Looking for ICU Nurse Salary by Region?
The top pitches health care corporations use to gather new talent is by the variations in ICU nurse salary.
Salaries by region vary depending on the cost of living, location, local school system, among other factors.
Jump to your region:
Nationally, ICU Nurse Salaries Range From $55,000-$83,671
Nationally the average yearly ICU nurse salary ranges from $55,000-$83,671 according to job websites like simplehired.com, indeed.com, and careerbuilder.com.
The field of critical care nurses should expect a boom of growth between now and 2020 of approximately 26%, which is considered to be much higher than the average rate of growth for most other positions across the country.
When considering average salaries please be aware that every facility is different. Some will pay more or less, some facilities may have more fringe benefits (i.e. retirement options, school reimbursement, tenure bonuses), and regionally everything changes based on the standard of living standards. So when analyzing these averages, just know that they are truly just averages.
Northeast
The average ICU nurse salary in the Northeast is $64,860 per year.
In the Northeast, Critical Care nurses are handsomely rewarded for working in the ICU.
This is the highest average salary for an ICU by region. The highest paying area is in Washington D.C., where the ICU nurses average salaries at $80,000 per year.
Southeast
The average ICU nurse salary in this region is $62,666.
The Southeast is the 2nd best paying region of the country on average for Critical Care nurses.
The state that pays the best in this region is Georgia with average salaries at $73,000. With some of the best paying jobs in the state being located in Atlanta, this is no surprise.
Midwest
With the average yearly salary of $59,910 the Midwest, ICU nurses in the Midwest can expect a nice paycheck.
The Midwest is the 3rd best paying region in the country for ICU nurses.
While the majority of the states were right around the average amount per year for salaries, there is one outlier: Illinois – specifically the Chicago area – pays its ICU nurses the best on average coming in at $72,000 per year.
Southwest
While the average annual ICU nurse salary for in this region is $58,000, it really depends on what state you live in.
The Southwest region of the country has the largest variance in pay in the nation.
ICU nurses in California make on average $68,000 per year.
Northwest
The best-paying state in this region was Washington where their ICU nurses average $65,000 per year.
By averaging the 8 states in the Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming), the average ICU nurse salary is $53,750 per year.
These salaries are in direct correlation with the standard of living expenses around the region. The less the population in the area, the less amount of funding for facilities located there.
Choosing To Advance Your Nursing Career (And Education)
As you can see becoming an ICU nurse can be quite a lucrative career choice.
With a minimum requirement to attain one of these positions is an Associate’s in Nursing or a Diploma in Nursing, a Bachelor’s in Nursing or a Master’s in Nursing is preferred.
Attaining a position in critical care is a great move both professionally and for the paycheck.
References:
- NurseJournal.org. (n.d.). Critical Care Nurse Careers & Salary Outlook. Retrieved December 17, 2016, from http://nursejournal.org/critical-care-nursing/critical-care-nurse-careers-salary-outlook/
- Indeed.com. (n.d.). Critical Care Nurse- United States. Retrieved December 17, 2016, from https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=critical care nurse&l=United States&sort=date
- Careerbuilder.com. (n.d.). Critical Nurse Jobs- United States. Retrieved December 17, 2016, from http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs-critical-care-nurse-in-united-states?keywords=critical care nurse&location=United States
- Simplyhired.com. (n.d.). Critical Care Nurse Jobs in the United States. Retrieved December 17, 2016, from http://www.simplyhired.com/search?q=critical care nurse&l=United States
