As of March 01, 2025, the average annual salary for a Head Nurse in the United States is $125,541. Salary.com reports that pay typically ranges from $114,236 to $138,146, with most professionals earning between $103,943 and $149,622.
| Annual Salary |
Monthly Pay |
Weekly Pay |
Hourly Wage |
|
| 75th Percentile | $138,146 | $11,512 | $2,657 | $66 |
| Average | $125,541 | $10,462 | $2,414 | $60 |
| 25th Percentile | $114,236 | $9,520 | $2,197 | $55 |
An entry-level Head Nurse with less than 1 year of experience earns about $119,974. With 1-2 years of experience, the average salary increases to $120,475. For 2-4 years of experience, the pay typically rises to $121,643. Senior-level professionals with 5-8 years of experience earn around $122,978, and those with over 8 years of experience can expect an average of $125,448.
| Levels | Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry Level Head Nurse | $119,974 |
| Intermediate Level Head Nurse | $120,475 |
| Senior Level Head Nurse | $121,643 |
| Specialist Level Head Nurse | $122,978 |
| Expert Level Head Nurse | $125,448 |
| Entry Level | 4% |
| Mid Level | 4% |
| Senior Level | 3% |
| Top Level | 2% |
| Experienced | 0% |
Salaries in the United States differ widely between states due to factors like cost of living, local economies, and industry presence.
What Am I Worth?
Salaries in the United States can vary greatly between cities due to factors like cost of living, local economies, and industry presence.
As of March 01, 2025, our research reveals a significant shift in Head Nurse compensation over the past six years. For example, the median salary increased from $107,758 in 2023 to approximately $108,119 in 2024. (For a detailed analysis of Head Nurse salary trends, click here.)
Key factors like location, experience, industry demand, and economic growth significantly influence salary variations, making them important to consider.
Salary.com job board provides millions of Head Nurse information for you to search for. Click on search button below to see Head Nurse job openings or enter a new job title here.
Here are companies hiring for Head Nurse and their salaries, click below for more details.
| Core Compensation | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Base Salary | $125,541 | 72.9% | ||
| Bonus | $1,313 | 0.8% | ||
| Value of Benefits | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Social Security | $9,704 | 5.6% | ||
| 401K/403B | $5,962 | 3.5% | ||
| Disability | $1,015 | 0.6% | ||
| Healthcare | $6,056 | 3.5% | ||
| Pension | $6,977 | 4.1% | ||
| Time Off | $15,613 | 9.1% | ||
| Total Compensation | $172,181 | 100% | ||
| Degree Level | % of user with this level of education |
|---|---|
| No Diploma | 0.3% |
| High School | 3.5% |
| Associates | 23.8% |
| Bachelors | 46.0% |
| Masters | 25.6% |
| Doctorate | 0.9% |
What Am I Worth?
The average annual salary of Head Nurse is $125,541. In case you are finding an easy salary calculator, the average hourly pay of Head Nurse is $60; the average weekly pay of Head Nurse is $2,414; the average monthly pay of Head Nurse is $10,462.
A Head Nurse's earning potential can vary widely depending on several factors, including location, industry, experience, education, and the specific employer. According to the latest salary data by Salary.com, a Head Nurse earns the most in San Jose, CA, where the annual salary of a Head Nurse is $157,554.
The highest pay for Head Nurse is $149,622.
The lowest pay for Head Nurse is $103,943.
Head Nurse plans and implements the overall nursing policies, procedures, and services for a unit. Maintains nursing staff by recruiting, selecting, orienting, and training clinical staff. Being a Head Nurse ensures that nurses are current in competencies, assessments, licensure, certifications, and other annual training. May provide direct patient care and is responsible for assessing, planning, and evaluating patients. Additionally, Head Nurse requires a bachelor's degree in nursing. Typically requires Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS). Requires Registered Nurse (RN). Typically reports to a director. The Head Nurse manages subordinate staff in the day-to-day performance of their jobs. True first level manager. Ensures that project/department milestones/goals are met and adhering to approved budgets. Has full authority for personnel actions. To be a Head Nurse typically requires 5 years experience in the related area as an individual contributor. 1-3 years supervisory experience may be required. Extensive knowledge of the function and department processes.
Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.
Leadership: Knowledge of and ability to employ effective strategies that motivate and guide other members within our business to achieve optimum results.
Acute Care: Acute care is a branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery. In medical terms, care for acute health conditions is the opposite from chronic care, or longer term care. Acute care services are generally delivered by teams of health care professionals from a range of medical and surgical specialties. Acute care may require a stay in a hospital emergency department, ambulatory surgery center, urgent care centre or other short-term stay facility, along with the assistance of diagnostic services, surgery, or follow-up outpatient care in the community. Hospital-based acute inpatient care typically has the goal of discharging patients as soon as they are deemed healthy and stable. Acute care settings include emergency department, intensive care, coronary care, cardiology, neonatal intensive care, and many general areas where the patient could become acutely unwell and require stabilization and transfer to another higher dependency unit for further treatment.
Geriatrics: Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term geriatrics originates from the Greek geron meaning "old man", and iatros meaning "healer".
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We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)
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