Ohio RN Salary 2026
Last reviewed: by Jayson Minagawa, BSN, RN
What RNs actually earn in Ohio
The mean registered nurse salary in Ohio is $87,730 a year, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. That puts Ohio 13% below the national RN mean of $101,420, and 36th 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 Ohio land around $65,797, and experienced specialty or supervisory nurses reach roughly $122,821. If you are comparing a specific offer, the ladder below is more useful than the all-RN average.
Ohio pay across the nursing ladder
Six roles, all Ohio figures, each against its national anchor:
| Role | Mean annual | vs national | State rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurse (all RNs) | $87,730 | 13% below national | 36th |
| ICU / critical care RN | $109,531 | 29% above national | 24th |
| Emergency department RN | $82,461 | — | 30th |
| Travel nurse (posted base) | $96,146 | 5% below national | 30th |
| Nurse practitioner | $121,250 | 12% below national | 41st |
| CRNA | $260,773 | 5% above national | 11th |
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
Ohio's regional price parity is 91.0 against a national average of 100, so goods and services here cost 9.0% less than the national norm. Run the $87,730 mean through that and it carries the purchasing power of $96,407 anywhere else in the country.
Adjusted for what things actually cost, Ohio moves up 9 places — from 36th on paper to 27th on purchasing power. Nurses here keep more of what they earn than the headline number suggests.
What is driving Ohio pay right now
Cleveland Clinic and OSU Wexner anchor world-class specialty hiring; large RN workforce keeps baseline wages compressed despite premium specialty markets.
Staffing-ratio law: Ohio 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
Because Ohio is not a Nurse Licensure Compact state, every nurse working here needs a Ohio licence specifically. That slows down out-of-state hiring and travel placements, and in a shortage it tends to push rates up faster than in compact states, because the supply of nurses who can legally take the shift is smaller. Full detail on requirements and timelines is in the Ohio licensure guide.
Where the jobs are in Ohio
The largest RN employment markets in Ohio are Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati. 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 Ohio
Ohio state income tax: graduated to 3.5%. 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 Ohio 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 Ohio 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 Ohio?
The mean registered nurse salary in Ohio is $87,730 per year, per the BLS May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. That is 13% below the national RN mean of $101,420, and ranks 36th of 51 states and DC.
Is $87,730 a good RN salary in Ohio?
Adjusted for Ohio's cost of living (BEA regional price parity 91.0, where 100 is the national average), $87,730 has the purchasing power of about $96,407 nationally — 27th among the 51 states and DC. Compare offers on the adjusted figure, not the headline one.
Which Ohio nursing roles pay the most?
CRNAs lead at $260,773, followed by nurse practitioners at $121,250. Within bedside nursing, ICU and critical care ($109,531) typically pays above the all-RN mean.
Related Ohio guides
See nursing licensure in Ohio for Board of Nursing requirements and compact status, and travel nursing in Ohio for contract rates and stipend detail. National context: pay and data, highest-paying RN specialties.