BSN Salary

There’s a collective push to see registered nurses achieve a higher level of education and training than is required to meet the minimum requirements for licensure, and for good reason. Today’s RNs are working in an increasingly complex and demanding clinical environment, and that trend is only going to continue.

Current RNs who go back to school to step-up their competencies, along with new nurses who can hit the clinic floor on day one with a higher level of training, are simply more adept at providing the kind of exceptional care that results in better patient outcomes and lower readmittance rates. And they’re able to do it all at a lower overall cost too. Even before the era of COVID-19 these were big talking points in the healthcare industry; at this stage of the game, these things have far bigger and more sweeping implications.

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The Move to the BSN: A Look at the Increasing Demand for BSN-Prepared RNs

While the RN diploma or associate degree (ADN) remains the minimum educational requirement to earn an RN license, the BSN is quickly replacing these paths to RN practice. With higher levels of education associated with everything from lower mortality rates to fewer medication errors, the nation’s biggest players in issues affecting the practice of nursing—including the Institute of Medicine, the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the National League for Nursing, and the American Nurses Association— all agree that both aspiring and practicing RNs should set their sights on the BSN.

The BSN is becoming more than a recommendation, too. Among the nation’s largest employers, it’s quickly becoming a requirement.

For example:

All of the nation’s Magnet hospitals (recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as demonstrating excellence in nursing and patient care and innovation in professional nursing practice) now require all nurse managers and nurse leaders to hold a BSN or graduate degree in nursing. All Magnet hospitals must also have clear plans that show they’re working toward the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation of achieving an RN workforce in which at least 80% are baccalaureate-prepared.
The U.S. armed forces require the BSN to practice as an active-duty RN.
To earn a promotion beyond the entry-level, RNs with the Veteran’s Administration must earn the BSN.

An August 2018 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) survey revealed that 45.6% of all hospitals and other healthcare settings now require new hires to hold the BSN, while nearly 89% of all employers expressed a “strong preference” for BSN program graduates.

And in response to this increased demand and/or preference, today’s RNs are upping their educational pursuits.

A 2017 National Nursing Workforce Survey conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing found revealed that 45% of all RNs held the BSN as their highest level of education in 2017 – an increase from 40% in 2013. During the same period, the percentage of RNs with the RN diploma as their highest level of education decreased from 12% in 2013 to 6% in 2017, while the percentage of RNs with the associate’s degree as their highest level of education also decreased from 31% in 2013 to 29% in 2017.

Salaries for BSN-Prepared RNs in Different Roles

Salary stats for RNs don’t tell the whole story because, chances are, if you hold the BSN, you’ll enjoy a salary that beats out your RN colleagues with a diploma or ADN. According to a 2019 Medscape RN/LPN Compensation Report, RNs with a bachelor’s degree earned an annual, average salary of $80,000, while those with the ADN earned just $75,000.

With the BSN on your resume, you’ll not only qualify for jobs with some of the largest, most respected employers, you’ll also set yourself up for nurse leader/manager/supervisor positions that almost always come with a bigger paycheck. PayScale, which provides accurate, real-time salary data based on more than 54 million total salary profiles, reveals an average, annual salary of $84,974 for BSN nurses, as of September 2020.

PayScale also highlights some of the senior-level nursing jobs available to BSN-prepared RNs and their average salaries during this time:

Clinical nurse manager: $86,577
Nursing manager: $89,432
Nurse case manager: $73,172
Nursing director: $90,803

State-by-State Guide to What BSN-Educated RNs are Earning

Perhaps even more telling are salary averages gathered from recent job postings. ZipRecruiter, a leading online employment marketplace, provided the following average salaries for BSN nurses (as of September 2020) using current salaries gathered from the more than seven million jobs posted daily on the site.

