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Median pay
$93,600
Median annual pay for Registered Nurse.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024
Employment security is exceptional, but workload, burnout, and retention are central career risks rather than footnotes.
Employment security is exceptional, but workload, burnout, and retention are central career risks rather than footnotes.
The measurable baseline is $93,600 median pay, 4.9% projected employment change from 2024 to 2034, and about 189,100 annual openings. Those figures establish the national baseline; the occupation-specific evidence on this page is what makes the decision more useful than a generic profile.
The national median-pay figure in the current ChooseField dataset is $93,600. The 2024 self-employed share is 0.5%, which matters because self-employment can make outcomes less uniform across workers. A national median is a benchmark, not a personal forecast: experience, geography, employer type, specialty, credentials, and hours can move actual compensation materially.
BLS data in the ChooseField corpus put 2024 employment at 3,391,000 and projected 2034 employment at 3,557,100. That corresponds to 4.9% projected growth over the decade. BLS projects about 189,100 openings per year, including growth and replacement demand. This distinction matters when people ask whether a field is oversaturated: growth measures whether the occupation itself is getting larger, while annual openings also reflect people retiring, changing occupations, or leaving roles that must be refilled.
BLS lists the typical entry education as Bachelor's degree. Treat this entry path like an investment: compare the time and cost required to enter with the pay, annual openings, and alternatives available at a similar training level.
The retention warning is serious. The headline figure is 39.9%. Share of RNs reporting intent to leave the nursing workforce or retire within five years. Source: NCSBN National Nursing Workforce Study (2024).
Burnout is a major reason. The headline figure is 41.5%. Among nurses intending to leave for reasons other than retirement, stress and burnout were a major reason. Source: NCSBN (2024).
The workforce has still lost people since 2022. The headline figure is 138,000+. NCSBN reported more than 138,000 nurses left the workforce since 2022. Source: NCSBN (2022–2024).
Nursing's demand story cannot be separated from retention. NCSBN's findings on intent to leave and burnout help explain why a field can have very large annual openings and still feel understaffed. The career decision should therefore weigh workload and retention conditions alongside employment security.
This field is a stronger fit if the required education and licensure are acceptable and you value a labor market anchored in direct care or clinical services.
Before choosing Registered Nurse, compare it with Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant, Radiologic Technologist. The purpose is not to find a universal winner; it is to see how pay, training time, annual openings, work setting, and field-specific risks change when you move to an adjacent option.
Employment security is exceptional, but workload, burnout, and retention are central career risks rather than footnotes. The measurable baseline is $93,600 median pay, 4.9% projected 2024–34 employment change, about 189,100 annual openings, and a typical entry path of Bachelor's degree.
The national median in the current ChooseField dataset is $93,600. Treat that as a benchmark rather than an expected starting salary; actual compensation varies by experience, location, employer, specialty, credentials, and hours.
BLS projects 4.9% employment change from 2024 to 2034 and about 189,100 openings per year. Growth and openings are different signals, so the field-specific evidence on this page should also be considered.
Nursing's demand story cannot be separated from retention. NCSBN's findings on intent to leave and burnout help explain why a field can have very large annual openings and still feel understaffed. The career decision should therefore weigh workload and retention conditions alongside employment security.
National pay and employment projections come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other sources are linked on their cards.