Nurse Unit Manager Salary in the United States

How much does a Nurse Unit Manager make in the United States?

As of July 01, 2026, the average salary for a Nurse Unit Manager in the United States is $135,142 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $65.

However, a Nurse Unit Manager's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $161,004
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $124,025 to $148,679
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $113,904
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View as table View as graph 25% $124,025 10% $113,904 90% $161,004 75% $148,679 $135,142 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click

Nurse Unit Manager Salaries by Percentile

Annual
Salary
Monthly
Pay
Weekly
Pay
Hourly
Wage
75th Percentile $148,679 $12,390 $2,859 $71
Average $135,142 $11,262 $2,599 $65
25th Percentile $124,025 $10,335 $2,385 $60
Check out Nurse Unit Manager Job Openings in the United States
Staff RN

OhioHealth - Riverlea, OH

Staff RN

OhioHealth - Riverlea, OH

Staff RN

OhioHealth - Riverlea, OH

Staff RN

OhioHealth - Riverlea, OH

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Key Factors That Influence Nurse Unit Manager Salaries

A Nurse Unit Manager'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 Nurse Unit Manager Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Nurse Unit Manager'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): $100,912
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $114,642
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $134,146
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $162,501
  • Expert (over 8 years): $199,581
Levels Salary
Charge Nu... Level Nurse Unit Manager$100,912
Nursing S... Level Nurse Unit Manager$114,642
Nurse Uni... Level Nurse Unit Manager$134,146
Nursing S... Level Nurse Unit Manager$162,501
Nursing D... Level Nurse Unit Manager$199,581
$100,912 0 yr
$114,642 < 2 yrs
$134,146 2-4 yrs
$162,501 5-8 yrs
$199,581 > 8 yrs
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What Am I Worth?

Top Paying Cities for Nurse Unit Managers

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: $170,455
  • San Francisco: $168,588
  • Oakland: $165,035

What Skills Can Increase a Nurse Unit Manager's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Leadership (Mentioned in 9.73% Job Postings): Knowledge of and ability to employ effective strategies that motivate and guide other members within our business to achieve optimum results.
  • Acute Care (Mentioned in 2.58% 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.
  • Assisted Living (Mentioned in 1.48% Job Postings): Assisted living exemplifies the shift from "care as service" to "care as business" in the broader health care arena predicted more than three decades ago. A consumer-driven industry, assisted living offers a wide range of options, levels of care, and diversity of services (Lockhart, 2009) and is subject to state rather than federal regulatory oversight. "Assisted living" means depends on both the state and provider in question: variations in state regulatory definitions are significant and provider variables include everything from philosophy, geographic location and auspice, to organizational size and structure.
See More Skills
Skills Demand Percentage
Leadership 9.73%
Acute Care 2.58%
Assisted Living 1.48%
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 Nurse Unit Manager's salary.
  • Risk Management: Can increase your salary by up to 7%.
  • Alignment: Can increase your salary by up to 4%.
  • Clinical Nursing: Can increase your salary by up to 3%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Risk Management
$144,602
7%
Alignment
$140,548
4%
Clinical Nursing
$139,196
3%
Care Management
$139,196
3%
Communication Skills
$139,196
3%
Quality Improvement
$137,845
2%
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Nurse Unit Manager Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Nurse Unit Manager 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, Healthcare, offers compensation 20% above the average. Conversely, Nurse Unit Manager positions in Business Services typically offer lower base pay, as this sector often view Nurse Unit Manager as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industry for a Nurse Unit Manager

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Healthcare$162,170$78.020%

How Education impacts a Nurse Unit Manager's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Nurse Unit Managers enter the field with a Bachelor'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 Nurse Unit Manager with a Bachelor's Degree is between $119,641 and $126,006).

Nurse Unit Manager Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Nurse Unit Manager
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%
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Nurse Unit Manager Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Nurse Unit Manager'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 July 01, 2026

Salary Trends for Nurse Unit Manager

Salaries for a Nurse Unit Manager can change over time, reflecting shifts in market demand and the overall economy. The median salary increased from $106,185 in 2023 to around $106,237 in 2025, reflecting changes in demand, location, experience, and the wider economy. For a detailed analysis of Nurse Unit Manager salary trends, .

Average Annual Salary of Nurse Unit Manager Over Time

2022
$???
2023
$106,185
2024
$106,541
2025
$106,237
2026
$???
2027
$???
Year Average Annual Salary
2022
View More
2023 $106,185
2024 $106,541
2025 $106,237
2026
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2027
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Most common benefits for Nurse Unit Manager

Social Security
401(k)
Disability
Healthcare
Pension
Time Off (days)
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Common company salaries for Nurse Unit Manager

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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.

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