Nurses Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

Data from 2008 shows about 2,505,000 jobs for nurses in the US. This job is ranked very low for unemployment. On the order of 1% of employees could not find work in 2008.

Area Job Conditions

Rochester (Minnesota), Cumberland (Maryland), and Gainesville (Florida) can boast the most nurses for their size. Austin (Texas), Midland (Texas), and Dalton (Georgia) have the fewest per capita.

The highest salaries for workers are found in San Jose (California), San Francisco (California), and Oakland (California), and the lowest-paying areas are in Johnstown (Pennsylvania), Davenport (Iowa), and Punta Gorda (Florida).

Training and Education

Many employers require that job applicants for this career have an associate degree. The percentage of nurses with a bachelor's degree or better is 56%. Approximately 43% of workers went to college, but did not have to get a four year degree. Completing high school was all that was needed for 1% of employees. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

About 22% of people in this field work less than full time. Self-employment is the path of choice for 1% of workers.

Nurses: An Introductory Video

Nurses Around the Country

In the list below, each metro area is rated for the relative popularity of nurses compared to other locations (that is, jobs per population). Single or double up or down arrows indicate the relative popularity in that location. Within each state listing, metro areas are sorted by the actual number of jobs for nurses.

Alabama

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Birmingham	$58,000	13,810
Mobile	$55,000	4,690
Huntsville	$58,000	3,990
Montgomery	$59,000	3,010
Tuscaloosa	$57,000	2,130
Dothan	$52,000	1,540
Florence	$51,000	1,330
Anniston	$62,000	1,030
Decatur	$53,000	1,010
Gadsden	$56,000	980
Auburn	$53,000	680

Alaska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Anchorage	$74,000	3,460

Arizona

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Phoenix	$66,000	24,130
Tucson	$64,000	7,690
Prescott	$63,000	1,310
Flagstaff		1,080
Kingman	$60,000	1,020
Yuma	$62,000	930

Arkansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Little Rock	$62,000	9,300
Fayetteville	$52,000	2,550
Fort Smith	$52,000	2,470
Hot Springs	$53,000	1,160
Jonesboro	$50,000	890

California

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
San Diego	$79,000	24,380
Santa Ana	$76,000	22,670
Riverside	$75,000	20,790
Oakland	$96,000	17,410
San Francisco	$97,000	15,370
San Jose	$104,000	14,590
Sacramento	$85,000	13,920
Fresno	$78,000	5,190
Oxnard	$73,000	4,560
Stockton	$75,000	3,590
Santa Rosa	$84,000	3,200
Modesto	$87,000	3,040
Vallejo	$85,000	3,010
Bakersfield	$75,000	2,990
Visalia	$104,000	2,310
Salinas	$88,000	2,300
Santa Barbara	$81,000	2,250
San Luis Obispo	$77,000	1,660
Chico	$80,000	1,640
Napa	$89,000	1,430
Madera	$73,000	1,310
Santa Cruz	$88,000	1,300
Hanford	$82,000	800
Yuba City	$64,000	790
Redding	$76,000	760
El Centro	$69,000	660

Colorado

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Denver	$67,000	21,500
Colorado Springs	$59,000	4,630
Fort Collins	$62,000	2,750
Boulder	$68,000	2,610
Pueblo	$60,000	1,840
Greeley	$65,000	1,070
Grand Junction	$61,000	820

Connecticut

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Hartford	$72,000	12,850
Bridgeport	$70,000	7,830
New Haven	$72,000	7,200
Norwich	$66,000	2,400
Waterbury	$70,000	1,930
Danbury	$70,000	1,230

Delaware

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wilmington	$69,000	7,530

District of Columbia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Washington	$73,000	28,600

Florida

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Tampa	$61,000	22,540
Miami	$69,000	20,130
Orlando	$58,000	15,470
Fort Lauderdale	$64,000	13,430
Jacksonville	$60,000	11,560
West Palm Beach	$63,000	10,310
Sarasota	$57,000	5,230
Cape Coral	$65,000	5,140
Gainesville	$61,000	4,880
Palm Bay	$59,000	4,260
Pensacola	$57,000	3,680
Lakeland	$57,000	3,680
Deltona	$60,000	3,120
Tallahassee	$55,000	2,980
Port St Lucie	$60,000	2,240
Naples	$65,000	2,210
Ocala	$60,000	1,950
Punta Gorda	$45,000	1,430
Panama City	$51,000	1,400
Sebastian	$56,000	1,220
Fort Walton Beach	$54,000	1,100

Georgia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Atlanta	$62,000	33,050
Augusta	$61,000	5,500
Savannah	$69,000	3,630
Macon	$60,000	3,350
Columbus	$59,000	2,100
Athens	$56,000	1,800
Gainesville	$59,000	1,500
Albany	$50,000	1,440
Rome	$57,000	1,220
Valdosta	$52,000	1,070
Brunswick	$54,000	850
Dalton	$52,000	670
Hinesville		190

Hawaii

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Honolulu	$80,000	6,490

Idaho

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boise	$59,000	5,890
Coeur Dalene		820
Idaho Falls	$53,000	760
Lewiston	$55,000	670
Pocatello	$60,000	550

