Do remote nurses make less than bedside nurses?

What does the BLS say registered nurses make?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the median annual wage for registered nurses was $97,550 in May 2025, which it puts at about $46.90 an hour. That figure covers all registered nurses, in every setting.

The BLS page lists where RNs work: hospitals, physicians’ offices, home healthcare services and nursing care facilities, among others. Hospitals employ the largest share, 59%. The page doesn’t mention telehealth or remote work, so it can’t tell you what remote nurses make.

What do remote nurse job postings say?

Employers post pay ranges. We took the fully remote RN jobs (NP jobs excluded) that post a plain range, 114 of them at our last check on November 9, 2026. For each, we took the middle of the range, and we turned hourly pay into a yearly figure by multiplying by 2,080 hours. The median of those yearly figures is $90,000.

Ranges that only give an upper or a lower bound, like “up to,” are left out. This is a middle of posted ranges. It is not what anyone was paid.

We use the median, not the average. The median is the middle figure: half the ranges sit above it and half below. A few very high or very low ranges can drag an average around, and they barely move a median. Hourly pay becomes a yearly figure at 2,080 hours, which is 40 hours a week for 52 weeks.

Why you can’t compare the two numbers directly

They differ in at least four ways.

• One is wages the BLS counted for all registered nurses. The other is ranges employers posted for remote jobs.
• The BLS number covers every RN setting. Ours covers only the jobs on our list.
• A posted range is what the employer expects to pay. The final offer can land elsewhere in it, or outside it.
• Our yearly figures assume 2,080 hours for hourly jobs. Real hours vary.
• Remote and bedside jobs can differ in shifts, schedules and the cost of getting to work. We haven’t measured any of those.

We also don’t know how much of a bedside nurse’s pay comes from shift differentials, overtime and bonuses, and the BLS page doesn’t say. So we don’t claim remote pays less, or more.

What the remote RN postings ask for

Pay and experience tend to be linked in people’s minds. We haven’t measured that link in our data, so we don’t claim one. What we can count is what the postings ask for. Of 141 fully remote RN jobs, 104 ask for 2 years or more, 22 ask for 1 year and 15 state no minimum.

Pay by type of role, from posted ranges

Remote jobs aren’t the only off-the-floor jobs, so here is the median posted yearly pay for the role types with at least 20 posted ranges. NP jobs are excluded, and every work mode is mixed in: remote, hybrid and on-site. The count is the number of ranges behind each figure.

• Case management: $96,090 a year, from 224 posted ranges.
• Utilization review: $95,077 a year, from 45 posted ranges.
• Education: $108,316 a year, from 33 posted ranges.

Read these as a starting range for your own questions, not a quote of what you would be offered. A role needs 20 ranges to appear, because a small sample can swing the middle by a lot.

The nurse pay by role page shows the same method in more detail, with ranges. 606 of 1,022 listings (59%) post their pay.

What a posted range leaves out

A range tells you the base the employer expects to pay. Depending on the job, it may leave out other parts of the package. You won’t know until you ask.

• Bonuses, and when they’re paid.
• Retirement matching and health coverage.
• Paid time off and paid holidays.
• Equipment, internet or home-office help.
• Paid training time at the start.

What to check in a posting before you compare

• Is the pay hourly or yearly? Convert hourly pay with the hours you would really work.
• Is it a range? Where in the range do people with your experience start?
• Do the hours include nights, weekends or call? Ask whether the pay changes with them.
• What do benefits and retirement matching add?
• Is it a W-2 or a 1099 role? The two are taxed differently, so ask. See W-2 or 1099 remote nursing jobs.

What to do with this

If you’re weighing a move off the floor, compare real offers, not averages. Ask each employer for the range in writing. Then put your current pay, with the differentials you actually get, beside it.

Pay is only one piece. Hours, schedule and the work itself matter too, and you’re the only one who can weigh them.

Posted pay is easier to find when you can see it on the listing. Browse the current list, or take the role quiz to see which kinds of jobs match you.