How much does an RN make in Oklahoma?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $81,160 for RNs in Oklahoma as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $75,320 and the 75th-percentile is $96,460.

How are Oklahoma 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.

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

Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.7 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $81,160 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $91,520. 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.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Oklahoma?

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 Oklahoma.

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 Oklahoma?

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 Oklahoma 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.

Oklahoma Registered Nurse Salary: BLS $81K Median, Real $92K (2026)

TL;DR

Median RN salary in Oklahoma: $81,160 nominal, $91,520 real (BEA RPP basis).
State ranks #36 nationally on nominal wage, #23 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.
Below-100 RPP flips this state above its nominal rank in real-wage terms; the gap is about $10,360.
Wage envelope: $64,110 (P10) to $105,320 (P90), with quartiles at $75,320 and $96,460.
Oklahoma accepts the NLC multistate license; cross-state mobility is materially cheaper here than in non-compact states.

Wage breakdown — Oklahoma

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$64,110	$72,294
P25 (lower quartile)	$75,320	$84,935
P50 (median)	$81,160	$91,520
P75 (upper quartile)	$96,460	$108,773
P90 (top tier)	$105,320	$118,764
Mean	$85,800	$96,752
Employment	32,870 RNs in Oklahoma

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Oklahoma index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	88.7
Goods	93.3
Services	80.2
Rents	65.0

Oklahoma sits below the national baseline (RPP 88.7), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 65.0.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (RN)	$81,160	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$9,102	11.2% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,365	0.25–4.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,209	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$62,484	77.0% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$70,460	÷ (88.7 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.1% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $62,484 (77.0% of gross). After the 88.7 RPP, real take-home is $70,460.

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. Oklahoma sits at #36 on nominal pay and #23 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Oklahoma climbs 13 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Licensure — Oklahoma (NLC)

Oklahoma participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), with effective participation since 2019. RNs holding a multistate license issued by another Compact state may practice in Oklahoma without applying for a separate Oklahoma license. Oklahoma-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.

Oklahoma has been a Compact participant for 7 years as of 2026, putting it in the established middle tier — most major hospital systems and travel agencies in Oklahoma have updated their credentialing workflows to accept Compact licenses by default.

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 Oklahoma?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $81,160 for RNs in Oklahoma as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $75,320 and the 75th-percentile is $96,460.
How are Oklahoma 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.
Is Oklahoma a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for RNs?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.7 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $81,160 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $91,520. 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.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Oklahoma?: 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 Oklahoma.
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 Oklahoma?: 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 Oklahoma 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.

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 Oklahoma 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.