RN
$110,100
Above+$8,680
Rank 8 of 51
Salary data / New Jersey
New Jersey nurse salary 2026: RN, NP & travel pay
Average RN salary in New Jersey
$110,100
$52.93/hr8th of 51National $101,420
$8,680 above the national average, but only 17th once rent and groceries are counted.
NP
$140,470
Above+$3,170
Rank 7 of 49
CRNA
$287,792
Above+$39,472
Rank 1 of 51
Travel RN base
$102,673
Above+$1,541
Rank 12 of 51
ICU RN · posted pay
$119,178
Above+$33,973
Rank 9 of 51
ER RN · posted pay
$88,059
No national figure
Rank 12 of 51
ICU and ER figures are averages of posted pay from job-board aggregators such as Nurse.org, not BLS means. They run below the BLS RN mean in most states, so compare them with each other and with the national ICU figure, not with the RN figure beside them.
Raw vs cost-of-living adjusted
New Jersey drops from 8th to 17th once prices are counted
Prices in New Jersey run 10.4% above the national average (regional price parity 110.4). That makes the $110,100 mean spend like $99,728 elsewhere.
| Measure | Pay | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Mean wage | $110,100 | 8 of 51 |
| Cost-of-living adjusted | $99,728 | 17 of 51 |
Travel nursing in New Jersey
Posted travel base is $1,974 a week before stipends
Posted base · weekly
$1,974/wk
$102,673 a year posted ÷ 52 weeks
12th of 51 · $1,541 above the national $101,132
Why this is lower than the package numbers in the guide below
Posted base is the taxable rate on the job listing. Housing and meal stipends are paid on top of it and are not in this number.
Stipends are only tax-free if you keep a tax home. Run your own contract before you compare offers.
What shapes pay here
Income tax up to 10.75%, a ratio bill pending, one compact license
- State income tax
- Up to 10.75%
New Jersey rates rise to 10.75% on the top bracket, so the effective rate on a $110,100 salary is lower than 10.75%.
- Staffing ratio law
- Bill pending
NJ passed ICU ratio law signed Jan 2026, final regs pending. Until it takes effect, each New Jersey hospital sets its own staffing.
- Nurse Licensure Compact
- Member
NLC active since Nov 15, 2021. A multistate license from any compact state covers practice in New Jersey with no separate application.
The full guide
What the New Jersey numbers leave out
Registered Nurse (RN) Salary in New Jersey
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025, released May 15, 2026) places the New Jersey RN mean annual wage at $110,100, equivalent to $52.93 per hour. That figure sits 8.6% above the national RN mean of $101,420 — a premium that reflects New Jersey's position as a densely populated, high-cost state immediately adjacent to the New York City metropolitan market. Northern New Jersey's Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Morris, and Union counties compete directly with NYC hospital systems for nursing talent, and that competition creates sustained upward wage pressure that filters through the rest of the state's salary structure.
New Jersey employs approximately 92,000 registered nurses statewide — one of the largest RN workforces in the country, concentrated in a state that spans just 8,723 square miles with 9.3 million residents. As the most densely populated state in the United States, New Jersey sustains a correspondingly dense healthcare infrastructure: four major health systems (RWJBarnabas Health, Hackensack Meridian Health, Atlantic Health System, and Cooper University Health Care) plus the six-hospital Virtua Health system anchoring South Jersey, four Level I trauma centers, and hundreds of acute-care, long-term care, and ambulatory facilities. That density means NJ nurses have more employer options and more internal labor market competition than nurses in most other states — which generally serves wage levels well.
The practical salary range for NJ RNs reflects the spectrum from new graduates at community hospitals to experienced ICU nurses at Level I trauma centers. Starting RN salaries in New Jersey range from approximately $65,000–$75,000 at smaller community hospitals to $80,000+ at major academic and teaching hospitals in the northern part of the state. Experienced nurses with 5+ years in high-acuity specialties regularly reach $110,000–$140,000 in total compensation including differential and overtime at the major systems. Union-represented nurses at RWJBarnabas, Hackensack Meridian, and facilities under the Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) contracts tend to sit at the upper end of NJ pay ranges, while non-union community hospital nurses in central and southern New Jersey typically earn closer to the state mean.
