Pennsylvania RN Salary 2026
Last reviewed: by Jayson Minagawa, BSN, RN
What RNs actually earn in Pennsylvania
The mean registered nurse salary in Pennsylvania is $94,020 a year, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. That puts Pennsylvania 7% below the national RN mean of $101,420, and 25th 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 Pennsylvania land around $70,515, and experienced specialty or supervisory nurses reach roughly $131,628. If you are comparing a specific offer, the ladder below is more useful than the all-RN average.
Pennsylvania pay across the nursing ladder
Six roles, all Pennsylvania figures, each against its national anchor:
| Role | Mean annual | vs national | State rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurse (all RNs) | $94,020 | 7% below national | 25th |
| ICU / critical care RN | $122,244 | 43% above national | 5th |
| Emergency department RN | $86,945 | — | 14th |
| Travel nurse (posted base) | $101,375 | level with national | 14th |
| Nurse practitioner | $116,247 | 15% below national | 45th |
| CRNA | $236,003 | 5% below national | 28th |
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
Pennsylvania's regional price parity is 97.9 against a national average of 100, so goods and services here cost 2.1% less than the national norm. Run the $94,020 mean through that and it carries the purchasing power of $96,037 anywhere else in the country.
Adjusted for what things actually cost, Pennsylvania drops 6 places — from 25th on paper to 31st on purchasing power. This is the gap that catches nurses out when they relocate for a bigger number and find it does not go as far.
What is driving Pennsylvania pay right now
UPMC and Penn Medicine anchor mega-employer dynamics; Patient Safety Act mandates staffing committees. 2025-2026 update: HB 106 (Patient Safety Act 2.0) passed PA House, awaiting Senate — would impose unit-specific ratios.
Staffing-ratio law: HB 106 ("Patient Safety Act") passed PA House, awaiting Senate. Would impose unit-specific ratios. Pending as of April 2026. Ratio legislation matters to pay because it changes how many nurses a hospital is required to have on the floor, which tightens the local labour market well before any raise is negotiated.
Who you are competing with
Because Pennsylvania is not a Nurse Licensure Compact state, every nurse working here needs a Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania licensure guide.
Where the jobs are in Pennsylvania
The largest RN employment markets in Pennsylvania are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh. 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 Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania state income tax: flat 3.07%. 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania?
The mean registered nurse salary in Pennsylvania is $94,020 per year, per the BLS May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. That is 7% below the national RN mean of $101,420, and ranks 25th of 51 states and DC.
Is $94,020 a good RN salary in Pennsylvania?
Adjusted for Pennsylvania's cost of living (BEA regional price parity 97.9, where 100 is the national average), $94,020 has the purchasing power of about $96,037 nationally — 31st among the 51 states and DC. Compare offers on the adjusted figure, not the headline one.
Which Pennsylvania nursing roles pay the most?
CRNAs lead at $236,003, followed by nurse practitioners at $116,247. Within bedside nursing, ICU and critical care ($122,244) typically pays above the all-RN mean.
Related Pennsylvania guides
See nursing licensure in Pennsylvania for Board of Nursing requirements and compact status, and travel nursing in Pennsylvania for contract rates and stipend detail. National context: pay and data, highest-paying RN specialties.