10 of the Highest-Paying Nursing Jobs

Want to earn a healthy paycheck in nursing? Get the right advanced education and training to pursue one of these seven well-paying careers.

By Camilla Andersson, Monster Contributor

Nursing is a profession in which some additional education and training can go a long way toward taking your job title—and salary—to the next level. Advancing from an entry-level nursing job as a licensed practical nurse to the highest-paying nursing jobs can raise your salary to over $100,000 a year.

The high demand for nurses in the U.S., partly due to increasing populations of seniors and patients with chronic health conditions, means there are a range of well-paying positions and nursing specialties to choose from. What type of nurse makes the most money? We have the details on the 10 highest-paying nursing jobs and the highest-paid nurses by state.

Types of Nurses and Salaries

There is a great range of salaries for nurses depending on education, licensing, and seniority. Entry-level nurses such as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) often get paid hourly; most other nurses are paid annual salaries.

Many of the highest-paying nursing jobs are in different nursing specialties. To get these positions you’ll typically need to become an RN and then meet additional licensing requirements. Some of the highest-paying RN jobs are:

  • Operating room RN: $84,715 median annual salary
  • Registered nurse first assistant (RNFA): $102,740 median annual salary

Nurse practitioner (NP) is a more advanced position that typically has a higher salary than an RN. Some of the highest-paid nurse practitioners are:

  • Psychiatry nurse practitioner: $115,007 median annual salary
  • Neonatal nurse practitioner: $110,249 average annual salary

Another career path is to aim for office jobs with leadership responsibilities. High-level executive jobs, like director of nursing, are among the highest-paying nursing jobs. Before you can get one of these positions, you’ll likely have other low- and mid-level nursing manager jobs, as well as an RN license.

Highest-Paid Nurses by State

Another factor that makes a great impact on your salary is the state you work in. There are major differences between different locations in the U.S. These are the states where you can find many of the highest-paying nursing jobs:

6 of the Highest-Paid Nursing Specialties

Many of the highest-paying nursing jobs are in specialized nursing roles. These jobs are very hands-on and focus on providing patient care. You’ll need to have excellent clinical knowledge and advanced certification, as well as soft skills such as communication, stress management, and multi-tasking to enter a nursing specialty.

1. Nurse Anesthetist

At the top of the list of the highest-paid nursing specialties and one of the highest-paying RN jobs is certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), which also requires the most education and training. CRNAs practice everywhere anesthesia is administered, such as surgical suites, dentist offices, and plastic surgery centers.

Typical requirements: Master’s degree, RN license, CRNA certification

Projected job growth: 40%

Median annual salary: $110,410

Find nurse anesthetist jobs on Monster.

2. Certified Nurse Midwife

Certified nurse midwives (CNMs) attend births in settings ranging from hospitals to homes. They also provide a wide range of care to female patients, including family-planning education, gynecological exams, and prenatal and postnatal care. In hospitals, CNMs often work closely with OB/GYNs. CNM is one of the highest-paying nursing jobs because of the responsibility involved and the high educational requirements (which vary somewhat by state).

Typical requirements: RN program followed by midwifery master’s program, CNM certification

Projected job growth: 40%

Median annual salary (for all midwifes): $90,661

Find certified nurse midwife jobs on Monster.

3. Clinical Nurse Specialist

If you like your nursing infused with some scholarly research, number crunching, and data evaluation, the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) job might be for you. This combination of patient care and research makes this one of the high-paying nursing jobs. In addition to treating and diagnosing patients, a CNS also focuses on assessing a hospital’s procedures, processes, and personnel. The job of a CNS is often broken down into three spheres of influence as defined by the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists: patient/family, nursing personnel/practice and system/network organization.

Typical requirements: Master’s degree and at least five years of experience, RN license, CNS license

Median annual salary: $86,891

Find clinical nurse specialist jobs on Monster.

4. Travel Nurse

Travel nurses are nurses who temporarily work in another location than where they live. A travel nurse isn’t exactly a job title; it’s more of a lifestyle. As a travel nurse you’ll take on short-term work with the typical requirements for a nurse at your level. If you’re an RN, for example, you’ll work as an RN on a short-term assignment, typically in another state and through a nursing staffing agency.

Travel nurses are one of the highest-paying nursing jobs because becoming a travel nurse often comes with a bump in salary compared to the typical pay in the region you’ll travel to. This is because of the short-term contract and because travelling nurses often fill staffing shortages. If you travel to a high-paying location, you could make significantly more than in your city without any additional education or experience.

Typical requirements: Travel nurses must be licensed in the state they travel to. The easiest way to accomplish this is to work in a state that is part of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), which allows you to apply for a multistate license through the Board of Nursing in your home state. Most travel nurses are RNs.

Projected job growth for RNs: 6%

Average pay: The hourly rate for a travel nurse is $56.49

Find travel nurse jobs on Monster.

5. Nurse Practitioner

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are nurses with advanced training and education who hold a specialized license. The scope of what you can do as an NP varies from state to state. In many states, NPs can practice independently of doctors. This differentiates them from other nurses, who typically work under the supervision of a physician. NPs who work independently can, for example, perform exams, prescribe medications, and order lab tests without supervision from a doctor.

In some states that don’t allow NPs to practice independently, NPs still have more autonomy than other nurses, which is referred to as “reduced practice.” In states where an NP certification doesn’t grant you any additional independence, NPs still tend to hold higher positions because of their expertise, which is also why this is one of the highest-paying nursing jobs.

Typical requirements: Master’s degree, NP license

Projected job growth: 40%

Median annual salary: $103,991

Find nurse practitioner jobs on Monster.

