2021 Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
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Clinical Nurse Specialists
Clinical Nurse Specialists direct nursing staff in the provision of patient care in a clinical practice setting, such as a hospital, hospice, clinic, or home. Ensure adherence to established clinical policies, protocols, regulations, and standards.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Clinical Nurse Specialists with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $53,410 to $61,630 per year or $26 to $30 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.
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Salary rank
We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Clinical Nurse Specialists to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.
Salary range
| Level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Highest (Top 10%) | $56 | $116,230 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $45 | $93,590 |
| Middle (Mid 50%) | $36 | $75,330 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $30 | $61,630 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $26 | $53,410 |
Highest paying states
| State | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| CA | $58 | $120,560 |
| HI | $50 | $104,830 |
| MA | $46 | $96,250 |
| OR | $46 | $96,230 |
| AK | $46 | $95,270 |
| WA | $44 | $91,310 |
| DC | $43 | $90,050 |
| NY | $43 | $89,760 |
| NV | $43 | $89,750 |
| NJ | $41 | $85,720 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as a Clinical Nurse Specialist is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like CA doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at CA might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.
According to BLS, the highest paid Clinical Nurse Specialists are in the states of CA, HI, MA, OR and AK.
Highest paying industries
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Business Support Services | $106670 | $51.28 |
| Federal Executive Branch | $96230 | $46.26 |
| Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing | $92110 | $44.29 |
| Other Investment Pools and Funds | $91990 | $44.23 |
| Office Administrative Services | $89490 | $43.02 |
| Outpatient Care Centers | $89300 | $42.93 |
| Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing | $89040 | $42.81 |
| Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | $88660 | $42.63 |
| Other Amusement and Recreation Industries | $84800 | $40.77 |
| Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers | $84450 | $40.60 |
| Specialty Hospitals | $82910 | $39.86 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $82450 | $39.64 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services | $82140 | $39.49 |
| Health and Personal Care Stores | $82070 | $39.46 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services | $81720 | $39.29 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | $81710 | $39.28 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | $81680 | $39.27 |
| Chemical Manufacturing | $81480 | $39.17 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services | $80520 | $38.71 |
| Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses | $80270 | $38.59 |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods | $79590 | $38.27 |
| Insurance Carriers | $79390 | $38.17 |
| Religious Organizations | $79300 | $38.13 |
| Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | $79170 | $38.06 |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners | $78990 | $37.98 |
| Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services | $78700 | $37.84 |
| Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing | $78670 | $37.82 |
| Local Government | $78530 | $37.76 |
| Motor Vehicle Manufacturing | $77940 | $37.47 |
| Machinery Manufacturing | $77670 | $37.34 |
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