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Median RN salaries in the United States rose by $5,000 from 2020 to 2021, while median advanced practice RN salaries jumped $13,000, according to the Nurse.com’s 2022 Nurse Salary Research Report. The report was based on the responses of 2,516 nurses to an online survey conducted in November and December of 2021. This and other data on nurses’ salaries are reported on in an article in AJN’s September In the News column.

Some other highlights from the report include:

  • Nurses in all regions of the United States reported gains except in the region comprising Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington DC, where the RN median salary dropped by $4,000 in 2020.
  • The median salary across all three licensed groups was $89,590 for union nurses compared with $75,000 for nonunion nurses.
  • The report suggests that a gender pay gap among RNs widened in 2021, with male RNs earning $14,000 higher than the median salary for female RNs. (However, the sample size of male respondents was disproportionately small, and differences in clinical setting, higher acuity specialties, and certification levels—all of which influence pay—were not explored.)

A temporary rise during Covid, or more lasting?

The article also pointed out that pay increases may be more reflective of the changes in nurse staffing brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic than of hospitals rewarding nurses’ hard work during this time. For example, critical care travel nurses were able to make as much as $10,000 per week during the pandemic, leading some hospitals to offer bonuses in order to retain their regular RN staff. Whether these gains will last after the pandemic remains to be seen.

Other topics covered in the September In the News includes an article on a dip in the RN workforce, bright spots in cancer research, and a roundup of the latest information on monkeypox.