Mean Annual RN
$110,100
BLS May 2025 • $52.93/hr
National RN Mean
$101,420
NJ is +8.6% above national
ICU RN (New Jersey)
$119,178
$9,078 above general NJ RN
RN Salary by Percentile
| Percentile | Annual Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | ~$72,000 | ~$34.62 |
| 25th | ~$87,000 | ~$41.83 |
| Median (50th) | ~$107,000 | ~$51.44 |
| 75th | ~$133,000 | ~$63.94 |
| 90th | ~$155,000 | ~$74.52 |
| Mean | $110,100 | $52.93 |
The NYC proximity premium: Northern New Jersey sits directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan and Brooklyn hospital systems. NYU Langone, NewYork-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, and NYC Health + Hospitals all recruit from NJ's nursing pool — and NJ hospitals respond by calibrating salaries to compete. A nurse commuting 20 miles from Hackensack or Montclair can reach major NYC hospitals; NJ healthcare systems know this and price accordingly. This dynamic is why NJ's RN wage premium over the national mean is structural rather than cyclical: it is built into how every major NJ health system sets its wage floors to retain staff against an always-available NYC alternative. Even southern NJ nurses, too far from NYC to commute, benefit from the wage floor that NYC proximity sets statewide.
Specialty & Advanced Practice Salaries in New Jersey
New Jersey's specialty salary picture is shaped by the same forces that drive its general RN premium: market density, NYC competition, and the concentration of large academic medical centers that set high wage floors. NJ CRNAs earn the highest state-level CRNA compensation in the country — a direct result of the NYC metro anesthesia market pulling CRNA talent and forcing NJ facilities to pay at the top of the range to retain independently practicing CRNAs. NJ NPs, who have had full practice authority since January 2022, earn above the national NP mean and practice in an APRN environment that, while relatively recent in its independence grant, is now fully operational across the state's dense ambulatory and community health infrastructure.
| Role | NJ Annual Mean | Hourly | vs. National / Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRNA | $287,792 | $138.36 | US #1 state per TheCRNA.com 2026 |
| NP | $140,470 | $67.53 | Full practice authority since Jan 2022 |
| ICU RN | $119,178 | $57.30 | +$9,078 above general NJ RN mean |
| Travel RN | $102,673 | ~$49.36 | Posted taxable base; total pkg higher |
| ER RN | $88,059 | $42.34 | Below general NJ mean; reflects ED mix |
| General RN | $110,100 | $52.93 | +8.6% vs. national mean $101,420 |
NP Salary & Scope of Practice
New Jersey nurse practitioners average $140,470 per year — well above the national NP mean, with growth trajectory that reflects the relatively recent (January 2022) grant of full practice authority. Before P.L. 2021, c.377 (the APRN Modernization Act), NJ NPs operated under a reduced-practice framework requiring physician collaboration agreements — a structural limitation that suppressed both independent NP practice expansion and NP wages relative to full-practice-authority states. Since January 2022, NJ NPs can diagnose, order and interpret diagnostic tests, prescribe Schedule II–V controlled substances, and independently manage complete treatment plans without any supervisory or collaborative agreement requirement. NJ APRNs are licensed through the New Jersey Board of Nursing.
The practical effect of full practice authority in NJ is being felt most strongly in the ambulatory and community health sectors, where NPs are increasingly establishing independent practices, partnering with health system outpatient networks, and filling primary care gaps in urban and suburban markets that struggle to attract physicians. For NPs coming from reduced-practice states, NJ represents a substantial scope expansion. For NPs already in full-practice-authority states eyeing the NJ market, the salary premium over states like Wyoming or Montana — which also have FPA but lower overall wages — is the primary draw.