6. Informatics Nurse

Nursing informatics is the convergence of nursing, information science, and analytics and is one of the best-paying nursing jobs that also includes other responsibilities. Informatics nurses analyze data such as clinical statistics to improve patient care, train nursing staff on new technology, and act as a liaison between the IT and nursing departments. They can also work in nursing research.

Typical requirements: RN license, Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Getting a certification or degree in nursing informatics can help you get a job as an informatics nurse.

Projected job growth: 17%

Median annual salary: $82,580

Find nursing informatics jobs on Monster.

4 of the Best-Paying Jobs in Hospital/Nursing Management

Some of the high-paying nursing jobs are in nursing management. You’ll be less involved in direct patient care, but instead you’ll have the opportunity to make changes that will impact the nursing department as a whole. For nursing management jobs, you’ll need excellent organizational skills and attention to detail, as well as leadership abilities and interpersonal skills. This is a rapidly growing field with jobs expected to grow at a rate of about 28% over the next few years.

Below are some of the best-paying jobs in hospital/nursing management. How nursing departments are organized varies; not all have all of the positions below since there is some overlap in responsibilities.

1. Head of Nursing / Chief Nursing Officer

The head of nursing—also called chief nursing officer (CNO) or chief nursing executive—is the most senior nurse management position in an organization and one of the highest-paid nursing jobs. This position combines strong nursing experience with the overall planning, personnel oversight, and policy-making duties of a top executive.

Typical requirements: Master’s degree, an RN license, and several years of leadership experience, as well as clinical nursing experience

Median annual salary: $128,360

Find chief nursing officer jobs on Monster.

2. Nursing Director

A nursing director—also called the nursing supervisor or director of nursing—typically reports to the CNO, making this position the second-in-command. The organization of a nursing department can differ; when a facility doesn’t have a CNO, the nursing director is the highest position in the nursing department. As a result, this is one of the highest-paid nursing jobs.

The nursing director often serves as the nursing program administrator, setting policies and performance standards and directly supervising nursing staff, as well as overseeing budgeting and scheduling.

Typical requirements: RN license, advanced degree in nursing

Average annual salary: $90,507

Find nursing director jobs on Monster.

3. Nursing Manager

A nursing manager is the step below a nursing director in the typical hierarchy of nursing staff. This position is sometimes called nursing supervisor. While nursing director is primarily an office job, nursing managers often have both administrative and clinical job responsibilities. If you want to take on a leadership role without losing the ability to provide patient care, this may be just the job for you.

Typical requirements: RN license; master’s degree is an advantage

Average annual salary: $85,598

Find nursing manager jobs on Monster.

4. Nursing Administrator

Nurse administrator is an executive position where you’ll primarily work in an office managing nursing staff and processes, making this one of the highest-paying nurse jobs in management. Responsibilities include financial planning, operational strategies, nursing policies, recruiting, hiring, and training staff, and more. This position is sometimes called a patient care administrator or just administrator.

Typical requirements: a master’s degree in nursing and an RN license; previous management experience

Median annual salary: $103,200

Find nursing administrator jobs on Monster.

Trends in Nursing

A number of long-term trends in the nursing industry are impacting what jobs are available to nurses—and how much you can get paid as a nurse.

Telehealth

Telehealth enables nurses to conduct appointments online or over the phone. This offers advantages for both patients and nurses. It’s more time-efficient and reduces the risk of contracting a contagious disease (nurses can avoid seeing a sick patient, and patients can avoid being exposed to another illness when visiting a clinic).

Telehealth can be part of a nurse’s job, or you can work as a telehealth nurse full-time. Some telehealth jobs allow you to work remotely from home.

Wearable Medical Devices

The move towards telehealth is driven partly by wearable medical devices, which enable patients to track their own health at home. These devices give healthcare providers access to a range of useful information without the need for constant in-person check-ups.

For nurses, this means that patients are more informed about their own health and ask more questions. This also drives new positions in nursing informatics and other job opportunities for tech-savvy nurses.

Higher Demand for Bilingual Nurses

As the population of U.S. residents speaking foreign languages increases, so does the need for bilingual workers. Knowing or learning a second language can help you score one of the highest-paying nursing jobs, especially in areas where bilingual healthcare workers are in high demand.

Tips for Scoring High-Paying Nurse Jobs

Have a salary goal in mind but not sure how to get there? There are steps you can take to increase your chances of getting one of the highest-paying nursing jobs.

  • Have an end goal in mind when applying to nursing school. There are several different levels of nurses. Knowing how much education you need for your dream job can help you choose the right program from the start. If you want one of the highest-paying nursing jobs, consider a 4-year B.S. program instead of an associate degree or a nursing diploma.
  • Start studying for the NCLEX-RN early, several months before you plan to take it.
  • Look into optional certifications. There are many types of certifications available for nurses. One of the best ways to determine which ones you should pursue is to look at jobs you want in the future and see what they require.
  • Join professional organizations and attend events in person to network, find mentors, and expand your knowledge.
  • Focus on more than just finding one of the highest-paying nursing jobs. A generous paycheck is nice, but job satisfaction is important too. Since there are so many careers to choose between in nursing, decide what’s important to you: Do you want to work typical office hours or do you prefer the flexibility of a rolling schedule? Do you want a patient-facing position or a more administrative role? Do you want to save lives at the ICU or work with patients in more stable conditions? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you to find the best nursing specialty for you.

Treat Your Resume With a Monster Profile

Once you have a dream job in mind, give your resume the exposure it needs by signing up with Monster. After you upload your resume, make it visible to nursing recruiters using our database to search for new candidates. You can also apply directly to some of the highest-paying nursing jobs right here on Monster.