Registered Nurses Salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
SOC 29-1141 · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · BLS OEWS May 2025
Median Annual Salary
$102,710
$49.38/hr
5.3% higher than the US national median ($97,552)
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Registered Nurses salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS September 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q3 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$81K
P25$85K
P50$103K
P75$120K
P90$133K
Drag the dot or type an amount above.
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Demand: HOT. Demand is hot -- health care job openings are running at 5.8% (JOLTS, September 2026), a tight market. Candidates have leverage, so a competitive offer sits at or above the median; below-median offers often will not close.
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Merit budget: Wages in health care are rising about 3.7% a year (BLS ECI, Q3 2026). Budget a 3.3-3.8% merit increase to hold this role at market.
Our read
For a competitive 2026 offer, target $102,710 to $119,621 (market median to the 75th percentile). Lean toward the top of the range for senior or hard-to-fill roles.
Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.
How Registered Nurses pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Pay trend
Median pay for this role rose 4.2% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, outpacing the 3.7% wage growth of Health Care & Social Assistance (BLS ECI).
Hiring demand · HOT
Health Care & Social Assistance is running a 5.8% job-openings rate with quits at 2.0% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted up from 5.5% to 5.8% over the past quarter.
Pay spread
Top earners (P90) make about 2.0 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is in the typical range for U.S. occupations; standard 80% to 120% pay bands around the median work well.
What changed recently
Nov 3, 2026JOLTS September 2026: sector openings at 5.8% (down 35K). BLS revised August up from 5.4% to 5.9%, so last month's pullback largely did not happen. Still the tightest major sector; layoffs fell 70K.
Oct 30, 2026ECI Q3 2026: health care and social assistance wages rose 3.7% over the year (3.6% in Q2), the fastest of the sectors we track.
Sep 29, 2026JOLTS August 2026: sector openings fell to 5.4% (down 115K; July revised up to 5.8%), still the tightest major sector. Quits held at 2.0%.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS September 2026, ECI Q3 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The median salary for Registered Nurses in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is $102,710 per year ($49.38/hr). This is 5.3% higher than the national median of $97,552.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients. May advise patients on health maintenance and disease prevention or provide case management. Licensing or registration required. Includes Clinical Nurse Specialists.
Wage Percentiles: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours) · BLS metro data
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
vs National
P10Entry level
$38.82
$80,746
+17.1%
P25
$40.68
$84,614
+5.3%
P50MEDIAN
$49.38
$102,710
+5.3%
P75
$57.51
$119,621
+6.5%
P90Top earners
$63.89
$132,891
-3.3%
How Washington DC compares for Registered Nurses
Computed from this metro's own BLS distribution against national
Pay for Registered Nurses in Washington DC is above national (+17.1%) at entry but below national (-3.3%) at the top, so local pay sits relatively lower toward the senior end of the range.
An offer at the national median of $97,552 would sit at about the 44th percentile in Washington DC.
The top of the range earns 1.65 times the bottom here against 1.99 times nationally, so pay for this role is more compressed between entry and senior levels in Washington DC.
Washington DC employs 46,830 people in this role, 1.4% of the national total.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median registered nurses salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria?
The median (P50) annual salary for Registered Nurses in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is approximately $102,710, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. This is 5.3% higher than the national median of $97,552. For the full P10–P90 breakdown and market context, open CompSignal.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.
