3. Austin — $88K median
Austin has been one of the fastest-appreciating RN pay markets in Texas, driven by population growth, health system expansion, and rising cost of living pressures on hiring. BLS OES puts the Austin-Round Rock metro RN median near $88K, with Ascension Seton, St. David's HealthCare, and Baylor Scott & White anchoring the market.
The Dell Seton Medical Center at UT Austin and the surrounding Dell Medical School network have added tertiary and academic layers that push specialty RN pay above the metro average. NICU, transplant, and CVICU roles here consistently reach the top of the state range.
Base pay growth from 2023 to 2026 has run around 10 to 13 percent per Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies data — the highest sustained growth rate of any large Texas metro. Sign-on bonuses of $15K to $25K are common in specialty units, and the cost-of-living premium is real but partially offset by that pay curve.
