Best states for nurses cost of living 2022

The state where average nurse pay goes the furthest is Kentucky, according to data from ZipRecruiter and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage Calculator.

The minimum cost of living for many states in the U.S. eats up most of the average nurse salary, with Kentucky being the most affordable. Nurses in the state who are single with no children are left with $26,294, or 45 percent of their annual pay, after minimum living expenses.

The minimum cost of living in each state was provided by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage Calculator. The cost of living is for a single adult with no children, before taxes.

The average hourly pay for registered nurses in the U.S. is $39.78,  according to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment statistics survey. Wages and living costs vary from place to place, however.

The highest average hourly wage for RNs is in California, but the state also holds the nation's third-highest cost of living after Hawaii and Massachusetts, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. Even still, after adjusting for cost of living, RNs in California are paid the most, on average, of any state. Texas' low cost of living puts it at a close second.

Hawaii's sky-high living expenses means that even though it pays RNs the second-most of any state, after adjusting for cost of living, RNs there make the least of any state.

Here is every state, ranked by its living cost-adjusted average RN wage:

Rank

State

RN hourly

mean wage

Cost of living vs. US avg.

COL-adjusted RN wage

1

California

$59.62

+39.8%

$42.65

2

Texas

$38.04

-9.1%

$41.85

3

Minnesota

$40.40

-3.2%

$41.74

4

Georgia

$36.24

-12.2%

$41.28

5

Illinois

$37.63

-8.6%

$41.17

6

Nevada

$42.69

+5.4%

$40.50

7

Washington

$45.84

+13.9%

$40.25

8

New Mexico

$37.31

-6.4%

$39.86

9

Michigan

$36.51

-8.4%

$39.86

10

Oregon

$47.42

+20.6%

$39.32

11

Wisconsin

$36.95

-5.2%

$38.98

12

Wyoming

$35.16

-8.2%

$38.30

13

Oklahoma

$32.78

-14.3%

$38.25

14

Ohio

$34.44

-8%

$37.43

15

Pennsylvania

$36.54

-2.1%

$37.32

16

Indiana

$33.12

-11.1%

$37.26

17

Kansas

$32.00

-13.6%

$37.04

18

Colorado

$38.78

+5.1%

$36.90

19

Alaska

$46.74

+26.7%

$36.89

20

Missouri

$32.59

-11.4%

$36.78

21

West Virginia

$32.52

-11.5%

$36.75

22

Nebraska

$33.58

-8.5%

$36.70

23

Arizona

$39.23

+6.9%

$36.70

24

Connecticut

$42.56

+16.7%

$36.47

25

Louisiana

$33.84

-7.2%

$36.47

26

New Jersey

$43.12

+18.6%

$36.36

27

North Carolina

$34.23

-5%

$36.03

28

Rhode Island

$40.99

+13.8%

$36.02

29

Delaware

$37.39

+3.9%

$35.99

30

Tennessee

$32.06

-10.5%

$35.82

31

Mississippi

$30.35

-15.1%

$35.75

32

Virginia

$36.87

+3.2%

$35.73

33

Idaho

$35.41

-0.3%

$35.52

34

South Carolina

$33.45

-5.8%

$35.51

35

North Dakota

$34.23

-3.3%

$35.40

36

Arkansas

$31.64

-10.1%

$35.19

37

Iowa

$31.25

-11%

$35.11

38

Utah

$34.99

+2.4%

$34.17

39

Alabama

$29.77

-12.5%

$34.02

40

Kentucky

$32.34

-4.8%

$33.97

41

Montana

$35.39

+4.8%

$33.77

42

Florida

$34.62

+3%

$33.61

43

New Hampshire

$37.63

+13.2%

$33.24

44

New York

$44.86

+36.8%

$32.79

45

Maryland

$39.74

+25.1%

$31.77

46

Massachusetts

$46.46

+47.9%

$31.41

47

South Dakota

$29.11

-6.2%

$31.03

48

Vermont

$36.13

+16.7%

$30.96

49

Maine

$35.40

+16.9%

$30.28

50

Hawaii

$51.22

+89.9%

$26.97

Methodology

Figures in the far right column are calculated by multiplying the state's average RN wage and its cost of living modifier. The resulting figure is then multiplied by 100 to convert it back into a dollar amount.

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