CRNA Salary in New Jersey
New Jersey CRNAs earn approximately $287,792 per year per TheCRNA.com's 2026 blended dataset — the highest CRNA compensation of any state in the country. This is not a survey artifact; it reflects the structural reality of the NYC metro CRNA market. Large academic anesthesia programs at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Hackensack University Medical Center, Morristown Medical Center, and Cooper University Health Care compete with Cornell, NYU, Columbia, and Mount Sinai for the same pool of CRNA talent. The result is a compensation floor that far exceeds the national CRNA mean of $248,320. New Jersey CRNAs practice in a full-authority environment; the state opted out of the federal CMS physician supervision requirement for CRNAs in Medicare-certified hospitals, which enables independent CRNA practice across the state's hospital system. For a full breakdown of why NJ ranks #1 nationally — pay by employer type, region, and experience level, plus Seton Hall's DNP-NA program details — see the NJ CRNA Salary deep-dive.
NJ ER RN salary note: The ER RN figure of $88,059 sitting below the general NJ RN mean of $110,100 may seem counterintuitive. ED nursing is typically a high-demand, high-acuity specialty that commands premiums in most states. The NJ pattern reflects a wage distribution where the largest driver of the general RN mean is large academic and critical care system salaries — ICU, OR, and specialty floors at the major Level I trauma centers. Many NJ ED positions, particularly at community hospital emergency departments rather than Level I trauma EDs, start at or below the general RN mean; Level I trauma center ED nurses at RWJBarnabas or Cooper earn significantly above this figure. If you are an ER nurse evaluating a NJ offer, focus on whether the specific facility is a Level I or II trauma center and whether the unit is ACEP-accredited — those factors predict compensation more accurately than the state ER mean.
New Jersey Nurse Salary by City and Region
New Jersey's nursing market divides naturally into three geographic zones: northern New Jersey (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Morris, Union, and Somerset counties), which is directly influenced by NYC metro wages and houses the state's largest and most complex health systems; central New Jersey (Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Mercer counties), anchored by Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital's flagship campus in New Brunswick and increasingly influenced by Princeton-area academic health; and southern New Jersey (Camden, Burlington, Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties), which is anchored by Cooper University Health Care in Camden and the Virtua Health system, with a market more closely aligned with Philadelphia wage dynamics than NYC.
| City / Region | Primary Facility | Est. RN Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hackensack / Bergen County | Hackensack University Medical Center | $90,000–$165,000 | Level I Trauma; HMH flagship; largest hospital in NJ by licensed beds; NYC border competition at its highest |
| Newark / Essex County | University Hospital Newark | $85,000–$155,000 | NJ's only Level I Trauma by state designation; academic; RWJBarnabas affiliate; highest-acuity caseload in state; research salary premium |
| New Brunswick / Middlesex County | Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital | $88,000–$160,000 | Level I Trauma; RWJBarnabas flagship; Rutgers medical school affiliate; strong ICU, cardiac, and oncology programs; central NJ wage anchor |
| Morristown / Morris County | Morristown Medical Center | $85,000–$155,000 | Level I Trauma; Atlantic Health System flagship; top cardiac surgery and neuroscience programs; northern NJ commuting hub |
| Jersey City / Hudson County | Jersey City Medical Center | $84,000–$148,000 | RWJBarnabas; across Hudson from lower Manhattan; direct NYC wage competition; Level II Trauma |
| Livingston / Essex County | Saint Barnabas Medical Center | $85,000–$152,000 | RWJBarnabas flagship campus; Level II Trauma; cancer center; northern NJ suburban premium |
| Camden / Camden County | Cooper University Health Care | $75,000–$140,000 | Level I Trauma; Cooper Medical School; South Jersey's dominant academic health system; Philadelphia market influence |
| Voorhees / Camden County | Virtua Voorhees Hospital | $72,000–$130,000 | Virtua Health flagship; South Jersey community system; strong OB and general med-surg; growing research presence |
| Toms River / Ocean County | Community Medical Center | $70,000–$125,000 | RWJBarnabas; central NJ shore; large community catchment; Level II Trauma; seasonal Shore volume spikes |
| Trenton / Mercer County | Capital Health Regional Medical Center | $68,000–$118,000 | Level II Trauma; state capital area; Central Jersey-South Jersey wage midpoint; state worker population catchment |
Northern vs. Southern NJ wage gap: The pay differential between northern NJ (Bergen, Essex, Hudson counties) and southern NJ (Camden, Burlington, Atlantic counties) can reach 15–25% for comparable RN positions. A Hackensack University Medical Center ICU nurse and a Virtua Voorhees ICU nurse doing the same clinical work in comparable units may have a $15,000–$25,000 annual gap — with Hackensack consistently higher. This isn't a quality-of-employer difference; it's a pure geographic wage effect driven by proximity to NYC. Southern NJ nurses benefit from lower housing costs in the Philadelphia suburbs (significantly more affordable than northern NJ), which partially offsets the pay gap. Whether to take a northern NJ premium or southern NJ housing savings depends on where you want to live — the net-income picture is more compressed than the gross salary difference suggests.
