Virginia RN Salary - How Much Do RNs Make in VA?
In 2018, the state of Virginia employed 60,120 registered nurses according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). At that time, the average RN salary in Virginia was $63,150 per year. This equates to about $30.36 an hour. The median RN salary was $62,750. Salaries in the 75th percentile were over $74,140, while those in the 25th percentile are less than $50,810. This is slightly below the national average for this occupation which was reported by the BLS to be $65,470 per year.
To make up for some of the difference in average salary, the cost of living in the state of Virginia is about four percent below the national average. Although this is the case, some areas of Virginia are expensive to live in, including those which border the District of Columbia. Nurses will need to pay special attention to the cost of living in specific areas when comparing salaries.
The highest average RN salary in Virginia can be found in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metropolitan division. This area also encompasses parts of DC, Maryland and West Virginia. The average annual RN salary here is $74,340 for the 29,830 registered nurses employed in the area. Those with salaries in the 75th percentile made more than $87,030. Those with salaries in the 25th percentile earned less than $63,450. Though the salary is higher here, the cost of living is on average about 50 percent higher than the national average.
The Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford area has the lowest average RN salary in Virginia. This part of the state employed 900 registered nurses at an average annual salary of $54,410. Those with earnings in the 75th percentile made $64,050 or more, and those with earnings in the 25th percentile made $45,160 or less. Ten percent of the RNs in this area made $40,050 or less.
Resources
- https://meric.mo.gov/data/cost-living-data-series