Source: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Survey, US Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics
Nurse Pay Surprises with Sudden Deceleration
Rate of change
Q4 2019
Q4 2024
Q4 2025
2019-25
CAGR
YoY
Healthcare Sector Hourly wages
$ 38.68 $ 50.21 $ 51.27
32.5% 4.8% 2.1% 67.9% 9.0% -0.2% 24.2% 3.7% -1.7% 18.8% 2.9% -1.4% 28.3% 4.2% 0.9% 27.5% 4.1% 0.8% 60.6% 8.2% -2.2% 18.3% 2.8% -1.1% 11.7% 1.9% -3.3% 24.6% 3.7% -0.4%
Supplemental pay
$ 2.43 $ 5.99 $ 12.40 $ 60.40
$ 4.09 $ 7.57 $ 14.94 $ 76.80
$ 4.08 $ 7.44 $ 14.73 $ 77.52
Paid leave
Wage inflation disappeared in the
Other benefits
Total compensation
Hospital Industry Hourly wages
latest numbers, coinciding with slower hiring
$ 40.38 $ 51.09
$ 51.49 $ 4.53 $ 7.82 $ 15.36
Supplemental pay
$ 2.82 $ 6.61 $ 13.75 $ 63.56
$ 4.63 $ 7.91 $ 15.89
Paid leave
Other benefits
Total compensation
$ 79.53 $ 79.20
The BLS also said full-time RN payrolls were flat YoY in 2025, suggesting greater use of part- time nurses
• Registered nurse compensation had its weakest quarter-over-quarter comparison since Q4 2020, with softness concentrated in hospitals
• The drop in hospital RN compensation was concentrated in paid leave and other benefits, which fell (4-5%) from Q3 to Q4
• Impaired quality of data collection might have affected these results
5
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