Inflation vs. Nursing Wages: Are You Really Getting Ahead?

Hi nurse,

In Fresno, CA, a nurse with 3 years of experience can cover the mortgage on a house by herself and still have over $58,000 left after taxes and bills. But, in Miami, that same nurse, working the same hours, and in the same specialty, barely has $9,000 left after the mortgage.

We crunched data from over 1000 U.S. cities. The gaps were worse than we imagined. In some cases, the raise you just got is completely wiped out by where you live. In others, it adds up into five-figure savings by the end of the year.

If you’ve ever felt like your paycheck disappears too fast, what you’re about to read is going to explain exactly why.

Nurse Pay Is Rising—But That’s Not the Whole Story

This year, the average raise for RNs was 4.5%. That’s pretty good. Inflation sat at about 2.7%, which means nurses gained 1.8% in real spending power.

That might not sound like much—but after the hit nurses took during the 2021–2022 inflation spike, it’s going in the right direction. For the first time in years, our paychecks are pulling ahead.

But the catch is that only matters if your cost of living doesn’t swallow it whole.

Your City Might Be Quietly Draining Your Wallet

We pulled up four cities side-by-side to see how leftover income shakes out. The difference is massive:

The salary numbers alone don’t tell the full story. It’s the after-housing income that shows where you’re actually winning.

What shocked us most wasn’t that Miami ranked low. It was how badly it ranked, even compared to cities with higher taxes.

Bonuses Are Shifting the Game

Hospitals are back in full recruitment mode. This year, 22% of nurses reported getting a sign-on or retention bonus—63% of those were $10,000 or more.

This is money that lands outside of your hourly rate. And it’s not limited to travelers or new grads. Even experienced staff nurses in high-need units are being offered lump sums just to stay.

If your paycheck hasn’t seen one of these perks recently, it’s worth checking what nearby hospitals are offering.

Two Numbers That Should Guide Your Next Move

Let’s break it down simply.

1. Real Gain = Raise % − Local Inflation
   If you got a 4% raise and your area’s inflation was 2.7%, your real gain is 1.3%. Anything above zero means your money is going further.

2. Leftover Income = Net Pay − Rent or Mortgage
   We measure leftover income in Map My Pay so you can see how much of your salary you actually keep. This one number changes how you think about everything—from jobs to city searches.

Don’t Get Distracted by Hourly Pay Alone

The difference between a “good” job and a great one often hides in the fine print.

Two nurses both making $55/hour can walk away with very different financial lives if one of them also gets:

• Tuition reimbursement

• Retirement matching

• Extra PTO or self-scheduling

• Loan payoff support

• $10k retention bonuses

One of our users realized she was missing out on $12,000 a year by not factoring these in. She switched hospitals—same shift, same role—and now has double the PTO and a pension.

Map My Pay Does the Math for You

We designed this app because we were tired of hearing “just get a higher-paying job” with zero context.

Inside the app, you’ll be able to:

• Compare RN pay across 1000+ cities

• Filter jobs by housing cost, taxes, crime, nursing role, and more

• Track leftover income after rent or mortgage

• Spot cities where nurses are quietly earning $15–$20k more for the same work

You don’t need to be a finance expert. You just need the right tools.

Final Thought
The raise you got this year should have moved you forward. In the right city, it does. In the wrong one, it barely moves the needle.

Let Map My Pay show you where your money works harder—so you don’t have to.

Download it on the Apple app store (we’ll be releasing it to Android users soon)👇