Travel Nursing in New Jersey
New Jersey is an active travel nursing destination year-round. The state's dense healthcare infrastructure generates consistent demand across specialties, and NJ's 2023 entry into the Nurse Licensure Compact has significantly reduced the licensing friction that previously slowed placements from compact states. Posted travel RN base rates in New Jersey average $102,673 annually in taxable base compensation, with total packages including housing stipend and per diem ranging from $115,000–$155,000 depending on specialty and specific facility. Level I and II trauma center ED and ICU positions run at the high end; med-surg and step-down travelers at community hospitals run lower, but typically still above national travel averages given NJ's market position.
The NLC compact, effective for NJ nurses October 1, 2023, means travel nurses coming from compact states can accept NJ assignments under their home-state license without a separate NJ application. This change materially reduced placement lead times and expanded the pool of nurses willing to take NJ assignments. Nurses from Texas, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and other compact states now routinely fill short-notice NJ openings without the 6–10 week NJ endorsement wait that existed before compact adoption. For non-compact-state travelers (primarily California and a handful of others), NJ endorsement still requires the full application process through the New Jersey Board of Nursing.
New Jersey's shore communities — Monmouth County, Ocean County, Cape May — generate seasonal travel demand. The Jersey Shore's summer population swells produce ED volume spikes and elective surgery backlogs at shore-area hospitals from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Community Medical Center in Toms River, Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, and Cape Regional Health System all increase travel nurse utilization significantly during peak summer season, creating short-notice openings at premium rates for generalist and ED travelers comfortable with high-volume community hospital environments.
High-Demand Travel Specialties in New Jersey
- ICU / Critical Care: All four Level I trauma centers maintain sustained ICU travel demand; NJ's dense cardiac and neuroscience programs generate specialized CCU and neuro-ICU openings year-round; travelers with CCRN and 2+ years ICU experience prioritized at academic centers
- Emergency / Trauma: ED travel demand at Level I trauma centers is consistently the highest-paying NJ travel opening; Level II trauma ED positions across northern NJ; shore-area ED seasonal peaks May–September; CEN certification improves placement rate and rate negotiation position
- OR / Surgical: RWJBarnabas and Hackensack Meridian maintain active OR traveler programs; first-assist experience in orthopedics, cardiac, or robotics commands premium packages; longer assignments (13–26 weeks) common due to credentialing overhead
- L&D / OB: NJ's high-volume OB programs — RWJ New Brunswick, Hackensack UMC, St. Barnabas in Livingston — routinely use L&D travelers; nurses with AWHONN certification and high-risk OB experience access Level III and IV NICU-adjacent positions
- Med-Surg / Telemetry: Most accessible entry point for NJ travel; wide geographic placement options across community hospitals; lower rates than specialty positions but consistently available; compact simplification has increased mid-level traveler supply
- Behavioral Health / Psych: Persistent shortage in NJ inpatient psych; travelers with inpatient psych experience can fill openings at state psychiatric hospitals as well as general hospital behavioral health units; RN-to-patient ratios in NJ psych are often more favorable than general med-surg
Model Your New Jersey Travel Package
Run your NJ travel contract through the stipend calculator — taxable base, housing, per diem, and blended hourly side-by-side. NYC-metro housing costs are real; the calculator helps you see whether the package works after rent.
