Personal Finance
Here’s How Well Nurses Are Paid In Rhode Island
Nurses in our state are on the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus. See how much they're paid in our state compared to others.
The coronavirus pandemic has placed a renewed focus on the value and importance of the more than 2.9 million nurses working in Rhode Island and other U.S. states.
And while a worker’s value isn’t necessarily tied to their salary, some states are better than others in providing competitive compensation to nurses, according to a new ranking by Business.org, a website that provides financial services advice to small businesses.
To determine which states offer nurses the best salaries, Business.org used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and compared the average salary of a registered nurse to all other occupations in that state.
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The site ranked the competitiveness of each state’s pay by comparing the average nurse’s salary to other occupations. It also took into account the median rent in that state, data the site obtained via the U.S. Census Bureau.
According to the ranking, Rhode Island is among those that offer the best compensation for nurses. Ocean State nurses earn an average $82,310 per year, or about 6 percent more than all other occupations in the state.
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Starting with the best, here’s a look at the 15 U.S. states that offer the most competitive compensation for nurses compared to other occupations:
- Hawaii
- Nevada
- California
- Oregon
- New Mexico
- Idaho
- Arizona
- Montana
- Alaska
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Wisconsin
- Texas
- South Carolina
- West Virginia
On the other hand, here are the states at the bottom of the list:
- Kansas (41st)
- Missouri (42nd)
- Alabama (43rd)
- Connecticut (44th)
- Illinois (45th)
- Colorado (46th)
- North Dakota (47th)
- Maryland (48th)
- Iowa (49th)
- Virginia (50th)
- District of Columbia (51st)
On average, U.S. nurses earn $77,460 per year — 45 percent more than the average salary for all other U.S. occupations.
Only 15 states pay more than the national average for nurses. Topping the list is California, where nurses earn $113,240 per year on average, or 29.6 percent more than all other occupations in the state.
See the full rankings online at Business.org.
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