Registered Nurse.
Salt Lake City.
$90,000
median salary, 4% below the national average
$76,000 to $104,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
The median Registered Nurse salary in Salt Lake City is $90,000, 4% below the national average. Entry level starts near $76,000. Experienced professionals push past $104,000. Salt Lake City anchors the Silicon Slopes tech corridor, home to companies like Qualtrics, Pluralsight, and Domo. That spread is your negotiation window. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Registered Nurse in Salt Lake City, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $81,780 for Registered Nurses (SOC 29-1141) in the Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT metropolitan area, based on 4,770 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$70,670
25th percentile
$80,050
Median
$81,780
75th percentile
$101,740
90th percentile
$106,330
Workers surveyed
4,770
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Registered Nurses (SOC 29-1141) rather than Registered Nurse specifically. The Salt Lake City range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 29-1141Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $81,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$59,000
to $72,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$77,000
to $95,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$99,000
to $117,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$113,000
to $140,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $26,000 to the total package.
Base
$90,000
Equity
$15,000
Bonus
$9,000
Signing
$2,000
Estimated total: $116,000
How Salt Lake City compares.
Salt Lake City, UT
$90,000
Cost of living: 2% below average
National Average
$94,000
Salt Lake City is $4,000 below
Registered Nurse salary by city.
Salary by role in Salt Lake City.
What you should know.
Before you negotiate a Registered Nurse offer in Salt Lake City, understand the terrain. Salt Lake City anchors the Silicon Slopes tech corridor, home to companies like Qualtrics, Pluralsight, and Domo. The region has attracted significant venture investment and tech relocations. Utah's business friendly environment, young educated workforce, and outdoor lifestyle make it a rising destination for tech professionals seeking affordability without sacrificing career growth. Specialty certification, geographic location, and facility type create the widest salary ranges. ICU, OR, and emergency nurses earn premiums over med surg nurses. Travel nursing contracts can pay 50 to 100% more than permanent positions. Union representation and shift differentials for nights and weekends also impact total pay.
New graduate RNs start at $58,000 to $72,000, with experienced RNs reaching $80,000 to $100,000 after five years. Nurse practitioners earn $110,000 to $140,000, and CRNAs (nurse anesthetists) can earn $180,000 to $220,000. Nursing management roles offer $95,000 to $140,000 with administrative responsibilities. In Salt Lake City, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. Benefits are a major component, typically including health insurance, pension or 403(b) matching, tuition reimbursement, and continuing education credits. Shift differentials add $3 to $8 per hour for nights and weekends. Signing bonuses of $5,000 to $20,000 are common in high demand specialties. And on the tax side: utah has a flat 4.65% state income tax. Salt Lake City imposes no additional city income tax. The moderate rate combined with affordable living costs results in strong net compensation. When someone quotes you $90,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Reference Silicon Slopes growth when negotiating. Local employers are increasingly matching 85 to 95% of Seattle or Bay Area salaries to compete for tech talent. The range for Registered Nurses in Salt Lake City runs from $76,000 to $104,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
- A Marketing Manager in Salt Lake City earns $89,000 (1% less)
- The highest-paying role in Salt Lake City is CTO at $306,000
Common questions.
Registered Nurse salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Salt Lake City.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Registered Nurse Salary in Salt Lake City, UT." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/registered-nurse/salt-lake-city
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