We all know there is a shortage of registered nurses. In fact, there is a shortage of nearly every level of nurse or nursing assistant, beginning with certified nursing assistants. Is the issue salary or is it something else altogether?

What prevents young people from going into the nursing field? It has been suggested that salary has less to do with the change in career paths than other concerns, such as the desire to enter a field that is less physical and requires less effort. 

If salary is a consideration of yours, we’d like to address your concerns and tell you honestly what to expect.

Dependent upon where you will be working once you’ve graduated from nursing school, your salary will vary greatly.

In the United States according to the NurseSalaryGuide.net, the national average salary for a registered nurse is about $67,930.

Larger cities and very rural areas, of course, will net a higher level of compensation in many cases.  Nursing reports some of the highest wages in the country in the most recent Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Report.

Of course, various states will pay a great deal more or a great deal less. Here are some of the top states—and the bottom states across the country for salaries for nursing professionals.

California ranks number one in salary and nursing compensation. The average salary for registered nursing professionals in California is $100,460. With approximately 275,000 nurses in California, they are commanding an average hourly wage of $48.50.

Hawaii, Oregon and Alaska come in next at $91,020, $88,010 and $85,300 respectively.

On the lower end of the scale, we find South Dakota at approximately $54,000. South Dakota boasts about 12,000 registered nurses and they earn an average of $26 dollars per hour. This is about half of the higher-level states and about 80 % of the national average.

The other three lower-end nursing pay areas include Iowa at  $55,000, Alabama at $55,500 per year and Mississippi at $55,800 per year.

The remainder of the states fall somewhere in the middle, with about 1/3 falling below the national average and the remainder above or level with that average.