Registered Nurses in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$96,157
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$28,043
22.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$88,573
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$124,200
Kept after tax
$96,157
Worth in national money
$88,573
State rank
4
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Washington is one of the better-paying states for registered nurses. The middle earner takes $124,200, which ranks 4 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 27.32% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 493 occupations Washington reports, registered nurses comes in at 63 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $124,200, tax leaves $96,157 — and because Washington is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $88,573 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $121,540.
- Washington ranks 4 of 51 states publishing a median for registered nurses, at $124,200 — about 27.32% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Registered nurses ranks 63 of 493 occupations by median in Washington, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After tax, $96,157 remains from the Washington median of $124,200 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $88,573 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $121,540 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 | $89,630 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $124,200 |
| Top tenth earn over | $161,910 |
| This salary | $124,200 |
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 Washington | $96,157 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $96,157 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$10,379 |
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 | $124,200 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$14,405 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 Washington earn under $124,200 and half over. The published range runs $89,630 at the tenth percentile to $161,910 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 Washington's $96,157, worked from $124,200. 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 63 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Washington, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $88,573, the adjusted value of that $124,200 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 63 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for registered nurses in Washington, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $89,630 to $161,910; 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 Washington take-home of $96,157, on $124,200 for work ranking 63 of 493 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 63 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Washington, so $88,573 — the adjusted value of that $124,200 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 63 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $89,630 at the bottom tenth to $161,910 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Washington run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $88,573 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $96,157 of this wage reaches your account, because Washington takes no income tax from wages — but federal tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply exactly as they do everywhere else.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($89,630 to $161,910) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Washington rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $88,573 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $96,157 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.