The minimum cost of living in many states in the U.S. eats up the majority of the average nurse salary, according to data from ZipRecruiter and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage Calculator.
Hawaii is the most costly, with minimum living expenses taking up 81 percent of the average nurse salary for those who are single with no children. That means they are left with only $10,763 for the year after minimum living expenses are paid.
The minimum cost of living in each state was provided by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage Calculator. The cost of living is for a single adult with no children, before taxes.
|
State |
Avg. annual nurse salary |
Avg. cost of living |
CoL salary burden |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Hawaii |
$56,510 |
$45,747 |
81% |
|
New Jersey |
$53,207 |
$42,775 |
80.4% |
|
Oregon |
$51,027 |
$40,587 |
79.5% |
|
California |
$58,179 |
$45,382 |
78% |
|
Massachusetts |
$58,450 |
$45,517 |
77.9% |
|
Florida |
$47,702 |
$35,858 |
75.2% |
|
New York |
$62,387 |
$45,738 |
73.3% |
|
Georgia |
$50,611 |
$36,686 |
72.5% |
|
Connecticut |
$54,876 |
$39,526 |
72% |
|
Minnesota |
$51,955 |
$36,898 |
71% |