Travel Pay Calculator COL Salary AdjusterCost of Living & Take-Home Pay in New Jersey
New Jersey is an expensive state. Housing is the dominant cost driver: NJ median home prices run roughly 60–80% above the national median, and the state's overall cost of living index sits approximately 15–20% above the US average. Property taxes in New Jersey are the highest of any state in the country — relevant for homeowners and built into rental pricing even for nurses who rent. These costs are concentrated in northern NJ, particularly the NYC suburban counties (Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Morris, Union, Somerset), where a nurse's housing costs alone can easily reach $2,500–$4,500/month for a one-bedroom apartment.
New Jersey has a graduated state income tax. At an RN income of $110,100 single-filing, the marginal NJ income tax rate is 6.37% (the rate applicable to income between $75,001–$500,000). The effective NJ income tax rate at $110,100 is approximately 5.3–5.5% of gross income — roughly $5,800–$6,000 per year. That is a meaningful tax burden relative to zero-tax states like Wyoming or Texas, but it is outweighed by the $8,680+ gross wage premium over the national RN mean. A nurse earning $110,100 in NJ brings home more in after-tax gross wages than a nurse earning $101,420 in Texas, even after accounting for NJ's income tax bite. The state income tax premium is real; it does not reverse the NJ wage advantage.
For nurses considering central or southern New Jersey, the housing math improves significantly. Mercer County (Trenton area), Burlington County, and Gloucester County offer NJ healthcare employment within commutable distance at substantially lower housing costs than Bergen, Essex, or Hudson counties. A nurse working at Cooper University Health Care in Camden can live in a Gloucester County suburb with a 20–30 minute commute at housing costs that run 40–50% below what the same nurse would pay living near Hackensack or Livingston. Southern NJ nurses sacrifice some of the north's wage premium but gain substantially on housing; whether the net trade-off works depends on specific circumstances, but southern NJ is not the high-cost environment that NJ's reputation implies for healthcare workers in that part of the state.
New Jersey staffing transparency law — what it means for your paycheck negotiations: NJ's Nurse Staffing Transparency Act (P.L. 2021, c.321) requires hospitals to publicly post daily nursing staffing assignments and mandates a staffing committee with frontline nurse representation at all hospitals with 100+ beds. This law creates documentation that nurses can reference in conversations with administrators about workload: if the public posting shows the unit ran below its posted staffing plan on 40% of shifts last quarter, that is a concrete negotiating point both for staffing adequacy and for any compensation discussions around retention. NJ nurses are increasingly using this data in formal ways — it's worth knowing what your facility's public postings show.
Nursing Licensure & Compact Status in New Jersey
New Jersey joined the Nurse Licensure Compact effective October 1, 2023. Nurses with New Jersey as their primary state of residence who meet all NLC eligibility requirements can hold a multistate license through the New Jersey Board of Nursing, valid for practice in all active NLC compact states. Travel nurses licensed in compact states can accept NJ assignments under their home-state multistate license without a separate NJ application, provided NJ is not their primary state of residence. NJ nurses who held single-state licenses before October 2023 can convert to a multistate compact license at the time of their next renewal.
