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Medical-Surgical Nurse Salary

WRITTEN BY Incredible Health Staff
DATE

May 20 2022


CATEGORIES Salary

Nurse Salaries / Med-Surg Nurse Salary

A medical-surgical nurse (also known as a med surg nurse) provides care to a wide variety of patients suffering from numerous types of issues, complications, and co-morbidities. Because of the diverse nature of a med surg nurse’s patient population, this area of nursing can often be the most difficult one to describe but is a great opportunity for nurses looking to gain experience and exposure in their industry.

Medical-Surgical nurse salary overview

Registered nurses overall in the United States receive $82,750 per year according to the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics. According to data from Incredible Health, the average salary for med surg nurses is $86,951 – an effective hourly rate of $42.

This hourly rate puts the average med-surg nurse’s salary at about 5% higher than the average registered nurse’s median wage. Remember that this number is just the aggregate average salary and does not take into account nursing salaries that consider unit position, experience level, and other factors.

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Nursing positions are among the top in-demand jobs in the country, and experts project at least 6% between 2021 and 2031. Additionally, there is a shortage of professionals in the field. These primary factors contribute to higher medical surgical nursing salaries and a strong outlook for the career path.

Medical-Surgical nurse salaries by state

Med surg nurse salaries vary depending on the state in which you practice. The cost of living in different states affects compensation scales.

For example, you may earn a larger paycheck as a staff med surg nurse in New York because the cost of living is about 10% higher than the country’s average.

Conversely, in West Virginia, med surg nurses may earn less than other states because the cost of living is about 12% less than the country’s average.

The top five highest-paying states for nurses, including med surg nurses (without factoring in the cost of living) include the following:

StateSalaryCOL Adjusted SalaryLocal Estimates
California$124,000$106,529Get Local Estimate
Hawaii$106,530$89,296Get Local Estimate
Oregon$98,630$96,131Get Local Estimate
Alaska$97,230$92,512Get Local Estimate
Massachusetts$96,630$87,527Get Local Estimate

The top five highest-paying states for nurses, including med surg nurses (adjusted for cost of living) are the following:

StateSalaryCOL Adjusted SalaryLocal Estimates
California$124,000$106,529Get Local Estimate
Oregon$98,630$96,131Get Local Estimate
Alaska$97,230$92,512Get Local Estimate
Nevada$97,230$92,146Get Local Estimate
Hawaii$106,530$89,296Get Local Estimate
Med-surg nurse salaries – all states
Alaska
Alabama
Arkansas
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Iowa
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Maryland
Maine
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississippi
Montana
North Carolina
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
Nevada
New York
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Vermont
Washington
Wisconsin
West Virginia

Top nurse jobs on Incredible Health

  • ๐Ÿฅ Emergency Department Coordinator

    Winfield, IL | $65,000 to $100,000 /year

  • ๐Ÿฅ Nurse Practitioner – Palliative Care

    Monroe, MI | $64,000 to $145,000 /year

  • ๐Ÿฅ Registered Nurse – Emergency Department

    Woodstock, IL | $65,000 to $100,000 /year

  • ๐Ÿฅ Registered Nurse – Home Health

    Parkton, MD | $69,000 to $109,000 /year

  • ๐Ÿฅ Registered Nurse – PACU

    Gresham, OR |

see all

Sources

  • “Nursing Shortage.” aacnnursing.org. Accessed May 20, 2022.
  • “Occupational Outlook Handbook-Registered Nurses.” bls.gov. Accessed May 20, 2022.
Written by Incredible Health Staff

At Incredible Health, it's a team effort to achieve our vision: Help healthcare professionals live better lives. Many are licensed practitioners themselves; others are simply passionate writers and leaders dedicated to providing valuable resources to nurses.

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