Registered Nurses in Vermont
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,071
after federal, FICA and Vermont tax
Tax takes
$24,389
25.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$75,616
Vermont costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Vermont — 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
$97,460
Kept after tax
$73,071
Worth in national money
$75,616
State rank
19
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Vermont is 19 of 51 states for registered nurses, with a middle wage of $97,460. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Vermont this is well-paid work. Of 453 occupations with published figures in the state, registered nurses ranks 62 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $97,460 you keep $73,071 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $75,616 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $96,650.
- Vermont ranks 19 of 51 for registered nurses at $97,460. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Vermont publishes a median for, registered nurses sits 62 of 453 — 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.
- Retained pay in Vermont is $73,071 after the full tax stack, from $97,460. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $75,616 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $96,650 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Registered Nurses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $77,670 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $97,460 |
| Top tenth earn over | $126,100 |
| This salary | $97,460 |
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 Vermont | $73,071 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,393 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,027 |
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 | $91,316 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,563 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of registered nurses in Vermont earn under $97,460 and half over. The published range runs $77,670 at the tenth percentile to $126,100 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Vermont's $73,071, worked from $97,460. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 62 of 453.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $75,616 uses one figure for the whole of Vermont. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 453 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 62.
- Figures are distribution medians for registered nurses in Vermont, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $77,670 to $126,100; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Vermont take-home of $73,071, on $97,460 for work ranking 62 of 453 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 62 of 453 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $75,616, worked from $97,460, 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 Vermont address, on work sitting at 62 of 453 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $77,670 and the top tenth $126,100, so most people doing this work in Vermont sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Vermont sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $75,616 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Vermont adds its own income tax on top — which is why $73,071 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($77,670 to $126,100) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Vermont rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Vermont'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 $75,616 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 $73,071 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.