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Top 10 Best and Worst States to Be a Nurse
AllHealthcare.com and CareerVoyages.gov
There is a projected need for 1,001,000 nurses needed in the United States by 2016. Nurses are one of the most in demand professions in America, but with so many job openings, it begs the question: Where should you work? AllHealthcare is committed to providing its members with the most most pertinent career research available. Below is the 10 best and worst places to be a Nurse based on salary and job openings.
Top 10 Highest Nurse Paying States
| State | Salary (hourly) |
| 1. California | $25.45 |
| 2. Hawaii | $24.76 |
| 3. Massachusetts | $23.38 |
| 4. New Jersey | $23.33 |
| 5. Alaska | $23.09 |
| 6. Delaware | $22.98 |
| 7. Oregon | $22.91 |
| 8. Nevada | $22.83 |
| 9. Maryland | $22.79 |
| 10. Connecticut | $22.62 |
lisayates
about 1 month ago
2 comments
I agree with most of you on yhe ? of lpn-lvn-rn I have worked also with the best and the worst on all leveals i also am going to school to become an RN woumb care is my stuff any who i strongly fell thay should req, all nurses to have at least 2 years of cna exp. before thay can go on in there nursing i dont mean just go to collage get you hrs. in and get to go on i mean at least 2 years one spot in house hands on down to done it seen it , i have worked with some of the dumbest nurses you cant change a depends or put someone on a bed pan cause thats not you job look here we are all doing the same thing careing for someone who is in need so roll up your sleve put on your gloves and work dont just sit behind the desk and get all the credit, i have work at the same job for 18 years i have seen it all and done it all but thats just my appion.
evolutions
about 1 month ago
12 comments
I think that in Philadelphia it pays more than 25.45
kmyersfnp
about 1 month ago
2 comments
I fail to see why LVN/LPN's believe they should be "grandfatthered in" as an RN after so many years. If you truly want to be an RN then go to school for it. No one is entitled to these things and RN's learn much more in their education than LVN's. I'm sorry but I'm being honest. I have worked with some great LPN's before as well as some terrible ones and the same is true for RN's. You can't expect to be an RN if you don't go to school and put in the hard work. I'm sure you all give excellent care as LVN's, but that does not make up for the knowledge that you will gain when going through RN school. I'm a recent graduate of a Nurse Practitioner program in California, should the medical board grandfather me in to being a doctor after I have put in some years. Of course they should not, because I did not go to med school and earn the degree. I graduated with an ADN first, and then I had to go back and get my BSN, which also took time, money and hard work to complete all of the course work and work full time. After this I worked for a few years and now have my MSN. I nor anyone else got those degrees via some loophole such a grandfathering. I think it's great that you want to become RN's as I think LVN's work equally as hard as RN's, but RN's also have more knowledge when it comes to providing care for patients. My unsolicited advice to you would be to go back to nursing school for your RN. You will be more confident and will know that you earned that right to be an RN, instead of someone giving it to you for free. Just think about how much easier school will be for you than the average person going in with no experience.
Do the right thing and go back to school!
kmyersfnp
kenra
4 months ago
2 comments
I am an LPN in B'ham, Al, and I find it insulting to the belittling of LPN's in this way Dee R; where I graduated from we were taught theory and critical thinking is something that I do on a daily basis. We are more then caregivers trained to practice, We sit for a national board(NCLEX) just as RN's do. Before the year 2000, I know for a fact that it was LPN's training for new RN graduates in the major hospitals in B'ham. So don't count us as glorified CNA's , but as professionals in the world of nursing. I work in the ER, where I am paid $25.00 an hour and I have been a nurse for 5 years. ----- KENRA
mortimp1
8 months ago
2 comments
I agree with 63 Spitfire and don't feel LPNs should be grandfathered in, although I work with some LPNs who are wonderful nurses, they themselves feel unprepared to work in certain units such as mine, the ICU. I also have $40,000 in school loans supporting nursing theory.
DeeR
about 1 year ago
4 comments
"LPNs/LVNs are not 'prepared' in the same encompassing manner as RNs. An LPN - Licensed Practical Nurse - is just that, a caregiver who has been trained in practice - not theory."
I'm kind of new here! Can I ask what theory you mean when you say LVN's and LPN's are not trained in theory? I'm going through VN school now in California and I get 15 months of nursing "Theory" 4 days a week. Is there another "Theory" I should mention to the school director they are not teaching us in VN school?
Oh, and by the way I have an Aunt that is an LPN in New York's Metropolitan Hospital for 20 years, where do you work in New York?
healthcare_educator
about 1 year ago
2 comments
I agree with 63Spitfire and DDavis. One does not know what the wages posted represent - all inclusive (any category with the word nurse in it) average for the state, base pay for someone fresh out of school with no experience, etc. I have been in healthcare for over 20 years and know for a fact that new grads in my region of NY, start at rates equal to or higher than what you have posted for California.
I however, disagree with the comments stating that LPNs/LVNs should be grandfathered in as RNs with all the same rights after so many years. The nursing profession has changed drastically over the past few decades and LPNs/LVNs are not 'prepared' in the same encompassing manner as RNs. An LPN - Licensed Practical Nurse - is just that, a caregiver who has been trained in practice - not theory. Again, I know for a fact in my region of NY, LPNs are not utilized in the hospital settings anymore as they are not licensed to perform all that an RN, or even GN for that matter, are to do.
63Spitfire
about 1 year ago
2 comments
A simple listing of pay rates is not very useful for a number of reasons:
1. There is no allowance for the cost of living in different areas of the country. I know for a fact that $23.33 goes a whole lot further in Mississippi than it does in New Jersey - I've lived in both places., California and Hawaii are two of the most expensive places to live in the country, so I would expect them to pay more. I would be willing to bet that much of the difference between the pay rates would even out if you factored in the cost of living.
2. With no information about how these numbers were derived it is hard to know hoe representative they really are. I am a RN at Blair Batson Children's Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi and am paid considerably more than $16.42 shown for Mississippi. Is it the mean acorss the entire state? Does it include LPN's?
Frankly this "article" makes a great headline, but is pretty much useless otherwise.
missy43
about 1 year ago
2 comments
I agree with the comments made about LPNs not being recognized as nurses when a magazine or article refers to a "Nurse." I make $19.75/hr. as a MDS Coordinator in Jackson MS. & have always been highly complimented on my assessment & hands-on nursing skills. I feel that after 12 years of nursing $19.75/hr. is rather pathetic. I agree that after a certain number of years, a LPN should be grand-fathered into RN status & pay. I have seen RNs practice that I would be terrified to have as my nurse in a hospital setting.
leaf
about 1 year ago
8 comments
I completely agree with the LPNS. I'm an LVN in California. I'm a occupational nurse. I only make 21/HR. LVNS are not represented at all. We are always below the rest. 22 years of excellent nursing I have givin to my patients. My pay gets less and less. All LVNS need to be grand- fathered into an RN after so many years.
AnitaK
about 1 year ago
2 comments
I agree with your comment D Davis. I am an L.P.N. in Ohio and make $23.89/hr. I would think more of this publication if they would include L.P.N.'s when they refer to nurses.
caringnurse
about 1 year ago
2 comments
I AGREE WITH YOUR COMMENT D DAVIS AS IAM A LPN IN NJ AND EARN $23.00/HR
ddavis
about 1 year ago
2 comments
When you are quoting this information, you should differentiate between registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, because there is a pay difference between an LPN and RN and this does not indicate which type of nurse you are referring to.