Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2008
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) |
| 2,542,760 |
0.5 % |
$31.31 |
$65,130 |
0.2 % |
Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$20.87 |
$24.83 |
$30.03 |
$36.81 |
$44.35 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$43,410 |
$51,640 |
$62,450 |
$76,570 |
$92,240 |
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 |
1,458,520 |
$31.97 |
$66,490 |
| Offices of Physicians |
218,110 |
$31.28 |
$65,070 |
| Home Health Care Services |
130,860 |
$29.56 |
$61,490 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
124,590 |
$28.06 |
$58,360 |
| Employment Services |
91,980 |
$33.23 |
$69,110 |
Top paying industries for this occupation:
| Industry |
Employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage |
| Motion Picture and Video Industries |
30 |
$37.35 |
$77,690 |
| Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations |
770 |
$37.18 |
$77,330 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OES designation) |
57,070 |
$35.80 |
$74,460 |
| Other Investment Pools and Funds |
(8) |
$35.28 |
$73,380 |
| Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing |
50 |
$34.12 |
$70,970 |
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 |
10,010 |
$25.29 |
$52,600 |
2.528% |
| Massachusetts |
79,670 |
$38.17 |
$79,390 |
2.463% |
| Mississippi |
27,350 |
$27.00 |
$56,160 |
2.403% |
| Rhode Island |
11,360 |
$32.60 |
$67,810 |
2.374% |
| West Virginia |
16,910 |
$25.16 |
$52,340 |
2.356% |
Top paying States for this occupation:
| State |
Employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage |
Percent of State employment |
| California |
240,470 |
$39.92 |
$83,040 |
1.581% |
| Massachusetts |
79,670 |
$38.17 |
$79,390 |
2.463% |
| Hawaii |
8,760 |
$37.47 |
$77,950 |
1.430% |
| Maryland |
50,780 |
$35.75 |
$74,370 |
1.982% |
| New York |
168,850 |
$35.17 |
$73,160 |
1.956% |
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 |
| Rochester, MN |
6,450 |
(8) |
(8) |
6.227% |
| Gainesville, FL |
4,880 |
$29.36 |
$61,080 |
3.981% |
| La Crosse, WI-MN |
2,760 |
$30.50 |
$63,430 |
3.890% |
| Johnstown, PA |
2,220 |
$20.41 |
$42,440 |
3.839% |
| Cumberland, MD-WV |
1,400 |
$26.37 |
$54,850 |
3.826% |
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 |
14,590 |
$50.19 |
$104,400 |
1.579% |
| Visalia-Porterville, CA |
2,310 |
$49.84 |
$103,660 |
1.700% |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division |
15,370 |
$46.49 |
$96,700 |
1.512% |
| Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division |
17,410 |
$46.23 |
$96,150 |
1.679% |
| Napa, CA |
1,430 |
$42.77 |
$88,970 |
2.225% |
About May 2008 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.
(8) Estimate not released.
Other OES estimates and related information:
May 2008 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2008 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2008 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2008 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order
List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order
Download May 2008 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: May 04, 2009
