Registered Nurses salary in Birmingham, Alabama

About 18,330 Registered Nurses worked in the Birmingham metro in 2024, making this one of the larger nursing labor markets in the Southeast. The median annual wage was $76,020, which runs about 7% above the Alabama median of $71,040. That gap reflects how the metro's large hospital systems, including several major academic medical centers, tend to pay more than the state's smaller regional employers.

Compared to the national median of $94,511, Birmingham sits roughly 20% lower. That differential is real and worth knowing before comparing offers across state lines.

The range between the 10th and 90th percentile tells a more useful story than the median alone. Entry-level nurses in the metro reported wages near $61,080 at the low end; those at the 90th percentile reached $102,480. Top earners make about 68% more than bottom earners, a spread that reflects differences in specialty, years of experience, and shift type rather than geography alone. Intensive care, surgical, and travel nursing assignments tend to cluster toward the upper end of that range, while general floor nursing and new-grad positions anchor the lower end.

The average wage of $78,180 runs slightly above the median of $76,020. That tells us a smaller portion of nurses in higher-paying specialties pulls the average up a bit, but not dramatically. The distribution here is fairly tight by national standards.