The minimum salary for nurses should be $50,000. This is an important issue because the pay for nurses is too low. Nurses are the most important people in hospitals, but they are paid very little. When a nurse is making $30,000 per year and their boss is making $100,000 per year, it creates a situation where the nurse can never get ahead. It also creates a situation where they are more likely to leave their job and find better opportunities elsewhere. Three main reasons why it needs to be raised include:
1) It is not fair that we don’t respect what they do enough to pay them enough money to live on while they work hard every day to help others
2) The quality of care will go down if we don’t pay them enough money so they can afford decent housing and other things that make life worth living
3) Nurses have been protesting this issue for years now but nothing has changed yet so it’s time for us all as citizens to take action together.
Minimum Salary For Nurses
What you can earn as a nurse depends on your education, experience, role, industry and locale. Your nursing career may begin as a certified nurse assistant or registered nurse, or perhaps you’ve earned a master’s in nursing and became a nurse practitioner.
Whatever your chosen pathway, it could be beneficial to research what the typical salary is for your career in your state of practice. Information on salary for the nursing careers below was last retrieved in February 2021 from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
Nationally, the 2019 mean pay for these nursing careers was as follows:
| Nursing Career | 2019 Mean Salary |
|---|---|
| Nursing Assistant (CNA) | $30,720 |
| Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurse (LPN/LVN) | $48,500 |
| Registered Nurse (RN) | $77,460 |
| Nurse Practitioners (NP) | $111,840 |
| Nurse Midwife (CNM) | $108,810 |
| Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) | $181,040 |
| Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary | $83,160 |
Annual mean salary for the above nursing careers was retrieved from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) May 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wages Estimates.
Mean Nursing Salary by State
| State | Nursing Assistant | LPN/LVN | RN | Nurse Practitioner | Nurse Midwife | Nurse Anesthetist | Nursing Instructor/Teacher, Postsecondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $24,590 | $39,310 | $60,230 | $99,570 | N/A | $157,430 | $71,020 |
| Alaska | $40,320 | $63,850 | $90,500 | $115,890 | $85,920 | N/A | $75,940 |
| Arizona | $32,640 | $54,290 | $78,330 | $111,480 | $117,700 | $144,530 | $81,110 |
| Arkansas | $25,950 | $40,760 | $61,330 | $105,840 | N/A | $182,960 | $55,170 |
| California | $36,630 | $60,240 | $113,240 | $138,660 | $154,500 | $227,290 | $101,930 |
| Colorado | $33,980 | $53,180 | $76,230 | $106,760 | $102,520 | $175,100 | $75,530 |
| Connecticut | $34,360 | $57,380 | $83,440 | $115,140 | $112,920 | $198,750 | $97,350 |
| Delaware | $31,770 | $53,520 | $74,100 | $112,430 | $95,110 | N/A | N/A |
| Florida | $27,790 | $45,580 | $67,610 | $101,510 | $84,270 | $160,030 | $122,050 |
| Georgia | $27,890 | $42,570 | $69,590 | $105,670 | $98,440 | $174,310 | $77,270 |
| Guam | $29,160 | $35,740 | $58,070 | $72,970 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Hawaii | $37,710 | $51,010 | $104,060 | $124,000 | N/A | $190,330 | $82,800 |
| Idaho | $28,950 | $46,430 | $69,480 | $110,860 | N/A | $150,670 | $76,690 |
