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

The 90th percentile lands at $103,650. 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 $97,440.

How many RNs does Ohio employ?

BLS OES counts 138,360 RNs employed in Ohio 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 Ohio rank for RN pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Ohio 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.

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.

Is Ohio an NLC compact state for RN licensure?

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

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

Registered Nurse Salary in Ohio (2026): $81K Median, BEA RPP-Adjusted

TL;DR

BLS reports Ohio RN median pay at $81,250. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $88,408.
Bottom quartile $77,420, top quartile $97,440. The P90 ($103,650) is roughly 1.6× the P10 ($66,060).
Low BEA RPP (91.9) means the paycheck stretches further than the BLS number suggests; net lift roughly $7,158.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #35 of 51; nominal rank is #35.
Multistate license: Ohio participates in the NLC compact, useful for travel-RN flexibility.

Wage breakdown — Ohio

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$66,060	$71,880
P25 (lower quartile)	$77,420	$84,241
P50 (median)	$81,250	$88,408
P75 (upper quartile)	$97,440	$106,025
P90 (top tier)	$103,650	$112,782
Mean	$86,110	$93,697
Employment	138,360 RNs in Ohio

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Ohio index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	91.9
Goods	94.2
Services	89.2
Rents	72.1

Ohio sits below the national baseline (RPP 91.9), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 72.1.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (RN)	$81,250	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$9,122	11.2% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,526	0–3.5% (graduated, +local 0.5–3% RITA cities)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,216	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$64,386	79.2% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$70,059	÷ (91.9 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Ohio's state tax is light at this income tier (~1.9% effective). The bigger compensation lever is the below-baseline cost of living (RPP 91.9), which lifts real take-home above nominal after-tax — net real after-tax $70,059. Local-tax overlay: Most Ohio cities levy 0.5–3% local income tax (RITA / CCA jurisdictions). Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Akron all assess ≥2.5%.

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. Ohio sits at #35 on nominal pay and #35 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. Nominal and real ranking are the same — cost of living and pay scale together.

Licensure — Ohio (NLC)

Ohio participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), with effective participation since 2023. RNs holding a multistate license issued by another Compact state may practice in Ohio without applying for a separate Ohio license. Ohio-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.

Ohio has been a Compact participant for 3 years as of 2026, putting it among the more recent members — older HR / credentialing systems at smaller employers may still default to a Ohio-specific license check; budget extra verification time during onboarding.

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 does the top of the RN pay scale look like in Ohio?: The 90th percentile lands at $103,650. 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 $97,440.
How many RNs does Ohio employ?: BLS OES counts 138,360 RNs employed in Ohio 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 Ohio rank for RN pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Ohio 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.
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.
Is Ohio an NLC compact state for RN licensure?: Yes — Ohio participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so RNs holding a multistate license from another compact state can practice in Ohio without applying for a separate license. This materially lowers the cost and timeline of cross-state moves.
Travel RN vs staff RN in Ohio — 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 Ohio, 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 Ohio 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.