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

The 90th percentile lands at $116,590. 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 $102,030.

Why is the BEA RPP for Pennsylvania different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Pennsylvania's overall index of 97.4 reflects rents 85.8, services 118.3, and goods 98.4.

Where does Pennsylvania rank for RN pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Pennsylvania 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.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Pennsylvania?

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 Pennsylvania.

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 Pennsylvania?

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

Pennsylvania Registered Nurse Salary: BLS $88K Median, Real $90K (2026)

TL;DR

$87,610 is the BLS median wage for RNs in Pennsylvania; $89,949 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
Wage envelope: $67,410 (P10) to $116,590 (P90), with quartiles at $78,570 and $102,030.
BEA RPP near 100 means nominal pay translates almost 1:1 into real take-home.
Nominal: #22/51 · Real: #25/51 — ranking shifts by 3 positions after RPP.
Pennsylvania is an NLC compact state — RNs holding a multistate license can practice across compact states without re-applying.

Wage breakdown — Pennsylvania

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$67,410	$69,209
P25 (lower quartile)	$78,570	$80,667
P50 (median)	$87,610	$89,949
P75 (upper quartile)	$102,030	$104,754
P90 (top tier)	$116,590	$119,702
Mean	$90,830	$93,255
Employment	146,840 RNs in Pennsylvania

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Pennsylvania index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	97.4
Goods	98.4
Services	118.3
Rents	85.8

Pennsylvania's overall RPP (97.4) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (RN)	$87,610	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$10,521	12.0% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,690	3.07% flat (+ local 0.5-3.9% Philly/Pgh)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,702	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$67,697	77.3% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$69,504	÷ (97.4 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.1% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $67,697 (77.3% of gross). After the 97.4 RPP, real take-home is $69,504. Local-tax overlay: Philadelphia residents pay 3.75% city wage tax; Pittsburgh ~3% combined city + school. Subtract roughly $3,066/year if PHL-based.

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. Pennsylvania sits at #22 on nominal pay and #25 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Pennsylvania falls 3 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Licensure — Pennsylvania (NLC)

Pennsylvania participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), with effective participation since 2021. RNs holding a multistate license issued by another Compact state may practice in Pennsylvania without applying for a separate Pennsylvania license. Pennsylvania-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.

Pennsylvania has been a Compact participant for 5 years as of 2026, putting it in the established middle tier — most major hospital systems and travel agencies in Pennsylvania 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

What does the top of the RN pay scale look like in Pennsylvania?: The 90th percentile lands at $116,590. 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 $102,030.
Why is the BEA RPP for Pennsylvania different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Pennsylvania's overall index of 97.4 reflects rents 85.8, services 118.3, and goods 98.4.
Where does Pennsylvania rank for RN pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Pennsylvania 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.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Pennsylvania?: 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 Pennsylvania.
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 Pennsylvania?: 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania — 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 Pennsylvania, 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 Pennsylvania 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.