PACU nurse salary

Open PACU nurse jobs post a median of $49.50 an hour, with the middle half paying $44.75–$59: about $103,000 a year full time. Measured from 384 jobs at 112 employers that state their pay, read from each employer's own job board.

Median posted /hr

Middle half /hr

A year, full time

estimate, 2,080 hours

BLS median /hr

May 2025

The jobs themselves: PACU nurse jobs · A specialty of registered nurse pay

What PACU nurses are paid

Each bar counts the open jobs posting an hourly rate in its step of pay (a range at its midpoint). The middle half of employers' rates is in the darker color.

Posted hourly rates of 384 open jobs. The chart spans the 2nd to the 98th percentile; the lowest rate posted is $17.89, the highest $119.18.

Posted on open jobs

$44.75–$59/hr

Middle half of 242 employer rates (each employer's advertised range once), median $49.50. 27% of the 1,397 open PACU nurse jobs state an hourly rate. 274 more state an "up to" ceiling, a weekly travel rate, a per-visit fee, or a rate far from the rest (a differential read as pay), left out.

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PACU nurse: new openings every week

Every week we gather the newest PACU nurse openings from the hospitals, clinics and care employers we follow, straight from their careers sites. Free, stop anytime.

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PACU nurse pay by employer

What each employer posts for PACU nurses, the employers with the most jobs stating pay first. An employer with at least 5 such jobs has a page of its own with every range it posts.

Employer	Median posted	Posted range	Jobs stating pay
HealthTrust Workforce Solutions	$49.50	$40.30–$63	40
United Surgical Partners International	$49.50	$34–$72	34
CommonSpirit Health	$46.75	$30–$88.77	16
RWJBarnabas Health	$57.50	$46.90–$67.04	11
Sentara Health	$51.50	$41.93–$61.01	10
AdventHealth	$47.25	$31.85–$80	10
Children's National Hospital	$54	$36.11–$63.99	9
Advocate Health	$47.75	$35.50–$57.30	9
Emory Healthcare	$45.25	$45.15–$49.50	9
BJC HealthCare	$40.25	$32–$48.28	8
UPMC	$46	$38.60–$56.83	7
MU Health Care	$40.50	$32.82–$51.02	7
Kaiser Permanente	$61.75	$46.16–$85.18	6
Atlantic Health	$55.50	$40–$73.56	6
Ascension	$46.75	$17.89–$57.05	6
VCU Health	$41.75	$33.51–$58.05	6
Beth Israel Lahey Health	$63	$35–$98.19	5
Northwestern Medicine	$48	$34.50–$62.40	5
Moffitt Cancer Center	$45.75	$36.63–$60.40	5
OSF HealthCare	$45.75	$37.05–$55.63	5
Hackensack Meridian Health	$45.25	$43.77–$46.25	5
Carle Health	$44.75	$33.11–$58.37	5
Mass General Brigham	$73.75	$41.38–$105.65	4
Providence	$66.75	$44.16–$93.51	4
Boston Medical Center	$56.75	$38.05–$80.77	4
AtlantiCare	$52.25	$42.50–$62	4
Luminis Health	$44	$34–$54	4
Sanford Health	$41	$34–$63.85	4
UAB Medicine	$39	$30–$48	4
Hospital for Special Surgery	$77	$73–$83	3
Cedars-Sinai	$73	$51.72–$96.26	3
Scripps Health	$72.50	$59.16–$85.68	3
Inova	$61.25	$46–$76.25	3
United Health Services (New York)	$51	$40.70–$61.05	3
Trinity Health	$48	$36.15–$61.75	3
Endeavor Health	$47.50	$37.25–$57.74	3
Adventist HealthCare	$46	$37–$55	3
Sturdy Health	$45.75	$35.88–$55.56	3
CPIhealth	$45.50	$32–$50	3
Monument Health	$41.75	$35–$46.25	3

Median of each employer's own jobs (a range at its midpoint), and the lowest and highest rate it posts. Jobs stating pay link to the employer's open jobs.

