What is the real (cost-adjusted) RN salary in Mississippi?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 86.8 for Mississippi), the real-wage equivalent is $85,803 — what the $74,470 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $73,797 to $96,230.

What does the top of the RN pay scale look like in Mississippi?

The 90th percentile lands at $104,040. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $83,520.

How many RNs does Mississippi employ?

BLS OES counts 29,400 RNs employed in Mississippi in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Is Mississippi a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for RNs?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 86.8 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $74,470 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $85,803. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for RNs comparing offers across regions.

What are the limits of these RN salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

How does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in Mississippi?

BLS reports a single 'Registered Nurses' SOC code (29-1141), so the figures on this page are not specialty-segmented. In practice, ICU, NICU, and OR roles in Mississippi typically pay 8-15% above the all-RN median; L&D and ER vary by hospital system. Travel-RN contracts can substantially exceed staff rates during demand spikes.

Travel RN vs staff RN in Mississippi — which earns more on a real basis?

Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In Mississippi, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

Mississippi Registered Nurse Salary: BLS $74K Median, Real $86K (2026)

TL;DR

Mississippi pays RNs a BLS median of $74,470 — the more useful number is $85,803, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
RN ranking: #49 on the BLS table, #46 once cost of living is in.
Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $11,333 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
Quartile range $64,050 (bottom 25%) to $83,520 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $58,130 to $104,040.
Mississippi is an NLC compact state — RNs holding a multistate license can practice across compact states without re-applying.

Wage breakdown — Mississippi

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$58,130	$66,976
P25 (lower quartile)	$64,050	$73,797
P50 (median)	$74,470	$85,803
P75 (upper quartile)	$83,520	$96,230
P90 (top tier)	$104,040	$119,873
Mean	$79,470	$91,564
Employment	29,400 RNs in Mississippi

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Mississippi index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	86.8
Goods	94.4
Services	83.5
Rents	54.9

Mississippi sits below the national baseline (RPP 86.8), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 54.9.

After-tax take-home — Mississippi (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (RN)	$74,470	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$7,630	10.2% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,487	4.0% above $10K (2026, HB 1733)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$5,697	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$58,656	78.8% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$67,582	÷ (86.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Mississippi state-tax burden means for RN take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.3% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $58,656 (78.8% of gross). After the 86.8 RPP, real take-home is $67,582.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $93,600 for RNs with mean pay of $98,430 and total employment of 3,282,010. Mississippi sits at #49 on nominal pay and #46 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Mississippi climbs 3 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Licensure — Mississippi (NLC)

Mississippi participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), with effective participation since 2017. RNs holding a multistate license issued by another Compact state may practice in Mississippi without applying for a separate Mississippi license. Mississippi-issued multistate licenses are reciprocally recognized in 36 other Compact states (37 jurisdictions total in 2026), eliminating the per-state endorsement workflow ($100–$500 + 4–16 week processing) for travel and per-diem RN work.

Mississippi has been a Compact participant for 9 years as of 2026, putting it among the long-tenured members where the Compact pathway is the established norm at most employers and travel agencies.

Source: NCSBN compact implementation tracker — re-synced quarterly. See NLC reciprocity hub for the cross-state matrix and changelog for status changes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) RN salary in Mississippi?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 86.8 for Mississippi), the real-wage equivalent is $85,803 — what the $74,470 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $73,797 to $96,230.
What does the top of the RN pay scale look like in Mississippi?: The 90th percentile lands at $104,040. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $83,520.
How many RNs does Mississippi employ?: BLS OES counts 29,400 RNs employed in Mississippi in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Is Mississippi a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for RNs?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 86.8 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $74,470 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $85,803. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for RNs comparing offers across regions.
What are the limits of these RN salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
How does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in Mississippi?: BLS reports a single 'Registered Nurses' SOC code (29-1141), so the figures on this page are not specialty-segmented. In practice, ICU, NICU, and OR roles in Mississippi typically pay 8-15% above the all-RN median; L&D and ER vary by hospital system. Travel-RN contracts can substantially exceed staff rates during demand spikes.
Travel RN vs staff RN in Mississippi — which earns more on a real basis?: Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In Mississippi, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1141, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Mississippi RN pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.