| Illinois | $29,760 | $53,290 | $73,510 | $107,860 | $104,640 | $199,660 | $69,770 |
| Indiana | $28,610 | $46,050 | $66,560 | $106,380 | $112,010 | $165,770 | $83,880 |
| Iowa | $30,520 | $44,220 | $60,590 | $109,910 | $104,420 | $202,400 | $75,690 |
| Kansas | $27,280 | $44,260 | $62,450 | $100,550 | N/A | $162,010 | $68,090 |
| Kentucky | $27,280 | $42,740 | $63,750 | $99,560 | $105,890 | $167,400 | $72,240 |
| Louisiana | $23,340 | $40,300 | $65,850 | $106,240 | N/A | $158,500 | $67,080 |
| Maine | $30,770 | $46,930 | $69,760 | $106,960 | $115,200 | $188,840 | $59,220 |
| Maryland | $32,450 | $55,020 | $77,910 | $111,800 | $118,240 | $186,310 | $95,830 |
| Massachusetts | $35,040 | $60,340 | $93,160 | $122,240 | $107,150 | $201,890 | $88,260 |
| Michigan | $31,200 | $50,300 | $73,200 | $108,660 | $92,790 | $194,640 | $81,510 |
| Minnesota | $35,150 | $48,460 | $80,130 | $122,850 | $121,980 | $192,290 | $74,090 |
| Mississippi | $23,980 | $39,020 | $59,750 | $110,740 | $119,640 | $177,820 | $74,070 |
| Missouri | $26,490 | $43,410 | $64,160 | $105,050 | $114,140 | $161,420 | $73,300 |
| Montana | $30,440 | $44,730 | $69,340 | $109,120 | N/A | $239,380 | $77,770 |
| Nebraska | $29,920 | $44,450 | $66,640 | $105,450 | N/A | $179,450 | $75,520 |
| Nevada | $34,890 | $58,470 | $88,380 | $115,970 | N/A | N/A | $72,580 |
| New Hampshire | $33,430 | $54,220 | $73,880 | $110,680 | $108,050 | $196,000 | $72,890 |
| New Jersey | $31,190 | $57,510 | $84,280 | $123,810 | $117,280 | $193,900 | $87,120 |
| New Mexico | $28,850 | $48,330 | $73,300 | $111,930 | $98,750 | $162,320 | $67,120 |
| New York | $38,810 | $49,860 | $87,840 | $122,550 | $120,380 | $200,350 | $97,750 |
| North Carolina | $26,540 | $45,880 | $66,440 | $105,890 | $100,730 | $189,060 | $70,300 |
| North Dakota | $34,320 | $46,760 | $66,290 | $110,950 | N/A | $195,010 | $72,180 |
| Ohio | $28,690 | $45,020 | $68,220 | $103,780 | $103,930 | $184,380 | $79,360 |
| Oklahoma | $26,030 | $42,090 | $64,800 | $113,200 | N/A | $175,090 | $58,440 |
| Oregon | $34,780 | $54,740 | $92,960 | $113,430 | $113,580 | $234,750 | $83,900 |
| Pennsylvania | $31,590 | $49,200 | $71,410 | $101,950 | $98,680 | $174,240 | $81,760 |
| Puerto Rico | $22,540 | $23,170 | $35,040 | N/A | N/A | $54,690 | $35,980 |
| Rhode Island | $33,020 | $59,860 | $82,310 | $115,310 | $108,320 | N/A | $80,220 |
| South Carolina | $26,560 | $42,190 | $64,840 | $100,680 | $99,590 | $165,940 | $74,020 |
| South Dakota | $28,120 | $38,760 | $59,540 | $102,230 | N/A | $190,880 | $73,160 |
| Tennessee | $27,250 | $41,270 | $62,570 | $96,510 | $90,070 | $157,070 | $75,260 |
| Texas | $27,930 | $47,370 | $74,540 | $115,440 | $92,560 | $167,020 | $66,190 |
| Utah | $28,890 | $49,660 | $67,970 | $105,240 | $104,580 | $146,470 | $82,790 |
| Vermont | $31,710 | $50,210 | $70,240 | $105,840 | $94,850 | N/A | N/A |
| Virgin Islands | $31,150 | $48,420 | $68,500 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Virginia | $29,400 | $46,070 | $71,870 | $109,110 | $94,920 | $180,120 | $71,640 |
| Washington | $33,800 | $57,940 | $86,170 | $126,920 | $107,810 | $192,440 | $81,980 |
| Washington, D.C | $35,320 | $54,220 | $94,820 | $111,950 | $95,990 | N/A | $157,560 |
| West Virginia | $26,900 | $37,500 | $63,220 | $103,170 | N/A | $188,580 | $58,590 |
| Wisconsin | $31,280 | $46,550 | $72,610 | $112,130 | $115,100 | $233,600 | $83,690 |
| Wyoming | $31,930 | $46,980 | $68,690 | $118,110 | N/A | $243,310 | $66,880 |
