In RI there are currently 11,360 RNs and they make an average of $32.60 per hour, or $67,810 per year. New RNs are usually hired at the bottom of the pay scale and they make an average of $23.65 per hour, or $49,190 per year. RNs can look forward to annual pay increase with the highest paid RNs in RI earning $41.10 per hour, or $85,480 per year. RNs who work in acute care hospitals tend be the highest paid, RNs in a physician's office the lowest paid. RNs willing to relocate or travel can make higher salaries in NY, MA and CT. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2008 data).

RNs who work in excess of 40 hours per week must be paid time and a half for those extra hours; many hospitals offer double time for those hours based on their contracts with the nurses' union. RNs also typically accrue valuable benefits as well as wages. Sick days, vacation days and holidays are offered by most employers. Although traditional pensions are mostly unavailable, self-funded retirement plans are offered by most employers with varying amounts of funds contributed by the employer. Reimbursement for continuing education (CEU hours) or further academic study (BSN or MSN) is a professional benefit also available in varying degrees.

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics in the US Government Department of Labor compiles and publishes employment and salary data at their website.
• State abstracts of this data can also be viewed at the RI Department of Labor and Training website.
• If your first RN licensure is in the state of Rhode Island you will be part of the Nurse Licensure Compact. As of 2009 23 states participate in this agreement: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin. If you are licensed in any one of these states your license will be recognized in all of the others without the need to apply for reciprocity.