Real Salary Index
Best states for registered nurses
The best states for registered nurses start with the national median wage of $78,630. Once federal tax, state income tax and local housing costs are applied, that salary is worth $153,163 in Puerto Rico and only $58,635 in California.
After-tax income $71,331 · cost index 0.47
National median wage
$78,630
Best state
Puerto Rico
Weakest state
California
Real pay spread
$94,528
Federal effective rate
11.0%
States compared
52
Real purchasing power for registered nurses, by state
Median wage after federal and state income tax, divided by a local cost-of-living index built from rent and home values.
- 1Puerto Rico0.0% state tax$153,163
- 2South Dakota0.0% state tax$80,522
- 3Arkansas3.9% state tax$78,455
- 4North Dakota1.9% state tax$78,428
- 5Louisiana3.0% state tax$78,143
- 6Iowa3.8% state tax$77,809
- 7Mississippi4.7% state tax$77,703
- 8Tennessee0.0% state tax$77,644
- 9Wyoming0.0% state tax$76,956
- 10Oklahoma4.8% state tax$76,870
- 11Alabama4.7% state tax$76,067
- 12Kentucky4.0% state tax$75,562
- 13West Virginia4.8% state tax$75,387
- 14Nebraska5.2% state tax$74,542
- 15Missouri4.8% state tax$74,309
- 16Kansas5.6% state tax$74,233
- 17Ohio3.5% state tax$73,864
- 18Indiana3.0% state tax$73,811
- 19Texas0.0% state tax$73,494
- 20New Mexico4.9% state tax$73,098
- 21North Carolina4.5% state tax$71,799
- 22Wisconsin5.3% state tax$71,294
- 23Nevada0.0% state tax$71,346
- 24South Carolina6.4% state tax$70,617
- 25Michigan4.3% state tax$70,597
- 26Pennsylvania3.1% state tax$70,585
- 27Montana5.9% state tax$70,372
- 28Idaho5.8% state tax$69,830
- 29Alaska0.0% state tax$69,687
- 30Georgia5.4% state tax$69,592
- 31Florida0.0% state tax$68,977
- 32Arizona2.5% state tax$68,862
- 33New Hampshire0.0% state tax$68,479
- 34Utah4.5% state tax$68,463
- 35Maine7.2% state tax$67,596
- 36Illinois5.0% state tax$67,393
- 37Vermont6.6% state tax$67,420
- 38Delaware5.5% state tax$67,013
- 39Washington0.0% state tax$66,657
- 40Virginia5.0% state tax$66,590
- 41Minnesota7.0% state tax$66,601
- 42Rhode Island4.8% state tax$66,020
- 43Colorado4.4% state tax$65,798
- 44Connecticut5.5% state tax$64,592
- 45Maryland5.3% state tax$63,953
- 46Massachusetts5.0% state tax$63,660
- 47Oregon8.8% state tax$62,229
- 48New York6.0% state tax$61,641
- 49New Jersey5.5% state tax$61,486
- 50District of Columbia7.0% state tax$59,801
- 51Hawaii7.9% state tax$59,118
- 52California8.0% state tax$58,635
Wages are national medians: this shows where the same salary goes furthest, not where employers pay more.
How the Real Salary Index works
We start from the BLS national median wage, subtract an effective federal income tax estimate and the state's income tax rate, then divide the result by a cost-of-living index built from state median gross rent and median home value against the national average.
The output is the salary's real purchasing power, and the 0–100 RSI score simply ranks every state between the weakest and strongest result for that occupation.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (national median annual wages, May 2024); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (state cost-of-living proxy); State income tax parameters, 2026 tax year.