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Registered nurse salary in Kentucky

Open registered nurse jobs in Kentucky post a median of $46.50 an hour, the middle half $40.75–$56 (about $96,700 a year full time), $2.50 below the national posted median. From 125 jobs at 14 employers that state their pay.

$46.50
Median posted /hr
$41–$56
Middle half /hr
$96,700
A year, full time
estimate, 2,080 hours
$38.96
BLS median in KY
May 2025

The jobs themselves: Registered nurse jobs in Kentucky · Registered nurse pay nationwide

What registered nurses are paid in Kentucky

Each bar counts the open jobs posting an hourly rate in its step of pay (a range at its midpoint).

Posted hourly rates of 125 open jobs in Kentucky. Lowest posted $16, highest $100.

Posted on open jobs in Kentucky

$40.75–$56/hr

Middle half of 63 employer rates (each employer's advertised range once), median $46.50. 12% of the 1,008 open registered nurse jobs in Kentucky state an hourly rate.

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Registered nurse pay by town in Kentucky

Towns where at least three open jobs state an hourly rate, the towns with the most such jobs first.

TownMedian postedPosted rangeJobs (employers)
Lexington$43$26.70–$10049 (4)
Bowling Green$49.25$32.65–$6525 (3)
Frankfort$47.25$35–$5414 (1)
Mount Sterling$43.50$30–$91.878 (1)
Somerset$63.50$58.50–$74.106 (1)
Bardstown$51.25$30–$91.876 (1)
Louisville$52$34.05–$80.815 (4)
London$47$30–$91.875 (1)
Maysville$65$58.50–$81.904 (1)
Mayfield$65$58.50–$783 (1)
Winchester$59.75$26.70–$69.423 (2)
Paducah$35.50$16–$553 (3)

Median of employers' rates in the town, the lowest and highest rate posted, and the jobs and employers behind them. A town opens its own job page.

Registered nurse pay by employer in Kentucky

What each employer posts for registered nurses here, the employers with the most jobs stating pay first.

EmployerMedian postedPosted rangeJobs stating pay
HealthTrust Workforce Solutions$52$34–$81.9051
CommonSpirit Health$42$26.70–$10051
UnitedHealth Group$41.50$30.83–$62.036
Med Center Health$65$55–$653
Option Care Health$49.25$36.89–$61.492
United Energy Workers Healthcare$45$40–$502
CVS Health$41$26.01–$56.142
Giving Home Health Care$39.25$16–$562
UofL Health$55$551
Healogics$45$39.88–$50.261
ChenMed$44.75$36.90–$52.701
AdventHealth$36.50$27.98–$44.771
Baptist Health (Kentucky)$32.75$32.821
Easterseals West Kentucy$30.50$30.391

Median of each employer's jobs in Kentucky (a range at its midpoint), and its lowest and highest rate here. An employer's name opens its pay for registered nurses nationwide when it has such a page.

Jobs that state a yearly salary

Measured on their own, never converted to hourly.

12 open jobs in Kentucky state a yearly salary: a median of $93,200, the middle half $85,800 to $105,600.

Best-paid open registered nurse jobs in Kentucky

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

What BLS measures in Kentucky

What people employed in the occupation earned in the state, at every level of experience, from the BLS survey. A posting advertises what a new hire is offered.

Hourly wages, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Kentucky. Each figure opens its BLS page.
BLS occupation10th pct25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctEmployed
Registered Nurses (29-1141)$30.85 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)$36.38 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)$38.96 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)$46.73 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)$53.73 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)50,300 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)

BLS median by metro area

Registered nurse salary in Kentucky: common questions

How much does a registered nurse make in Kentucky?

Open registered nurse jobs in Kentucky that state an hourly rate post a median of $46.50, the middle half $40.75–$56 (125 jobs from 14 employers). Full time that is about $96,700 a year. BLS measured a median of $38.96/hr ($81,040 a year) for people employed in the occupation in Kentucky (May 2025).

Where in Kentucky do registered nurses earn the most?

By the median rate open jobs post, in the towns with the most jobs stating pay: Lexington ($43), Bowling Green ($49.25), Frankfort ($47.25) and Mount Sterling ($43.50). The town table lists 12.

Which employers in Kentucky pay registered nurses the most?

Among employers stating a rate on at least three open jobs here: Med Center Health ($65), HealthTrust Workforce Solutions ($52) and CommonSpirit Health ($42).

How does Kentucky compare with the rest of the country?

The posted median in Kentucky ($46.50) is $2.50 below the national posted median of $49. In the BLS survey Kentucky ranks 42 of 52 by median wage.

Where do these figures come from?

From the pay open jobs state, read every night from each employer's own job board: 125 of 1,008 open registered nurse jobs in Kentucky (12%) state an hourly rate. No pay is estimated for a job that states none; "up to" ceilings and weekly travel rates are left out.

Registered nurse pay in other states

Registered nurse salary nationwide →Every healthcare salary →

Sources and method

Only pay a job states is used, a range at its midpoint. In the state's median and middle half each employer's advertised range counts once, so an employer posting one range in many towns does not set the figure; a town's median follows the same rule. "Up to" ceilings, weekly travel rates and rates far from the occupation's median are left out. A state has a page while at least 8 jobs from 3 employers state a rate there. The yearly estimate is the hourly rate times 2,080 hours. BLS figures are as published.
  1. CareJobs.Now job board: the pay open jobs state, read nightly from each employer's own careers site, published October 24, 2026
  2. BLS OEWS May 2025: Registered Nurses (SOC 29-1141), every state, published May 15, 2026
  3. BLS OEWS May 2025: Registered Nurses, national, published May 15, 2026
  4. BLS OEWS May 2025: Registered Nurses by metropolitan area, published May 15, 2026

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2026). Registered nurse salary in Kentucky. Data as of October 24, 2026. https://carejobs.now/salaries/registered-nurse/kentucky

How the board counts