Illinois

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Chicago	$68,000	71,170
Peoria	$54,000	5,260
Rockford	$58,000	3,210
Springfield	$60,000	2,600
Champaign	$63,000	1,740
Bloomington	$53,000	800
Danville	$62,000	480

Indiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Indianapolis	$62,000	19,600
Gary	$61,000	6,130
Fort Wayne	$52,000	4,800
Evansville	$52,000	3,810
South Bend	$54,000	2,500
Elkhart	$64,000	2,020
Terre Haute	$55,000	1,330
Lafayette	$54,000	1,270
Muncie	$54,000	1,230
Bloomington	$53,000	1,220
Anderson	$56,000	870
Kokomo	$52,000	840
Michigan City	$58,000	810
Columbus	$58,000	650

Iowa

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Des Moines	$53,000	6,170
Davenport	$46,000	3,540
Cedar Rapids	$50,000	2,600
Waterloo	$49,000	1,890
Sioux City	$48,000	1,460
Dubuque	$50,000	1,150
Ames	$56,000	710

Kansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wichita	$53,000	5,510
Topeka	$55,000	2,530
Lawrence	$54,000	580

Kentucky

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Louisville	$58,000	14,590
Lexington	$64,000	6,590
Owensboro	$50,000	1,520
Bowling Green	$57,000	1,100
Elizabethtown	$57,000	990

Louisiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
New Orleans	$65,000	11,260
Baton Rouge	$57,000	7,040
Shreveport	$57,000	4,500
Lafayette	$64,000	2,850
Alexandria	$53,000	2,280
Monroe	$60,000	2,220
Lake Charles	$57,000	1,820
Houma	$57,000	1,310

Maine

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$64,000	4,510
Bangor	$58,000	1,490
Lewiston	$59,000	1,370

Maryland

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Baltimore	$75,000	30,810
Bethesda	$80,000	9,460
Hagerstown	$60,000	1,990
Cumberland	$55,000	1,400
Salisbury	$67,000	1,330

Massachusetts

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boston	$85,000	45,540
Worcester	$76,000	6,960
Springfield	$67,000	6,600
Framingham	$76,000	2,660
Barnstable Town	$72,000	2,330
Brockton	$72,000	2,190
Lowell	$71,000	1,910
Lawrence	$76,000	1,850
New Bedford	$65,000	1,560
Haverhill	$60,000	1,510
Leominster	$67,000	1,060
Taunton	$75,000	720

Michigan

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Warren	$67,000	19,440
Detroit	$67,000	18,280
Grand Rapids	$59,000	7,380
Ann Arbor	$67,000	6,080
Lansing	$62,000	4,690
Flint	$62,000	3,930
Kalamazoo	$64,000	3,280
Muskegon	$55,000	1,700
Niles	$58,000	1,310
Battle Creek	$62,000	1,230
Holland	$56,000	1,090
Bay City	$64,000	720
Monroe	$57,000	500

Minnesota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Minneapolis	$72,000	34,700
Rochester		6,450
Duluth	$72,000	3,610
St Cloud	$72,000	2,080

Mississippi

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Jackson	$59,000	7,270
Gulfport	$57,000	2,600
Hattiesburg	$54,000	2,030
Pascagoula	$55,000	1,420

Missouri

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
St Louis	$58,000	29,950
Kansas City	$60,000	19,900
Springfield	$53,000	4,730
Columbia	$57,000	2,900
Joplin	$51,000	1,760
Jefferson City	$53,000	1,260
St Joseph		1,160

Montana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Billings	$59,000	1,750
Missoula	$57,000	1,180
Great Falls	$56,000	850

Nebraska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Omaha	$57,000	10,200
Lincoln		3,390

Nevada

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Las Vegas	$71,000	11,570
Reno	$71,000	3,010
Carson City	$66,000	580

New Hampshire

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Nashua	$61,000	2,290
Manchester	$65,000	2,210
Rochester	$55,000	1,020
Portsmouth	$62,000	630

New Jersey

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Newark	$76,000	19,540
Edison	$72,000	19,410
Camden	$70,000	10,910
Trenton	$66,000	4,390
Atlantic City	$68,000	2,760
Vineland	$66,000	1,270
Ocean City	$63,000	610

New Mexico

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Albuquerque	$65,000	5,970
Las Cruces	$60,000	1,100
Santa Fe	$59,000	940
Farmington	$61,000	850

New York

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
New York	$82,000	97,790
Nassau	$76,000	25,630
Buffalo	$59,000	11,470
Rochester	$59,000	10,300
Albany	$59,000	8,810
Syracuse	$56,000	5,730
Poughkeepsie	$69,000	4,790
Utica	$54,000	3,250
Binghamton	$55,000	2,360
Kingston	$59,000	1,090
Glens Falls	$56,000	1,060
Elmira	$53,000	700
Ithaca	$55,000	680

North Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Charlotte	$58,000	16,400
Durham	$60,000	10,500
Raleigh	$62,000	8,230
Winston Salem	$58,000	6,570
Greensboro	$58,000	6,210
Asheville	$59,000	4,870
Hickory	$55,000	3,330
Wilmington	$56,000	2,920
Fayetteville	$59,000	2,640
Greenville	$56,000	2,370
Rocky Mount	$57,000	1,140
Goldsboro	$58,000	1,110
Burlington	$54,000	1,070
Jacksonville	$61,000	680

North Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Bismarck	$50,000	1,730
Fargo	$59,000	1,580
Grand Forks	$65,000	950

Ohio

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Cleveland	$62,000	25,030
Cincinnati	$61,000	21,230
Columbus	$60,000	16,750
Dayton	$58,000	10,440
Toledo	$56,000	8,550
Akron	$59,000	7,450
Youngstown	$52,000	4,870
Canton	$58,000	3,760
Lima	$55,000	2,010
Mansfield	$61,000	1,120
Springfield	$51,000	990
Sandusky	$55,000	640

Oklahoma

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Oklahoma City	$53,000	10,980
Tulsa	$51,000	7,060
Lawton	$57,000	700

Oregon

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$74,000	18,430
Eugene	$71,000	2,700
Salem	$69,000	2,240
Medford	$69,000	1,750
Bend	$72,000	1,260
Corvallis	$73,000	710

Pennsylvania

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Philadelphia	$68,000	42,740
Pittsburgh	$59,000	30,790
Allentown	$62,000	7,530
Harrisburg	$60,000	6,460
Scranton	$58,000	5,840
Lancaster	$63,000	3,950
York	$61,000	3,470
Erie	$55,000	3,140
Reading	$61,000	2,610
Johnstown	$42,000	2,220
Altoona	$52,000	1,350
State College	$51,000	1,180
Williamsport	$55,000	1,020
Lebanon	$62,000	970

Rhode Island

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Providence	$68,000	13,600

South Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Charleston	$60,000	8,490
Columbia	$58,000	7,400
Greenville	$58,000	5,430
Florence	$58,000	2,480
Spartanburg	$56,000	2,440
Myrtle Beach	$50,000	1,560
Sumter	$58,000	590

South Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Sioux Falls	$55,000	4,320
Rapid City	$58,000	1,640

Tennessee

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Nashville	$62,000	19,510
Memphis	$61,000	13,520
Knoxville	$55,000	7,730
Chattanooga	$59,000	5,680
Kingsport	$52,000	2,730
Johnson City	$57,000	2,330
Jackson	$52,000	1,900
Clarksville	$54,000	800
Cleveland	$56,000	600
Morristown	$54,000	600

Texas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Houston	$66,000	41,340
Dallas	$65,000	31,530
San Antonio	$60,000	14,160
Fort Worth	$60,000	13,140
Austin	$60,000	8,700
El Paso	$57,000	4,190
Mcallen	$63,000	3,730
Killeen	$61,000	3,280
Lubbock	$54,000	3,140
Tyler	$55,000	3,080
Corpus Christi	$55,000	3,060
Beaumont	$58,000	2,570
Amarillo	$57,000	2,310
Brownsville	$63,000	2,280
Waco	$63,000	1,950
College Station	$61,000	1,670
Sherman	$54,000	1,390
Abilene	$56,000	1,380
Texarkana	$58,000	1,280
Longview	$59,000	1,260
Victoria	$49,000	1,220
Wichita Falls	$54,000	1,160
Odessa	$58,000	1,050
San Angelo	$56,000	1,020
Laredo	$60,000	970
Midland		590

Utah

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Salt Lake City	$60,000	9,000
Provo	$58,000	2,880
Ogden	$55,000	2,690
Logan	$55,000	520

Vermont

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Burlington	$66,000	2,080

Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Richmond	$61,000	12,380
Virginia Beach	$59,000	12,280
Roanoke	$55,000	3,620
Charlottesville	$63,000	3,450
Lynchburg	$59,000	2,630
Winchester		1,320
Blacksburg	$52,000	930
Harrisonburg	$56,000	790
Danville	$65,000	440

Washington

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Seattle	$75,000	23,570
Tacoma	$73,000	6,370
Spokane	$68,000	5,220
Yakima	$63,000	1,720
Bremerton	$68,000	1,620
Olympia	$72,000	1,490
Kennewick	$62,000	1,400
Mount Vernon	$69,000	960
Wenatchee	$65,000	950
Longview	$69,000	690

West Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Huntington	$57,000	3,880
Charleston	$54,000	3,500
Wheeling	$47,000	1,770
Parkersburg	$50,000	1,700
Weirton	$53,000	1,360

Wisconsin

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Milwaukee	$62,000	17,280
Madison	$68,000	6,100
Green Bay	$61,000	3,060
La Crosse	$63,000	2,760
Eau Claire	$61,000	1,850
Appleton	$60,000	1,640
Oshkosh	$61,000	1,630
Racine	$60,000	1,400
Wausau	$61,000	1,250
Janesville	$62,000	1,160
Sheboygan	$58,000	830
Fond	$58,000	700

Wyoming

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Cheyenne	$59,000	900
Casper	$56,000	800

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