PACU nurse pay by state

States where at least 8 open jobs from 3 employers state an hourly rate, highest median first. Each opens the state's own page, with its towns and employers.

State	Median posted	Middle half	BLS median	Jobs
New York	$65.25	$50.25–$71.50	$52.62 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	14
Massachusetts	$64.75	$56.75–$70.50	$50.27 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	19
California	$64.25	$59.75–$73.25	$67.44 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	35
Washington	$60.25	$52.25–$65.75	$59.71 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	12
Minnesota	$54	$51.75–$59.50	$48.80 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	11
New Jersey	$52.25	$46.75–$56	$51.20 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	35
Colorado	$50	$45.50–$55	$48.20 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	31
Virginia	$49.50	$45–$51.75	$45 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	32
Maryland	$48	$45.50–$52	$47.98 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	13
Georgia	$48	$47.75–$49.50	$44.98 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	12
Illinois	$46.25	$39.75–$47.75	$46.15 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	30
Florida	$46.25	$44.50–$48.25	$40.48 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	22
Wisconsin	$46	$43–$47.50	$45.93 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	9
Texas	$44.75	$40.25–$49	$46.14 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	21
Missouri	$41.75	$40.25–$48.75	$39.32 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	17

Median and middle half of employers' rates in the state. BLS medians are for the occupation's main SOC code in the state (May 2025).

Night shift PACU nurse pay

Where one employer posts both night and other PACU nurse jobs in the same state (8 such employers and states), the night jobs post the same base rate as the rest (the median gap is $0): most employers state their night differential apart from the base pay, so check the posting for it.

Employer, state	Night jobs, median	Other jobs, median
RWJBarnabas Health, NJ	$55 (1)	$57.50 (10)
HealthTrust Workforce Solutions, TX	$44 (1)	$44 (9)
Atlantic Health, NJ	$55.25 (1)	$55.50 (5)
VCU Health, VA	$41.75 (1)	$41.75 (5)
Children's National Hospital, DC	$50 (1)	$54 (4)
Northwestern Medicine, IL	$50.75 (1)	$46.50 (4)
Boston Medical Center, MA	$56.75 (3)	$59.75 (1)
Monument Health, SD	$41.75 (1)	$40.50 (2)

A job counts as a night job when its title names nights ("Nights", "NOC", "7p-7a"). Jobs in brackets.

Best-paid open PACU nurse jobs

The open jobs posting the highest hourly rates tonight, at most two from one employer.

Clinical RN II, Post Anesthesia Care Unit, Full-Time, Days
MarinHealth · Greenbrae, CA· 2w ago
$93.17–$119.18/hr
Clinical RN II, Surgery and Procedures Pre-Op, Full-Time, Days
MarinHealth · Greenbrae, CA· 2w ago
$93.17–$119.18/hr
Staff Nurse II, ASU/PACU
Sutter Health · San Francisco, CA· 1mo ago
$84.50–$114.34/hr
Registered Nurse - PACU
Montage Health · Monterey, CA· 1w ago
$72.83–$97.40/hr
Clinical Nurse I - PACU 1ST
Hospital for Special Surgery · New York, NY· 1mo ago
$83.00/hr
Registered Nurse II, Preop/PACU
Sutter Health · Lakeport, CA· 2w ago
$70.03–$94.74/hr
Per Diem Nurse - PACU
City of Hope California · Duarte, CA· 3d ago
$81.16/hr
PACU RN Contract $80/hr
AdventHealth · Denver, CO· 2w ago
$80/hr
Preop/PACU RN Contract $80/hr
AdventHealth · Castle Rock, CO· 2w ago
$80/hr
"Registered Nurse - PACU PreOp - 12 Hours Full Time Midshift - 10:30am/11am/12pm Start - $5,000 Hiring Incentive!
Cedars-Sinai · Los Angeles, CA· 1w ago
$60.16–$96.26/hr
RN PACU
Southcoast Health System · New Bedford, MA· 5d ago
$77.81/hr
Clinical Nurse I - PACU - 4TH
Hospital for Special Surgery · New York, NY· 1mo ago
$73.00–$81.07/hr

Every open job: PACU nurse jobs

What BLS measures

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys what people employed in the occupation earn, at every level of experience. A posting advertises what a new hire is offered, so the two measure different things.

