How much does a Psych Rn make in the United States?

As of September 01, 2026, the average salary for a Psych Rn in the United States is $85,716 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $41.

However, a Psych Rn's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $103,093
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $77,606 to $94,812
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $70,221

Key Factors That Influence Psych Rn Salaries

A Psych Rn's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location, education and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Psych Rn Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Psych Rn's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $84,928
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $85,153
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $88,162
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $92,394
  • Expert (over 8 years): $92,696
Levels Salary
Entry Level Psych Rn$84,928
Intermediate Level Psych Rn$85,153
Senior Level Psych Rn$88,162
Specialist Level Psych Rn$92,394
Expert Level Psych Rn$92,696

Top Paying Cities for Psych Rns

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $108,114
  • San Francisco: $106,930
  • Oakland: $104,677

What Skills Can Increase a Psych Rn's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Accountability (Mentioned in 4.51% Job Postings): Setting and holding oneself and others to stated expectations by associating tasks with our business's mission, values, and goals.
  • Acute Care (Mentioned in 3.91% Job Postings): 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.
  • Data Collection (Mentioned in 1.72% Job Postings): Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information on targeted variables in an established system, which then enables one to answer relevant questions and evaluate outcomes. Data collection is a component of research in all fields of study including physical and social sciences, humanities, and business. While methods vary by discipline, the emphasis on ensuring accurate and honest collection remains the same. The goal for all data collection is to capture quality evidence that allows analysis to lead to the formulation of convincing and credible answers to the questions that have been posed.
Skills Demand Percentage
Accountability 4.51%
Acute Care 3.91%
Data Collection 1.72%

What skills can make your compensation higher?

Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Psych Rn's salary.

  • Telecommunications: Can increase your salary by up to 7%.
  • Collective Bargaining: Can increase your salary by up to 4%.
  • Data Collection: Can increase your salary by up to 4%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Telecommunications $91,716
7%
Collective Bargaining $89,145
4%
Data Collection $89,145
4%

Psych Rn Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Psych Rn roles, the industry you choose can impact your earning potential by as much as 40% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the highest-paying industry, Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit, offers compensation 20% above the average. Conversely, Psych Rn positions in Healthcare typically offer lower base pay, as this sector often view Psych Rn as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industry for a Psych Rn

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit$102,859$49.020%

How Education impacts a Psych Rn's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Psych Rns enter the field with a Associate's Degree degree, higher education can lead to more specialized and higher-paying roles.

According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for a Psych Rn with a Associate's Degree is between $82,114 and $86,534).

Psych Rn Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Psych Rn
Degree Level % of user with this level of education
No Diploma 2.8%
High School 2.8%
Associates 36.2%
Bachelors 55.3%
Masters 5.0%
Doctorate 0.7%

Psych Rn Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Psych Rn's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on September 01, 2026
$77,606
Average $85,716/year
$94,812
$6,467
Average $7,143/month
$7,901
$1,492
Average $1,648/week
$1,823
$37
Average $41/hour
$46
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $94,812 $7,901 $1,823 $46
Average $85,716 $7,143 $1,648 $41
25th Percentile $77,606 $6,467 $1,492 $37

Most common benefits for Psych Rn

  • Social Security
  • 401 (k)
  • Disability
  • Healthcare
  • Pension
  • Time Off (days)

Common company salaries for Psych Rn

Here are companies hiring for Psych Rn and their salaries, click below for more details.

Find Your Next Psych Rn Job

Ready to take the next step in your career? Browse thousands of current Psych Rn job openings on our job board. Use the search bar below to find your perfect match.

For Employees

Analyze the market and your qualifications to negotiate your salary with confidence.

Get a Salary Increase

Search thousands of open positions to find your next opportunity.

Search Job Openings

For Employers

Individualize employee pay based on unique job requirements and personal qualifications.

Adjust Employee Salary

Get the latest market price for benchmark jobs and jobs in your industry.

Price My Industry Jobs

FAQ about Psych Rn

1. What industry pays the highest salary for Psych Rn?

The Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit industry offers the highest average compensation for Psych Rn roles, with salaries approximately 20% above the market median.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

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.)

With the most extensive online, real-time compensation data available, Salary.com helps you pinpoint your exact pay target.

Are you an HR manager or compensation specialist?

Salary.com's CompAnalyst platform offers:

  • Detailed skills and competency reports for specific positions
  • Job and employee pricing reports
  • Compensation data tools, salary structures, surveys and benchmarks.
Learn about CompAnalyst