- NLC member: Yes — effective October 1, 2023; multistate licenses valid for all active NLC compact states; compact-state travel nurses can work NJ assignments under their home-state license; out-of-state endorsement for non-compact travelers through the NJ Board of Nursing (allow 4–8 weeks)
- NP scope: Full practice authority — effective January 1, 2022 per P.L. 2021, c.377 (APRN Modernization Act); no supervisory or collaborative agreement required; NJ APRNs prescribe Schedule II–V controlled substances, diagnose, order and interpret tests, and manage complete care independently; licensed through NJ Board of Nursing
- CRNA scope: Independent CRNA practice; NJ has opted out of the federal CMS physician supervision requirement for CRNAs in Medicare-certified hospitals; CRNAs practice independently at NJ's major health systems
- License renewal: Biennial; NJ RN licenses require 30 continuing education contact hours per 2-year renewal period, including specific content in cultural competency and human trafficking recognition; NJ allows online renewal through the NJ Division of Consumer Affairs licensing portal
- Processing time: Compact-state travelers: no separate NJ license needed; non-compact endorsement: 4–8 weeks standard; NJ offers an expedited processing option for a fee; nurse graduates from New Jersey-accredited programs: allow 3–5 weeks for initial licensure after NCLEX pass
NJ APRN Modernization Act — practical implications for 2026: New Jersey's 2022 shift to full NP practice authority is not yet fully reflected in the NJ practice landscape. Many NJ NPs entered practice or established their current roles under the prior reduced-practice framework with existing collaboration agreements in place — those agreements typically remain in force until contracts expire or practices restructure. NPs newly entering NJ practice in 2026 face a fully independent-practice environment with no grandfathered-in collaboration requirement. This means NPs opening independent practices in NJ, joining new employment arrangements, or relocating to NJ from other states can structure their practice from the ground up without physician collaboration. For primary care NPs evaluating where to establish independent practices, NJ's combination of full practice authority, dense suburban patient population, and above-average NP wages makes it one of the more attractive east coast options.
New Jersey Nursing Job Market
New Jersey's nursing job market is large, competitive, and structurally tight. The state's four major health systems — RWJBarnabas Health (the largest New Jersey-based health system, operating 12 hospitals), Hackensack Meridian Health (17 hospitals), Atlantic Health System (7 hospitals), and Cooper University Health Care (Level I trauma flagship plus regional affiliates) — together employ the majority of NJ's hospital-based nurses and compete directly against each other for retention. The competition is healthy for wages: when one major system raises its floor or announces a nurse retention initiative, others tend to follow within one to two contract cycles. Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE), the primary nursing union in NJ, represents approximately 14,000 healthcare workers at multiple NJ health systems, and HPAE contract negotiations set the wage benchmarks that non-union facilities calibrate against.
Nursing vacancies in New Jersey have tightened since the post-pandemic staffing crisis peak of 2022–2023, but the market remains one where experienced nurses with specialty certifications and 3+ years of experience have significant leverage in negotiating sign-on bonuses, scheduling preferences, and professional development support. New graduate RN placement is more competitive: NJ's nursing school pipeline, anchored by Rutgers School of Nursing, Rowan University, Seton Hall, and Felician University among others, produces a large annual class of new nurses, and new grad positions at the major system flagship hospitals (RWJUH in New Brunswick, Hackensack UMC, Morristown Medical Center) are competitive. New graduates willing to consider community hospital placements, long-term care facilities, or ambulatory/outpatient settings face a more accessible market, with the understanding that those roles are typically at the lower end of the NJ salary range.
The strongest nursing market in NJ is consistently in specialty-trained, certifiable roles: critical care (CCRN), oncology (OCN), cardiac (PCCN), neonatal (RNC-NIC), and psychiatric (PMH-BC). NJ's concentration of comprehensive cancer centers, cardiac surgery programs, and high-acuity trauma services creates persistent demand for nurses in these certification tracks. Nurses investing in a board certification in these areas gain negotiating leverage, higher shift differentials at major systems, and faster promotion to charge nurse or clinical coordinator roles.
