Registered Nurses Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $136K, rent takes 28.7% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $2,240/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new registered nurses typically earn — is $83K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $4,950/month. At HUD’s $2,240/month FMR, rent would take 45% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay is 40% above the national median — $136K here vs. $98K nationally. Keep in mind cost of living here is 10% above the national average, which offsets some of that premium.

Hawaii pays $136K median vs. the U.S. average of $98K — that’s +40%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 110.17), the purchasing-power equivalent is $124K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $136,320 a year, that works out to about $66 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $82,500, and experienced registered nurses can clear $147,830. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $7,801/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $2,240/month, which eats 28.7% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Hawaii has a Regional Price Parity of 110.17 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median registered nurses salary is worth about $123,736 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.