Health & Fitness

Here's How Well Nurses Are Paid In Virginia, DC

Nurses in VA and DC are on the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus. See how much they're paid in our state compared to others.

Nurses in northern Virginia and DC are on the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus. See how much they’re paid in our state compared to others.
Nurses in northern Virginia and DC are on the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus. See how much they’re paid in our state compared to others. (David Allen/Patch)

WASHINGTON, DC — The coronavirus pandemic has placed a renewed focus on the value and importance of the more than 2.9 million nurses working in the District of Columbia, Virginia 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 then ranked the competitiveness of each state’s pay by comparing the average nurse’s salary to the median rent in that state, data the site obtained via the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to the ranking, both DC and Virginia are among states that offer the worst compensation for nurses. The average salary for nurses in Virginia is $71,870 a year, and $94,820 in the District.

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On average, U.S. nurses earn an average $77,460 per year — 45 percent more than the average salary for all other U.S. occupations. In Virginia, nurses earn an average 26.7 percent more than all other occupations in the state, and DC nurses only earn 5.6 percent more than all other jobs.

Only 15 states pay more than the national average for nurses. Topping the list is Hawaii, where nurses earn $104,060 per year on average, or 89 percent more than all other occupations in the state.

Starting with the highest-paying state, here’s a look at the 15 states where nurses make more than the national average:

  1. Hawaii
  2. Nevada
  3. California
  4. Oregon
  5. New Mexico
  6. Idaho
  7. Arizona
  8. Montana
  9. Alaska
  10. Louisiana
  11. Mississippi
  12. Wisconsin
  13. Texas
  14. South Carolina
  15. 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)

See the full rankings online at Business.org.


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