Oklahoma RN Salary 2026
Last reviewed: by Jayson Minagawa, BSN, RN
What RNs actually earn in Oklahoma
The mean registered nurse salary in Oklahoma is $85,060 a year, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. That puts Oklahoma 16% below the national RN mean of $101,420, and 43rd 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 Oklahoma land around $63,795, and experienced specialty or supervisory nurses reach roughly $119,083. If you are comparing a specific offer, the ladder below is more useful than the all-RN average.
Oklahoma pay across the nursing ladder
Six roles, all Oklahoma figures, each against its national anchor:
| Role | Mean annual | vs national | State rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurse (all RNs) | $85,060 | 16% below national | 43rd |
| ICU / critical care RN | $100,038 | 17% above national | 42nd |
| Emergency department RN | $80,087 | — | 38th |
| Travel nurse (posted base) | $93,379 | 8% below national | 38th |
| Nurse practitioner | $127,120 | 7% below national | 29th |
| CRNA | $226,556 | 9% below national | 36th |
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
Oklahoma's regional price parity is 88.5 against a national average of 100, so goods and services here cost 11.5% less than the national norm. Run the $85,060 mean through that and it carries the purchasing power of $96,113 anywhere else in the country.
Adjusted for what things actually cost, Oklahoma moves up 13 places — from 43rd on paper to 30th on purchasing power. Nurses here keep more of what they earn than the headline number suggests.
What is driving Oklahoma pay right now
Right-to-work state with rural hospital closures pressuring travel-nurse demand; OU Health is the dominant academic employer.
Staffing-ratio law: Oklahoma 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, Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma licensure guide.
Where the jobs are in Oklahoma
The largest RN employment markets in Oklahoma are Oklahoma City, Tulsa. 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 Oklahoma
Oklahoma state income tax: graduated to 4.75%. 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma?
The mean registered nurse salary in Oklahoma is $85,060 per year, per the BLS May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. That is 16% below the national RN mean of $101,420, and ranks 43rd of 51 states and DC.
Is $85,060 a good RN salary in Oklahoma?
Adjusted for Oklahoma's cost of living (BEA regional price parity 88.5, where 100 is the national average), $85,060 has the purchasing power of about $96,113 nationally — 30th among the 51 states and DC. Compare offers on the adjusted figure, not the headline one.
Which Oklahoma nursing roles pay the most?
CRNAs lead at $226,556, followed by nurse practitioners at $127,120. Within bedside nursing, ICU and critical care ($100,038) typically pays above the all-RN mean.
Related Oklahoma guides
See nursing licensure in Oklahoma for Board of Nursing requirements and compact status, and travel nursing in Oklahoma for contract rates and stipend detail. National context: pay and data, highest-paying RN specialties.