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Trends In Registered Nurse Wages Relative To Other Health Care Occupations, 2012-23
Hannah C Ratliff1, Megan Czerwinski2, Deanna Marriott3
1Hannah C. Ratliff (hratliff@umich.edu), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Health Affairs (Project Hope)
|October 6, 2025
Summary
Registered nurses (RNs) saw the slowest wage growth (0.51%) among healthcare workers from 2012-2023. While all wages rose, the gap between RN pay and other roles shifted over this period.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare economics
- Nursing workforce studies
Background:
- Registered nurses (RNs) form the largest segment of the US clinical workforce.
- Understanding wage trends is crucial for workforce planning and retention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the wage growth of registered nurses (RNs) in comparison to other healthcare occupations.
- To examine changes in wage differentials between RNs and other health professions between 2012 and 2023.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of inflation-adjusted wage data for RNs and other healthcare occupations.
- Comparative analysis of wage growth percentages over an 11-year period (2012-2023).
Main Results:
- All healthcare occupations experienced inflation-adjusted wage increases from 2012 to 2023.
- Registered nurses (RNs) had the lowest wage growth at 0.51% annually.
- Nursing assistants showed the highest wage growth at 1.48% annually.
- Wage gaps between RNs and certain professions narrowed, while gaps with others widened.
Conclusions:
- RNs experienced comparatively modest wage growth despite overall increases in the healthcare sector.
- Wage dynamics indicate a complex and shifting economic landscape for different healthcare roles.
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