About NurseSalaryIntel
Transparent compensation data for every nurse making a career or contract decision.
From the Founder
I'm Courtney Palmer, the founder of NurseSalaryIntel. I built this site because the nurses in my family — across ICU, med-surg, and labor & delivery — kept running into the same problem: salary data online was vague, outdated, or buried behind job listing paywalls.
They deserved a resource that gave them real numbers — by state, by city, by specialty — so they could walk into a negotiation or a contract review with actual data behind them, not just a gut feeling.
NurseSalaryIntel exists to be that resource. Every salary figure on this site is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey, cross-referenced against employer job postings, and updated annually. No guesswork. No recruiter spin.
— Courtney Palmer, Founder
Clinical Insights
Salary data is only half the picture. Understanding what those numbers mean at the bedside — how charge differentials actually work, what a travel package really nets you after stipends, which certifications move the needle on pay — requires clinical perspective.
Clinical Contributors
Insights contributed by practicing nurses in ICU, med-surg, and labor & delivery specialties. Contributors provide real-world context on pay structures, contract terms, and compensation norms across hospital systems and regions.
How We Source Salary Data
Every salary figure on NurseSalaryIntel is built from the following sources, in order of priority:
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — the most comprehensive, government-collected nurse salary dataset in the US. Updated annually from May survey data.
- State-level BLS metro area estimates — used for city and regional pages where statewide averages would mislead.
- Hospital and employer job postings — cross-referenced to validate that published figures match real advertised ranges.
- AACN, SHRM, and published nursing compensation surveys — used for specialty and credential-level premium estimates.
All figures are estimates. Actual pay varies by employer, union status, experience, certifications, and location. We cite the specific BLS survey year on every page and flag when figures are projections rather than directly published data.
Editorial Standards
Content on NurseSalaryIntel is written to inform, not to sell. We do not accept payment to rank products, agencies, or programs more favorably. Where we earn affiliate revenue — such as referrals to RN-to-BSN programs — we disclose it on the relevant page.
Pages are reviewed and updated when BLS data is refreshed (annually) or when material changes occur in a specific market. The “Last Updated” date shown on each page reflects the most recent content or data review.
How This Site Is Funded
NurseSalaryIntel is free to use. We sustain it through:
- Display advertising (Google AdSense)
- Affiliate referrals to nursing programs and tools, disclosed on each relevant page
Advertiser relationships do not influence salary estimates, rankings, or editorial recommendations.
Contact
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NurseSalaryIntel · Founded by Courtney Palmer · Last reviewed May 2026