Registered nurses working in the offices of nonphysician mental health practitioners are paid the most, on average, among all behavioral health settings, according to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment statistics survey.
RNs working in the offices of nonphysician mental health practitioners are paid an average of $46.21 per hour.
By comparison, the average hourly pay for registered nurses in the U.S. is $42.80, but there are significant variations between different settings.
Hourly wages for behavioral health RNs, by setting:
|
Occupation |
Hourly mean wage |
Hourly median wage |
|---|---|---|
|
Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) |
$46.21 |
$40.39 |
|
Hospitals |
$43.51 |
$39.54 |
|
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals |
$40.83 |
$38.30 |
|
Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities |
$39.66 |
$36.50 |
|
Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities |
$37.50 |
$35.71 |
|
Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers |
$37.21 |
$33.13 |
|
Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability Facilities |
$34.05 |
$32.61 |
The average hourly pay for nurse practitioners in the U.S. is $59.94, according to BLS data. The highest average hourly wage for both registered nurses and nurse practitioners is in California. RNs and NPs in South Dakota and Tennessee made the lowest hourly rates, respectively.
Average hourly wages for nurses by state in descending order, with ties denoted by asterisks:
|
State |
RN hourly mean wage |
Rank |
State |
NP hourly mean wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
California |
$64.10 |
1 |
California |
$76.02 |
|
Hawaii |
$54.43 |
2 |
New Jersey |
$68.87 |
|
Oregon |
$51.26 |
3 |
Massachusetts |
$66.68 |
|
Massachusetts |
$50.07 |
4 |
Oregon |
$65.51 |
|
Alaska |
$49.67 |
5 |
Nevada |
$65.49 |
|
Washington |
$48.88 |
6 |
Washington |
$65.19 |
|
New York |
$48.14 |
7 |
Connecticut |
$63.22 |
|
District of Columbia |
$47.23 |
8 |
District of Columbia |
$63.11 |
|
New Jersey |
$46.48 |
9 |
New Mexico |
$62.29 |
|
Nevada |
$46.30 |
10 |
Hawaii |
$61.69 |
|
Connecticut |
$45.32 |
11 |
Iowa* |
$61.62 |
|
Minnesota |
$42.72 |
12 |
Minnesota* |
$61.62 |
|
Rhode Island |
$42.43 |
13 |
New Hampshire |
$60.47 |
|
Maryland |
$42.30 |
14 |
Rhode Island |
$60.21 |
|
Arizona |
$41.70 |
15 |
Texas |
$59.93 |
|
Colorado |
$41.63 |
16 |
Illinois |
$58.81 |
|
New Mexico |
$41.15 |
17 |
Indiana* |
$58.53 |
|
Georgia |
$40.95 |
18 |
Oklahoma* |
$58.53 |
|
Delaware |
$40.88 |
19 |
Arizona |
$58.37 |
|
Texas |
$40.54 |
20 |
Wisconsin |
$58.27 |
|
New Hampshire |
$40.11 |
21 |
Delaware |
$57.97 |
|
Illinois |
$39.53 |
22 |
Pennsylvania |
$57.96 |
|
Virginia |
$39.36 |
23 |
Montana |
$57.67 |
|
Wyoming |
$38.95 |
24 |
Maryland |
$57.53 |
|
Wisconsin |
$38.94 |
25 |
Nebraska |
$57.20 |
|
Michigan |
$38.78 |
26 |
Maine |
$56.88 |
|
Pennsylvania |
$38.76 |
27 |
Louisiana |
$56.83 |
|
Vermont |
$38.46 |
28 |
Idaho |
$56.60 |
|
Florida |
$38.42 |
29 |
Ohio |
$56.46 |
|
Idaho |
$37.79 |
30 |
Mississippi |
$56.38 |
|
Ohio |
$37.72 |
31 |
Virginia |
$56.24 |
|
Montana |
$37.67 |
32 |
Vermont |
$56.06 |
|
Kentucky |
$37.32 |
33 |
Colorado |
$55.98 |
|
Maine* |
$37.22 |
34 |
Alaska |
$55.96 |
|
North Carolina* |
$37.22 |
35 |
South Dakota* |
$55.58 |
|
Oklahoma |
$36.98 |
36 |
Utah* |
$55.58 |
|
Utah |
$36.73 |
37 |
Georgia* |
$55.50 |
|
Louisiana |
$36.50 |
38 |
Wyoming* |
$55.40 |
|
Indiana |
$36.34 |
39 |
North Carolina |
$55.03 |
|
North Dakota |
$36.06 |
40 |
North Dakota |
$54.78 |
|
South Carolina |
$35.74 |
41 |
Michigan |
$54.70 |
|
Nebraska |
$35.34 |
42 |
Missouri |
$54.41 |
|
Tennessee |
$34.85 |
43 |
Kansas |
$53.69 |
|
West Virginia |
$34.73 |
44 |
Florida |
$53.04 |
|
Kansas |
$34.61 |
45 |
Kentucky |
$52.54 |
|
Missouri |
$34.55 |
46 |
South Carolina |
$52.47 |
|
Iowa |
$33.35 |
47 |
Arkansas |
$51.50 |
|
Mississippi |
$32.66 |
48 |
West Virginia |
$51.34 |
|
Alabama |
$32.17 |
49 |
Alabama |
$51.26 |
|
Arkansas |
$31.98 |
50 |
Tennessee |
$47.75 |
|
South Dakota |
$31.01 |
51 |
New York |
Data unavailable |