Major Employers
- RWJBarnabas Health: New Brunswick / statewide; largest NJ-based health system; 12 hospitals; Level I trauma at RWJUH; Rutgers academic partner; Cancer Institute of NJ; comprehensive cardiac and neuro programs; dominant central and northern NJ employer
- Hackensack Meridian Health: Hackensack / statewide; 17 hospitals; Hackensack University Medical Center is Level I trauma and NJ's largest acute-care hospital by licensed beds; HMH School of Medicine at Seton Hall affiliate; northern NJ market anchor
- Atlantic Health System: Morristown / northern and central NJ; 7 hospitals; Morristown Medical Center is Level I trauma; strong cardiac surgery and neuroscience; Overlook Medical Center (Summit) serves affluent Morris County and Union County markets
- Cooper University Health Care: Camden / South Jersey; Level I trauma (Cooper University Hospital); Cooper Medical School; primary South Jersey academic health center; serves Philadelphia-adjacent population; Level I trauma is only one in South Jersey
- Virtua Health: Voorhees / South Jersey; 6 hospitals; non-profit community system; strong OB programs; South Jersey community health anchor; Virtua Voorhees is flagship; no Level I trauma but robust community acuity
- University Hospital: Newark; NJ's only state-designated Level I Trauma Center; academic affiliate with Rutgers New Jersey Medical School; serves Essex County's under-resourced population; highest complexity case mix in the state
- Rutgers Health: New Brunswick / statewide clinics; academic practice arm of Rutgers University; operates outpatient, specialty, and community health sites staffed with APRN and NP practitioners; growing NP employer as FPA expands NJ independent practice
- Atlantic Health Overlook / Morristown: Summit and Morristown; Morris/Union county suburban; competitive wages with northern NJ premium; strong cardiac cath lab and surgical programs; Overlook campus serves one of NJ's highest-income zip codes
- St. Joseph's Health: Paterson / Passaic County; Level II trauma; Paterson serves diverse urban population; academic affiliate; HPAE-represented workforce; northern NJ market positioning
- Inspira Health: Mullica Hill / South Jersey; 3 hospitals; growing system in Gloucester and Cumberland counties; recent hospital openings expand South Jersey acute-care options; competing with Virtua and Cooper for South Jersey talent
Loan repayment in New Jersey: NJ does not have the rural frontier NHSC density that makes Wyoming an exceptional loan repayment destination, but urban NJ facilities in Health Professional Shortage Areas do offer NHSC loan repayment eligibility. University Hospital in Newark — an urban HPSA — qualifies for NHSC repayment. Several federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) across Newark, Trenton, Camden, and Atlantic City operate as NHSC-eligible sites, where NPs and RNs with specific qualifying credentials can access up to $75,000+ over two years in loan repayment. NJ also operates the Primary Care Practitioner Incentive Program (PCPIP), which offers loan assistance for primary care providers (including NPs) who commit to practice in NJ-designated shortage areas. If you are an NP with substantial graduate debt considering NJ, the urban HPSA and FQHC market provides meaningful repayment options that don't require frontier or rural practice.
Common questions
New Jersey nurse pay, answered
What is the average RN salary in New Jersey in 2026?
New Jersey registered nurses average $110,100 per year ($52.93/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data — 8.6% above the national RN mean of $101,420. NJ is consistently among the top 10 highest-paying states for registered nurses, driven by NYC metro market pressure across northern and central New Jersey. The state employs approximately 92,000 registered nurses statewide across a highly concentrated healthcare system anchored by RWJBarnabas Health, Hackensack Meridian Health, Atlantic Health System, and Cooper University Health Care. ICU nurses average $119,178, and NPs average $140,470 with full practice authority since January 2022.
Does New Jersey have full practice authority for nurse practitioners?
Yes. New Jersey enacted full practice authority for APRNs effective January 1, 2022, through the APRN Modernization Act (P.L. 2021, c.377). New Jersey NPs can diagnose, order and interpret diagnostic tests, prescribe Schedule II-V controlled substances, and independently manage complete treatment plans without a physician collaboration or supervisory agreement. New Jersey NPs average $140,470 per year (BLS OEWS May 2025). This represented a major shift from New Jersey's prior reduced-practice status and placed NJ among the majority of US states granting NPs full practice authority.
