What is the real (cost-adjusted) RN salary in Texas?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 97.1 for Texas), the real-wage equivalent is $92,660 — what the $90,010 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $79,730 to $105,209.

Where does Texas rank for RN pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Texas 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.

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

No — Texas's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.

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 Texas?

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 Texas.

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

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

How Much Do Registered Nurses Make in Texas? $90K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

$90,010 is the BLS median wage for RNs in Texas; $92,660 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $64,660 · P25 $77,450 · P75 $102,200 · P90 $122,060.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #19 of 51; nominal rank is #19.
Multistate license: Texas participates in the NLC compact, useful for travel-RN flexibility.

Wage breakdown — Texas

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$64,660	$66,564
P25 (lower quartile)	$77,450	$79,730
P50 (median)	$90,010	$92,660
P75 (upper quartile)	$102,200	$105,209
P90 (top tier)	$122,060	$125,654
Mean	$91,690	$94,390
Employment	261,050 RNs in Texas

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Texas index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	97.1
Goods	98.1
Services	92.4
Rents	97.5

Texas's overall RPP (97.1) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (RN)	$90,010	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$11,049	12.3% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no state income tax
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,886	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$72,075	80.1% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$74,197	÷ (97.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Texas levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $4,501 a year for a RN at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After the favorable cost of living, real take-home is $74,197 — higher than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP is below 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. Texas sits at #19 on nominal pay and #19 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 — Texas (NLC)

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

Texas 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

What is the real (cost-adjusted) RN salary in Texas?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 97.1 for Texas), the real-wage equivalent is $92,660 — what the $90,010 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $79,730 to $105,209.
Where does Texas rank for RN pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Texas 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.
Is Texas a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for RNs?: No — Texas's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
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 Texas?: 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 Texas.
How does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in Texas?: 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 Texas 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 Texas — 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 Texas, 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 Texas 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.