Nurse Practitioner Salaries

The salary of registered nurses (RNs) has always been a much talked about subject and statistics indicate that it is indeed a lucrative profession.  The salaries of registered nurse practitioners also depend a great deal on the kind of jobs they perform.  It is obvious that a registered nurse who performs advanced functions and one who is highly qualified will definitely be paid more.  In addition to the job functions, the salary of nurse practitioners also depends upon other factors like the qualifications and work experience of the nurses, the place where they work and the place where they reside.

The demand for registered nurses, hence their salaries depend on locations  also the state and city in which they are residing.  In certain cities and states, the cost of living is very high and therefore the registered nurses have to be paid a high salary.  In most cases, the salary of the registered nurse also depends upon the duration of the day and nurses working during nights and attending emergencies tend to get paid more.

As discussed earlier, the registered nurses performing the toughest tasks tend to get paid more.  For example, a nurse working in an elementary school will draw a much lower salary than the registered nurse working in the delivery and labor department.  A nurse working in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital is well paid due to the complex and intense functions performed by them.  In the same way, nurses working in the houses of patients are paid much less than the nurses working in city hospitals.

One of the main reasons for RNs drawing high salaries is due to the shortage of nursing staff.  The nurses are able to negotiate a better deal and the hospitals are also willing to pay well for the qualified candidates.  At many places, the registered nurses are offered a high bonus of ten thousand dollars while signing the appointment letter.  At some places, the bonus offered during the time of signing the appointment letter stands at a whopping fifty thousand dollars.

Registered Nurse Salaries by State

Let us now take a look at the salary structure of  RNs in some of the states.  It has been reported that the base salary stands at a whopping $75,000 for a registered nurse in California.  For the state of Indiana, the base salary is a good $55,000.  According to a reliable source, in Boston, the registered nurses earn anywhere between $70,000 to a high $83,000., and in the southern states, the average salaries of registered nurses is marginally lower than their counterparts in Boston and California.  For the southern states of Georgia and Atlanta, the average salary of nurse practitioners was put at $64,000.  The average salary of a registered nurse in Mississippi was reported at $53,000.  For the states of Nebraska and Omaha, the average salary of a RN stands at an impressive $60,000.