Hourly wages, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Each figure opens its BLS page.
BLS occupation	10th pct	25th pct	Median	75th pct	90th pct	Employed
Registered Nurses (29-1141)	$33.14 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)	$38.62 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)	$46.90 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)	$54.02 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)	$66.09 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)	3,379,720 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)

The posted median ($49.50) is $2.60 above the BLS median ($46.90 (source: BLS OEWS May 2025, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)). Posted ranges run from a new hire's rate to an experienced one's, and their midpoint is counted here.

PACU nurse salary: common questions

How much does a PACU nurse make an hour?

Open PACU nurse jobs on CareJobs.Now that state an hourly rate post a median of $49.50, with the middle half between $44.75–$59 (384 jobs from 112 employers, each employer's advertised range counted once). Postings advertise a base rate, usually before shift differentials and bonuses. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics measured a median of $46.90/hr ($97,550 a year) for registered nurses in May 2025.

How much does a PACU nurse make a year?

At the posted median of $49.50 an hour, full time (2,080 hours a year) comes to about $103,000, and the middle half to $93,100 to $122,700. That is arithmetic on the hourly rate, not a salary any job states.

Which states pay PACU nurses the most?

By the median hourly rate open jobs post: New York ($65.25), Massachusetts ($64.75) and California ($64.25). The lowest: Missouri ($41.75), Texas ($44.75) and Wisconsin ($46). Each state's page breaks its pay down by town and employer.

Which employers pay PACU nurses the most?

Among employers stating a rate on at least 5 open jobs: Beth Israel Lahey Health ($63), Kaiser Permanente ($61.75) and RWJBarnabas Health ($57.50). The employer table lists the 40 employers with the most jobs stating pay.

Do night shift PACU nurses earn more?

Not in the base rate employers post: where one employer posts both night and other PACU nurse jobs in the same state (8 such employers and states), the median gap is $0. Most state their night differential separately in the posting.

Where do these figures come from?

From the pay CareJobs.Now's open jobs state, read every night from each employer's own job board: 384 of 1,397 open PACU nurse jobs (27%) state an hourly rate. No pay is estimated for a job that states none, "up to" ceilings and weekly travel rates are left out, and each employer's advertised range counts once in the median, so no single employer sets it.

More pay by job: Nurses

PACU nurse jobs →Every healthcare salary →Pay explorer →

Sources and method

Only pay a job states is used: a plain hourly or yearly figure or range in US dollars, read from the job's own posting. A range counts at its midpoint. In the median and the middle half each employer's advertised range counts once, so an employer posting one range in many towns does not set the figure; an employer's own figures count its jobs one by one. "Up to" ceilings, weekly travel rates and rates under a third or over three times the occupation's median are left out. The yearly estimate is the hourly rate times 2,080 hours (40 a week). A job counts under its occupation and every occupation above it, and under every state it is open in. A page exists while at least 8 jobs from 3 employers state a rate. BLS figures are as published.

CareJobs.Now job board: the pay open jobs state, read nightly from each employer's own careers site, published October 24, 2026
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Registered Nurses (SOC 29-1141), published May 15, 2026
BLS OEWS May 2025: Registered Nurses by state, published May 15, 2026
BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035: Registered Nurses (Occupational Outlook Handbook), published August 27, 2026

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2026). PACU nurse salary. Data as of October 24, 2026. https://carejobs.now/salaries/pacu-nurse

How the board counts