Missouri RN Salary 2026
Last reviewed: by Jayson Minagawa, BSN, RN
What RNs actually earn in Missouri
The mean registered nurse salary in Missouri is $85,900 a year, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. That puts Missouri 15% below the national RN mean of $101,420, and 41st of 51 states and DC.
That mean covers every RN in the state — new graduates and thirty-year charge nurses, day shift and nights, bedside and management. In practice new-graduate wages in Missouri land around $64,425, and experienced specialty or supervisory nurses reach roughly $120,259. If you are comparing a specific offer, the ladder below is more useful than the all-RN average.
Missouri pay across the nursing ladder
Six roles, all Missouri figures, each against its national anchor:
| Role | Mean annual | vs national | State rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurse (all RNs) | $85,900 | 15% below national | 41st |
| ICU / critical care RN | $101,946 | 20% above national | 37th |
| Emergency department RN | $81,360 | — | 34th |
| Travel nurse (posted base) | $94,862 | 6% below national | 34th |
| Nurse practitioner | $124,600 | 9% below national | 36th |
| CRNA | $231,499 | 7% below national | 31st |
RN, NP and CRNA figures are BLS May 2025 OEWS unless the state note says otherwise. ICU, ER and travel figures are 2026 aggregator data (ZipRecruiter, Vivian, TheCRNA) — those specialties have no separate federal SOC code, so no BLS series exists for them.
What that salary is actually worth
Missouri's regional price parity is 89.5 against a national average of 100, so goods and services here cost 10.5% less than the national norm. Run the $85,900 mean through that and it carries the purchasing power of $95,978 anywhere else in the country.
Adjusted for what things actually cost, Missouri moves up 9 places — from 41st on paper to 32nd on purchasing power. Nurses here keep more of what they earn than the headline number suggests.
What is driving Missouri pay right now
BJC HealthCare and SSM Health dominate St. Louis/Kansas City hiring; Missouri requires NP collaborative-practice agreements.
Staffing-ratio law: Missouri has no statutory nurse-to-patient ratios, so how many patients you carry is set by hospital policy and unit budget rather than by law. That makes the ratio a question to settle in the interview, not after you start — ask what the unit actually runs on nights and weekends, not what the policy says.
Who you are competing with
As a Nurse Licensure Compact state, Missouri lets any nurse holding a multistate licence work here without applying for a separate one. That widens the pool of candidates for every posting, and it also means travel nurses can start assignments quickly — which keeps contract rates competitive but stops staff wages running away during a shortage. Full detail on requirements and timelines is in the Missouri licensure guide.
Where the jobs are in Missouri
The largest RN employment markets in Missouri are Kansas City, Saint Louis. Metro wages generally run 5-15% above the state mean, and rural postings 5-10% below — though rural and critical-access hospitals often close part of that gap with sign-on bonuses and loan repayment, because they compete for a much smaller pool of applicants. ANCC Magnet-designated hospitals typically pay 8-12% more than non-Magnet facilities for the same role.
Tax and take-home in Missouri
Missouri state income tax: graduated to 4.95%. State income tax comes out before anything else, so compare cross-state offers on take-home rather than gross. Federal brackets and FICA (6.2% Social Security plus 1.45% Medicare) apply the same everywhere. The pay calculator models federal and Missouri state tax together, and the cost-of-living calculator compares two states on take-home rather than headline pay.
Differentials and premium pay
Base rate is rarely the whole story. Most Missouri hospitals pay a night differential of roughly $2-7/hr, weekends $1-3/hr, holidays at $1-3/hr or time-and-a-half, and charge-nurse pay of $2-5/hr on top. A nurse working a permanent night rotation with every third weekend can add several thousand a year over the base figures above. The shift differential calculator works out what a given rotation is actually worth.
Common questions
What is the average RN salary in Missouri?
The mean registered nurse salary in Missouri is $85,900 per year, per the BLS May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. That is 15% below the national RN mean of $101,420, and ranks 41st of 51 states and DC.
Is $85,900 a good RN salary in Missouri?
Adjusted for Missouri's cost of living (BEA regional price parity 89.5, where 100 is the national average), $85,900 has the purchasing power of about $95,978 nationally — 32nd among the 51 states and DC. Compare offers on the adjusted figure, not the headline one.
Which Missouri nursing roles pay the most?
CRNAs lead at $231,499, followed by nurse practitioners at $124,600. Within bedside nursing, ICU and critical care ($101,946) typically pays above the all-RN mean.
Related Missouri guides
See nursing licensure in Missouri for Board of Nursing requirements and compact status, and travel nursing in Missouri for contract rates and stipend detail. National context: pay and data, highest-paying RN specialties.