The following average state salaries were calculated using only those nursing jobs that require the BSN:

Alabama: $69,669
Alaska: $79,394
Arizona: $73,981
Arkansas: $70,166
California: $78,277
Colorado: $74,804
Connecticut: $80,148
Delaware: $74,905
Florida: $67,266
Georgia: $71,369
Hawaii: $83,086
Idaho: $73,182
Illinois: $69,784
Indiana: $73,506
Iowa: $72,080
Kansas: $73,662
Kentucky: $76,361
Louisiana: $72,830
Maine: $73,127
Maryland: $80,174
Massachusetts: $86,509
Michigan: $70,128
Minnesota: $75,096
Mississippi: $68,993
Missouri: $68,831
Montana: $74,750
Nebraska: $78,964
Nevada: $78,771
New Hampshire: $84,194
New Jersey: $76,016
New Mexico: $70,396
New York: $87,335
North Carolina: $64,052
North Dakota: $78,472
Ohio: $74,312
Oklahoma: $73,390
Oregon: $74,915
Pennsylvania: $75,556
Rhode Island: $79,496
South Carolina: $75,165
South Dakota: $76,181
Tennessee $74,852
Texas: $70,549
Utah: $73,629
Vermont: $79,064
Virginia: $77,929
Washington: $85,906
West Virginia: $75,923
Wisconsin: $74,135
Wyoming: $78,404

What Salaries are Like for BSNs in Major Cities Around the Country

BSN-prepared RNs in major metro areas often earn even more, as highlighted by the following ZipRecruiter average salaries for each state’s largest city as of September 2020:

Birmingham, Alabama: $73,759
Anchorage, Alaska: $89,614
Phoenix, Arizona: $83,519
Little Rock, Arkansas: $78,161
Los Angeles, California: $91,894
Denver, Colorado: $87,443
Bridgeport, Connecticut: $89,393
Wilmington, Delaware: $86,412
District of Columbia: $93,639
Jacksonville, Florida: $81,111
Atlanta, Georgia: $86,971
Honolulu, Hawaii: $85,093
Boise, Idaho: $78,031
Chicago, Illinois: $88,846
Indianapolis, Indiana: $83,221
Des Moines, Iowa: $86,790
Wichita, Kansas: $77,435
Louisville, Kentucky: $82,081
New Orleans, Louisiana: $82,686
Portland, Maine: $84,678
Baltimore, Maryland: $88,232
Boston, Massachusetts: $93,757
Detroit, Michigan: $86,250
Minneapolis, Minnesota: $88,866
Jackson, Mississippi: $83,973
Kansas City, Missouri: $84,007
Billings, Montana: $86,020
Omaha, Nebraska: $81,825
Las Vegas, Nevada: $82,008
Manchester, New Hampshire: $84,961
Newark, New Jersey: $89,832
Albuquerque, New Mexico: $77,991
New York City, New York: $95,197
Charlotte, North Carolina: $83,826
Fargo, North Dakota: $86,639
Columbus, Ohio: $84,182
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: $79,843
Portland, Oregon: $86,652
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: $86,578
Providence, Rhode Island: $86,753
Charleston, South Carolina: $81,695
Sioux Falls, South Dakota: $83,459
Nashville, Tennessee $84,343
Houston, Texas: $85,994
Salt Lake City, Utah: $86,790
Burlington, Vermont: $85,410
Virginia Beach, Virginia: $79,831
Seattle, Washington: $94,220
Charleston, West Virginia: $78,731
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: $85,623
Cheyenne, Wyoming: $84,416

Salary and employment data compiled by PayScale in September 2020. Figures represent accumulated data for all employment sectors in which behavior analysts work. PayScale salary data represents average and median earnings for the occupations listed and includes workers at all levels of education and experience. This data does not represent starting salaries.

Salary and employment data compiled by ZipRecruiter in September 2020. Figures represent accumulated data for all employment sectors in which behavior analysts work. ZipRecruiter salary data represents average and median earnings for the occupations listed and includes workers at all levels of education and experience. This data does not represent starting salaries.

BSN Salary

BSN Salary Info By State

The Move to the BSN: A Look at the Increasing Demand for BSN-Prepared RNs

Salaries for BSN-Prepared RNs in Different Roles

State-by-State Guide to What BSN-Educated RNs are Earning

What Salaries are Like for BSNs in Major Cities Around the Country