How much does an RN make in Nebraska?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $81,020 for RNs in Nebraska as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $76,430 and the 75th-percentile is $93,140.

How are Nebraska RN salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

How many RNs does Nebraska employ?

BLS OES counts 24,180 RNs employed in Nebraska 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 Nebraska a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for RNs?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 90.3 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $81,020 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $89,735. 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.

Is Nebraska an NLC compact state for RN licensure?

Yes — Nebraska participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so RNs holding a multistate license from another compact state can practice in Nebraska without applying for a separate license. This materially lowers the cost and timeline of cross-state moves.

Travel RN vs staff RN in Nebraska — 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 Nebraska, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

How Much Do Registered Nurses Make in Nebraska? $81K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

$81,020 is the BLS median wage for RNs in Nebraska; $89,735 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #26 of 51; nominal rank is #37.
Below-100 RPP flips this state above its nominal rank in real-wage terms; the gap is about $8,715.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $63,290 · P25 $76,430 · P75 $93,140 · P90 $101,500.
Nebraska accepts the NLC multistate license; cross-state mobility is materially cheaper here than in non-compact states.

Wage breakdown — Nebraska

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$63,290	$70,098
P25 (lower quartile)	$76,430	$84,651
P50 (median)	$81,020	$89,735
P75 (upper quartile)	$93,140	$103,159
P90 (top tier)	$101,500	$112,418
Mean	$82,890	$91,806
Employment	24,180 RNs in Nebraska

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Nebraska index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	90.3
Goods	96.5
Services	79.4
Rents	74.3

Nebraska sits below the national baseline (RPP 90.3), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 74.3.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (RN)	$81,020	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$9,071	11.2% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,602	2.46–5.84% (graduated, 3.99% top by 2027)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,198	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$62,148	76.7% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$68,833	÷ (90.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.4% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $62,148 (76.7% of gross). After the 90.3 RPP, real take-home is $68,833.

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. Nebraska sits at #37 on nominal pay and #26 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Nebraska climbs 11 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Licensure — Nebraska (NLC)

Nebraska 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 Nebraska without applying for a separate Nebraska license. Nebraska-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.

Nebraska 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

How much does an RN make in Nebraska?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $81,020 for RNs in Nebraska as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $76,430 and the 75th-percentile is $93,140.
How are Nebraska RN salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
How many RNs does Nebraska employ?: BLS OES counts 24,180 RNs employed in Nebraska 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 Nebraska a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for RNs?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 90.3 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $81,020 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $89,735. 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.
Is Nebraska an NLC compact state for RN licensure?: Yes — Nebraska participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so RNs holding a multistate license from another compact state can practice in Nebraska without applying for a separate license. This materially lowers the cost and timeline of cross-state moves.
Travel RN vs staff RN in Nebraska — 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 Nebraska, 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 Nebraska 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.