Clinical nurse specialist earnings by seniority

90th percentile

Top-level clinical nurse specialist earnings begin at:

$61.09 per hour

$127,080 per year

75th percentile

Senior-level clinical nurse specialist earnings begin at:

$48.83 per hour

$101,570 per year

50th percentile

Mid-level clinical nurse specialist earnings begin at:

$46.24 per hour

$96,170 per year

25th percentile

Junior-level clinical nurse specialist earnings begin at:

$36.38 per hour

$75,670 per year

10th percentile

Starting level clinical nurse specialist earnings begin at:

$29.45 per hour

$61,260 per year

Approximate values based on highest and lowest earning segments.

Clinical nurse specialist salary by state

State Name Average Salary
Oregon $99,410
Alaska $99,110
Washington $96,980
New York $96,170
District of Columbia $95,220
Massachusetts $94,960
New Jersey $94,690
Connecticut $83,860
Nevada $79,360
Minnesota $79,100
Rhode Island $78,900
Maryland $78,350
New Mexico $78,340
Arizona $78,260
Colorado $78,070
Illinois $77,580
Texas $77,320
New Hampshire $77,230
Pennsylvania $76,940
Virginia $76,900
Michigan $76,710
Wisconsin $76,560
Idaho $75,560
Delaware $75,380
Vermont $75,380
Georgia $75,040
Maine $75,040
Florida $75,000
Montana $75,000
Utah $75,000
Wyoming $75,000
Virgin Islands, U.S. $74,710
Ohio $74,080
North Dakota $73,250
South Carolina $72,650
North Carolina $72,220
Louisiana $64,450
Nebraska $64,000
Kentucky $62,480
Indiana $62,400
Tennessee $62,390
West Virginia $62,390
Oklahoma $62,170
Missouri $61,920
Iowa $61,790
Kansas $61,790
Arkansas $61,530
Mississippi $60,790
South Dakota $60,550
Alabama $60,510
Guam $58,980
Puerto Rico $36,320
California $125,340
Hawaii $111,070

How do clinical nurse specialist salaries compare to similar careers?

Clinical nurse specialists earn 8% less than similar careers in New York. On average, they make less than pharmacists but more than MRI technologists.

Career Median Salary
Pharmacist salary $129K
Radiation therapist salary $107K
Biomedical engineer salary $102K
Nuclear medicine technologist salary $99K
Nurse educator salary $96K
Registered nurse salary $96K
Clinical nurse specialist salary $96K
Acute care nurse practitioner salary $96K
Audiologist salary $93K
MRI technologist salary $85K

Source: CareerExplorer (Aggregated)