The average nursing salary – like any salary – must be competitive in order to keep the employees you value and recruit new staff. But, what are top nursing salaries? Obviously, a seasoned RN at a leading hospital will receive higher nursing pay than a certified nursing assistant in a small healthcare group. Employers must also consider the average nursing pay for similar positions at other healthcare organizations in your area.

Many factors come into play when determining a fair develop basic salary guidelines for nursing:

1. Use online nursing salary tools to determine top nursing salaries based on several variables.

2. Search job boards for examples of current regional nursing salaries based on job description and experience level.

3. Purchase salary-planning software to help you determine competitive compensation and benefits for your nursing staff.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Determine fair nursing pay based on job description

If you don't have job descriptions for your nursing positions, create them. Be sure to include job duties, skills set and expectations. Then, use online salary tools to help you decipher the average nursing salary for a person that matches the job description. Be sure to keep the number of years of experience and job location in mind.

I recommend: Medical Resource Group allows you to look up nursing salaries by specialty. Salary.com has salary information for a long list of nursing job titles, from head operating room nurse salaries to certified nursing assistant salaries. Just click on the job title for average salaries nationwide.

Compare nursing salaries on national job boards

You can research all day long and find plenty of hypotheticals, but sometimes real-life examples provide the best information. Check out online nursing job boards to find average nursing salary information from real job postings. Keep a log for a few weeks to see if a pattern emerges.

I recommend: Nursing Job Source lets you search for nursing jobs and nursing salaries based on keyword, location, category and subcategory. MedHunters is a huge job board for the healthcare industry, with thousands of nursing positions posted in its database.

Buy nursing salary software and custom compensation surveys

You may not have the time to do extensive research on nursing salaries, yet you want to develop a fair pay scale for your staff. Online salary research services and compensation software programs can get you the information you need and are usually quite simple to use.

I recommend: Halogen Software can help you establish merit-based salary guidelines for nursing jobs. Order a real-time custom nursing salary survey from the American Organization of Nurse Executives.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you need to hire a new healthcare professional, the same job boards you used to research top nursing salaries are a great place to start your search.