How many RNs does New Hampshire employ?

BLS OES counts 16,580 RNs employed in New Hampshire in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Where does New Hampshire rank for RN pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, New Hampshire ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

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.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for New Hampshire?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within New Hampshire.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

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

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 New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire — 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 New Hampshire, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

New Hampshire Registered Nurse Salary: BLS $97K Median, Real $92K (2026)

TL;DR

$96,830 is the BLS median wage for RNs in New Hampshire; $91,875 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
Nominal: #16/51 · Real: #22/51 — ranking shifts by 6 positions after RPP.
Cost adjustment is small — neither an arbitrage state nor a high-cost penalty.
Wage envelope: $69,250 (P10) to $120,120 (P90), with quartiles at $79,720 and $105,500.
New Hampshire accepts the NLC multistate license; cross-state mobility is materially cheaper here than in non-compact states.

Wage breakdown — New Hampshire

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$69,250	$65,706
P25 (lower quartile)	$79,720	$75,641
P50 (median)	$96,830	$91,875
P75 (upper quartile)	$105,500	$100,102
P90 (top tier)	$120,120	$113,973
Mean	$94,620	$89,778
Employment	16,580 RNs in New Hampshire

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	New Hampshire index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	105.4
Goods	100.0
Services	156.2
Rents	114.5

New Hampshire is a high-cost state — RPP 105.4 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (114.5) and services (156.2).

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (RN)	$96,830	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$12,550	13.0% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no tax on wage income (interest/dividends only, repealed 2027)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$7,407	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$76,873	79.4% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$72,939	÷ (105.4 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the New Hampshire state-tax burden means for RN take-home

New Hampshire levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $4,842 a year for a RN at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After cost of living, real take-home is $72,939 — lower than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP exceeds 100.

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. New Hampshire sits at #16 on nominal pay and #22 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, New Hampshire falls 6 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Licensure — New Hampshire (NLC)

New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire without applying for a separate New Hampshire license. New Hampshire-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.

New Hampshire 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 many RNs does New Hampshire employ?: BLS OES counts 16,580 RNs employed in New Hampshire in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Where does New Hampshire rank for RN pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, New Hampshire ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
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.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for New Hampshire?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within New Hampshire.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
How does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in New Hampshire?: 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 New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire — 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 New Hampshire, 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 New Hampshire 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.