Registered Nurses in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$65,286
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$19,444
22.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,238
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$84,730
Kept after tax
$65,286
Worth in national money
$72,238
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Nebraska is 31 of 51 states for registered nurses, with a middle wage of $84,730. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Nebraska this is well-paid work. Of 488 occupations with published figures in the state, registered nurses ranks 84 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Nebraska is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $84,730 the take-home is $65,286; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $72,238 would nationally. The average comes to $88,330, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Nebraska ranks 31 of 51 for registered nurses at $84,730. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Nebraska publishes a median for, registered nurses sits 84 of 488 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Post-tax income for registered nurses in Nebraska, on $84,730, is $65,286 — equivalent to $72,238 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $88,330 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Registered Nurses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $66,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,730 |
| Top tenth earn over | $106,190 |
| This salary | $84,730 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Nebraska | $65,286 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,438 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,811 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $80,250 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,501 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $84,730 as a midpoint for Nebraska, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $66,020 and the ninetieth is $106,190 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $65,286 take-home in Nebraska comes from $84,730. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 84 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $72,238 uses one figure for the whole of Nebraska. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 84.
- The Nebraska median of $84,730 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $66,020 to $106,190. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $65,286, from $84,730, assumes a single Nebraska filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 84 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 31 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $72,238, worked from $84,730, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Nebraska address, on work sitting at 84 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $88,330, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $66,020 at the tenth percentile, $106,190 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $72,238.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Nebraska's own levy, $65,286 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Nebraska is $88,330. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($66,020 to $106,190) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $72,238 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $65,286 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.