620 $35.68 $74,220 1.576%
New Jersey 78,510 $34.08 $70,900 1.973%
Maryland 48,840 $33.89 $70,480 1.914%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

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

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Dothan, AL 4,380 $25.39 $52,810 6.537%
Gainesville, FL 4,810 $28.54 $59,370 3.972%
Cumberland, MD-WV 1,390 $25.71 $53,470 3.772%
Charlottesville, VA 3,640 $28.43 $59,130 3.758%
Lima, OH 1,990 $25.68 $53,410 3.723%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 14,700 $45.95 $95,580 1.615%
Salinas, CA 2,320 $44.05 $91,610 1.485%
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division 17,110 $43.88 $91,260 1.663%
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 15,590 $43.36 $90,180 1.574%
Midland, TX 1,000 $41.95 $87,260 1.484%

About May 2007 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

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

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. 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.

Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2007 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2007 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 3, 2008