Registered Nurses salary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia's registered nurses had a median annual wage of $99,210 in 2024. That sits about 13% above the Pennsylvania median of $87,610 and roughly 5% above the national figure of $94,511. Among the larger metro areas in the country, Philadelphia lands in a solid middle tier, above average but not at the top of the coastal range.

The spread across the wage distribution is worth noting. Nurses at the 10th percentile earned $77,440, while those at the 90th percentile earned $122,500. Top earners make about 58% more than those starting out, which reflects real differences in specialty, seniority, and the type of facility. An RN in a Level I trauma unit or a specialized cardiac service earns on a different scale than one in a community outpatient clinic.

The average wage of $97,510 came in just below the median. That is unusual. Most occupations show the opposite, because a small group of very high earners pulls the average up. Here, the average sitting lower suggests the upper end of the Philadelphia market is not extreme relative to the overall group, and earnings cluster fairly tightly through the middle of the range.

About 74,840 registered nurses work in the Philadelphia metro. That is one of the larger concentrations in the country, consistent with the region's density of academic medical centers, large hospital systems, and long-term care facilities. A large local workforce generally means more job postings, more specialty pathways, and more variation in what individual nurses earn. The 13-point gap over the Pennsylvania median is partly a reflection of that scale and the complexity of the patient populations those facilities serve.