As 2021 wound down, healthcare wage trends for nurses across the nation increased in just under half the states and most increases were less than 3%. Wages decreased in 15 states and stayed relatively unchanged in 11 more. However, any decrease may be short-lived as hospitals once again began filling up with COVID patients as December progressed. The latest spike may have been largely due to the emerging Omicron variant, which first appeared in the U.S. on December 1 and spread as rapidly as experts predicted. While the new variant appears to produce milder symptoms than its predecessors, the sheer contagiousness of the variant still meant greater numbers of people becoming ill, potentially needing medical care, and filling up hospital beds. Healthcare wage trends tend to follow demand fueled by COVID cases, so wages among nurses could increase in the new year.
COVID cases took another upswing in December primarily due to the fast-moving Omicron variant, holiday gatherings, and colder weather forcing people indoors, However, December saw fewer states with healthcare wage increases and many increases were small. Only 24 states had noticeable wage increases during December, not quite half. Of the three with the largest increases, Wisconsin, a newcomer among the top three, had the greatest increase this month. Maryland had the second highest increase and New York and Utah tied for third-highest.
State |
Avg Weekly Pay November |
Avg Weekly Pay December |
% Increase |
Wisconsin |
$2,796 |
$2,997 |
6.7% |
Maryland |
$3,033 |
$3,231 |
5.8% |
New York |
$3,024 |
$3,187 |
5.1% |
Utah |
$2,543 |
$2,679 |
5.1% |
Maine |
$3,259 |
$3,405 |
4.3% |
Kentucky |
$2,941 |
$3,065 |
4.1% |
Minnesota |
$3,056 |
$3,187 |
4.1% |
Michigan |
$2,937 |
$3,059 |
4.0% |
Kansas |
$2,688 |
$2,770 |
3.0% |
Connecticut |
$2,847 |
$2,932 |
2.9% |
Arizona |
$2,997 |
$3,082 |
2.8% |
Massachusetts |
$2,836 |
$2,919 |
2.8% |
Indiana |
$3,153 |
$3,230 |
2.4% |
Nevada |
$3,105 |
$3,181 |
2.4% |
Washington |
$3,202 |
$3,282 |
2.4% |
Illinois |
$3,131 |
$3,207 |
2.3% |
Ohio |
$2,827 |
$2,895 |
2.3% |
Missouri |
$2,870 |
$2,926 |
1.9% |
Pennsylvania |
$3,268 |
$3,326 |
1.8% |
New Hampshire |
$2,916 |
$2,960 |
1.5% |
New Jersey |
$3,379 |
$3,426 |
1.4% |
Texas |
$2,646 |
$2,683 |
1.4% |
New Mexico |
$3,116 |
$3,158 |
1.3% |
West Virginia |
$2,912 |
$2,944 |
1.1% |
Only 15 states posted a decrease in healthcare wages in December and two of them were substantial. Delaware posted a 12% drop in wages and Alaska had an 11% drop. Rounding out the top three was Montana, which had a much lower wage drop of 5.6%. The remaining 12 states saw healthcare wages drop between 1.2% to 4.3%. Four more states also had lower healthcare pay rates for the month, but the decline was minor enough to warrant being considered relatively unchanged.
State |
Avg Weekly Pay November |
Avg Weekly Pay December |
% Increase |
Delaware |
$2,924 |
$2,611 |
-12% |
Alaska |
$3,329 |
$2,999 |
-11% |
Montana |
$2,692 |
$2,549 |
-5.6% |
Idaho |
$3,341 |
$3,203 |
-4.3% |
Georgia |
$3,108 |
$2,983 |
-4.2% |
Florida |
$2,654 |
$2,562 |
-3.6% |
Mississippi |
$2,558 |
$2,484 |
-3.0% |
South Dakota |
$3,107 |
$3,023 |
-2.8% |
Alabama |
$2,785 |
$2,719 |
-2.4% |
North Carolina |
$3,021 |
$2,964 |
-1.9% |
South Carolina |
$2,887 |
$2,834 |
-1.9% |
Wyoming |
$2,962 |
$2,911 |
-1.7% |
North Dakota |
$3,515 |
$3,459 |
-1.6% |
Rhode Island |
$3,124 |
$3,078 |
-1.5% |
Oregon |
$3,185 |
$3,148 |
-1.2% |
Changes in wages of less than 1%, whether it’s positive or negative, are small enough to be considered unchanged. Therefore, 11 states were placed on this list for having insignificant healthcare wage changes for December. Iowa and Nebraska actually posted a 0% change because the difference in weekly pay was $1 or less. Of the remaining nine, five technically had a small increase in pay while the other four had a small decrease.
State |
Avg Weekly Pay November |
Avg Weekly Pay December |
% Increase |
Arkansas |
$2,993 |
$3,017 |
0.8% |
California |
$3,128 |
$3,151 |
0.7% |
Vermont |
$3,117 |
$3,139 |
0.7% |
Louisiana |
$2,543 |
$2,559 |
0.6% |
Tennessee |
$2,677 |
$2,690 |
0.5% |
Iowa |
$3,045 |
$3,045 |
0.0% |
Nebraska |
$3,042 |
$3,041 |
0.0% |
Hawaii |
$2,388 |
$2,379 |
-0.4% |
Virginia |
$2,811 |
$2,792 |
-0.7% |
Oklahoma |
$2,812 |
$2,790 |
-0.8% |
Colorado |
$3,024 |
$3,001 |
-0.8% |
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