The average hourly pay for nurses in the U.S. is $38.74 for registered nurses and $55.05 for nurse practitioners, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data — but that pay gap varies widely across the country.
The biggest hourly nursing pay gap in the country is in Mississippi, where NPs make $23.22 more than RNs. The smallest is in Hawaii, with a gap of only $6.71.
Here is the average hourly wage gap between NPs and RNs by state, in descending order:
|
State |
NP/RN wage gap |
|
Mississippi |
$23.22 |
|
Wyoming |
$22.22 |
|
Oklahoma |
$22.19 |
|
Iowa |
$21.80 |
|
New Jersey |
$21.72 |
|
Louisiana |
$21.09 |
|
Montana |
$21.08 |
|
Utah |
$20.76 |
|
Arkansas |
$20.46 |
|
Indiana |
$20.41 |
|
Idaho |
$20.32 |
|
South Dakota |
$20.25 |
|
North Dakota |
$19.93 |
|
New Mexico |
$19.88 |
|
Missouri |
$19.70 |
|
Maine |
$19.48 |
|
Kansas |
$19.38 |
|
West Virginia |
$19.28 |
|
Texas |
$19.19 |
|
Alabama |
$19.02 |
|
North Carolina |
$18.95 |
|
Wisconsin |
$18.40 |
|
Minnesota |
$18.24 |
|
Delaware |
$18.22 |
|
Nebraska |
$18.19 |
|
Kentucky |
$18.14 |
|
Illinois |
$18.02 |
|
Pennsylvania |
$17.98 |
|
Arizona |
$17.84 |
|
New York |
$17.63 |
|
New Hampshire |
$17.55 |
|
Vermont |
$17.38 |
|
Ohio |
$17.25 |
|
Virginia |
$16.96 |
|
Tennessee |
$16.95 |
|
Michigan |
$16.91 |
|
Washington |
$16.91 |
|
Georgia |
$16.69 |
|
Rhode Island |
$16.58 |
|
South Carolina |
$16.37 |
|
Maryland |
$16.17 |
|
Connecticut |
$15.36 |
|
Colorado |
$15.34 |
|
Florida |
$15.16 |
|
Nevada |
$14.49 |
|
Massachusetts |
$14.33 |
|
District of Columbia |
$12.55 |
|
California |
$12.22 |
|
Oregon |
$10.75 |
|
Alaska |
$7.20 |
|
Hawaii |
$6.71 |