Study: Minnesota nurses the best paid in the country, based on cost of living

Minnesota nurses are the best paid in the country on average when taking the local cost of living into consideration, according to an analysis of government data by HealthJob.

The average registered nurse earns $94,830 per year in Minnesota — the 12th highest annual average salary in the country. But nurses’ significantly higher salaries in states like California ($139,770) and Hawaii ($120,110) don’t stretch as far. In fact, nurses in Hawaii are the lowest earners once the cost of living is taken into account.

The higher wages in Minnesota are driven in part by the higher rate of unionization (although Hawaii and California both have higher rates of unionization). Roughly 38% of nurses in Minnesota are union members, thousands of whom won 18% pay raises in 2022.

Mayo Clinic, the largest employer in the state, also pays nurses salaries in line with what the nurses union negotiates at other health systems even though the vast majority of their nurses are not unionized.

This story was originally published on MinnesotaReformer.com.

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