Is New Jersey an NLC compact state?
Yes. New Jersey joined the Nurse Licensure Compact effective October 1, 2023. Nurses with New Jersey as their primary state of residence who meet NLC eligibility requirements can hold a multistate license through the New Jersey Board of Nursing, valid for practice in all active NLC compact states. Travel nurses licensed in compact states can accept New Jersey assignments under their home-state multistate license without a separate NJ application, provided New Jersey is not their primary state of residence. New Jersey nurses who had single-state licenses before October 2023 can convert to a multistate license at renewal.
What is the CRNA salary in New Jersey?
New Jersey CRNAs earn approximately $287,792 per year per TheCRNA.com's 2026 blended dataset — the highest state-level CRNA compensation in the United States, reflecting the NYC metropolitan market premium and the concentration of large academic medical centers and Level I trauma hospitals in New Jersey's hospital system. New Jersey CRNAs practice in a full-authority environment; the state opted out of the federal CMS physician supervision requirement for CRNAs in Medicare-certified hospitals. Positions at RWJBarnabas, Hackensack Meridian, Cooper University Health Care, and Morristown Medical Center drive the state mean to its national-leading level.
How does New Jersey's staffing transparency law affect nurses?
New Jersey's Nurse Staffing Transparency Act (P.L. 2021, c.321, signed December 2021) requires hospitals to publicly post daily nursing staffing assignments and mandates a staffing committee with frontline nurse representation in hospitals with 100 or more beds. The law creates a paper trail of daily staffing patterns — data that nurses, unions, and state regulators can use when evaluating whether a facility is meeting safe staffing standards. The law does not set specific numeric ratios but strengthens accountability and gives nurses an additional documentation tool when advocating for adequate staffing levels. This law works alongside The Joint Commission's NPG 12 effective January 2026, which adds federal accreditation pressure on hospitals to demonstrate staffing adequacy.
Neighbouring states
Only New York pays more nearby
Sources and methodology
Where these numbers come from
Sources
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · New Jersey RN, NP and CRNA estimates
- Regional Price Parities by StateU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · New Jersey 110.4
- ICU, ER and travel nurse pay, 2026ZipRecruiter posted rates; travel packages from Vivian Health
- CRNA pay, 2026TheCRNA.com blended dataset (BLS OEWS plus 2026 listings)
- Nurse Licensure Compact statusNCSBN membership, via the compact license map
- Staffing ratio law statusThe Nursing Directory ratio law tracker
Methodology
Ranks cover the 50 states and DC; a role ranks among the states that publish it. Adjusted pay divides the New Jersey mean by its regional price parity, so prices 10.4% above average lower it by the same share.
Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year. ICU and ER are specialties within the RN occupation with no separate federal series, so they come from 2026 aggregator data. Travel figures are posted base pay and exclude stipends. Figures last updated Sep 30, 2026.
Cited in the guide
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 29-1141). Percentiles estimated from NJ wage distribution; mean is exact BLS figure. NJ's large RN workforce (~92,000) produces reliable, lower-variance estimates than smaller-workforce states.
Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025; TheCRNA.com 2026 blended dataset (CRNA). NP figure from BLS SOC 29-1171.
Estimates only. Not tax or legal advice. Verify pay and licensing with the employer and the board of nursing before you sign.
Sources and method
Last updated
Registered nurse, nurse practitioner and licensed practical nurse figures on this page are Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) estimates for May 2025, released May 15, 2026, the most recent federal release, except where BLS suppressed a state estimate and the page names another source. Travel nurse, CRNA, ICU and ER figures come from private publishers named on the page (ZipRecruiter, Vivian Health, Salary.com, TheCRNA), which build their estimates from job postings or self-reported pay rather than employer payroll records. An automated check compares the figures on this page with the site's salary dataset on every change.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: wage estimates by occupation and state, released May 15, 2026.
- BLS OEWS: registered nurses (29-1141): registered nurse wages, national and by state.