How much does an RN make in Vermont?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $85,150 for RNs in Vermont as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $79,980 and the 75th-percentile is $104,110.

How are Vermont 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.

How many RNs does Vermont employ?

BLS OES counts 7,240 RNs employed in Vermont in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Why is the BEA RPP for Vermont 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. Vermont's overall index of 97.1 reflects rents 82.3, services 122.1, and goods 97.9.

How wide is the wage spread in Vermont?

P10 to P90 spans $70,840 to $117,310. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

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

No — Vermont'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.

How Much Do Registered Nurses Make in Vermont? $85K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Median RN salary in Vermont: $85,150 nominal, $87,655 real (BEA RPP basis).
RN ranking: #28 on the BLS table, #37 once cost of living is in.
BEA RPP near 100 means nominal pay translates almost 1:1 into real take-home.
Quartile range $79,980 (bottom 25%) to $104,110 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $70,840 to $117,310.
NLC compact membership in Vermont means RNs can take assignments in any other compact state on a single license.

Wage breakdown — Vermont

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$70,840	$72,924
P25 (lower quartile)	$79,980	$82,333
P50 (median)	$85,150	$87,655
P75 (upper quartile)	$104,110	$107,173
P90 (top tier)	$117,310	$120,761
Mean	$92,710	$95,438
Employment	7,240 RNs in Vermont

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Vermont index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	97.1
Goods	97.9
Services	122.1
Rents	82.3

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

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (RN)	$85,150	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$9,980	11.7% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,575	3.35–8.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,514	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$65,081	76.4% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$66,996	÷ (97.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.2% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $65,081 (76.4% of gross). After the 97.1 RPP, real take-home is $66,996.

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. Vermont sits at #28 on nominal pay and #37 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Vermont falls 9 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Licensure — Vermont (NLC)

Vermont participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), with effective participation since 2022. RNs holding a multistate license issued by another Compact state may practice in Vermont without applying for a separate Vermont license. Vermont-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.

Vermont has been a Compact participant for 4 years as of 2026, putting it in the established middle tier — most major hospital systems and travel agencies in Vermont 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 Vermont?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $85,150 for RNs in Vermont as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $79,980 and the 75th-percentile is $104,110.
How are Vermont 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.
How many RNs does Vermont employ?: BLS OES counts 7,240 RNs employed in Vermont in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Why is the BEA RPP for Vermont 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. Vermont's overall index of 97.1 reflects rents 82.3, services 122.1, and goods 97.9.
How wide is the wage spread in Vermont?: P10 to P90 spans $70,840 to $117,310. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Is Vermont a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for RNs?: No — Vermont'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.

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 Vermont 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.