New Jersey RN Salary - How Much Do RNs Make in NJ?

New Jersey employed a total of 75,410 registered nurses as of May 2018, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The average RN salary in New Jersey at that time was $77,360 or $37.19 per hour. Half of the RNs in this state earned salaries between the range of $66,240 and $89,430, while ten percent earned $57,180 or less and ten percent earned $97,920 or more.

The RN salary in New Jersey is much higher than the national average of $65,470 per year. However, this is offset by the high cost of living in this state. The cost of living in New Jersey is 30 percent higher than the national average. This means that RNs will have to make more here than in other parts of the country to sustain the same standard of living. In addition, the unemployment rate is relatively high at 7.2 percent.

The highest average RN salary in New Jersey can be found in the New York-White Plains-Wayne metropolitan division. This area encompasses parts of both New Jersey and New York. The average RN salary here was $84,120. Registered nurses in this area with salaries in the 75th percentile earned over $96,850. Those in the bottom 25th percentile made $70,950 or less. Though this is higher than the average salary for the state, the cost of living in this metropolitan area is one of the highest in the country.

The area with the lowest average RN Salary in New Jersey is Ocean City. This city employs just 790 registered nurses. The average RN salary here was $60,830. Despite the lower wages, the cost of living in Ocean City is about 11 percent above the national average. Ocean City also has a very high unemployment rate of 12.8%. This area might not be the ideal place to look for nursing jobs.

Resources

• https://meric.mo.gov/data/cost-living-data-series
• https://www.forbes.com/places/nj/ocean-city/