2. Dallas — $89K median
Dallas leads Texas on median RN pay by a small margin per BLS OES, and the market depth explains why. Texas Health Resources, Baylor Scott & White, Methodist Health System, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Children's Health, and the Parkland Health safety-net system all compete aggressively for RN talent across every specialty.
Dallas metro RN median sits near $89K per BLS OES, with academic and specialty roles at UT Southwestern and Children's Medical Center reaching well above that. Expansion in Collin and Denton counties has driven suburban hospital growth that keeps the metro-wide pipeline stretched thin.
Base pay growth from 2023 to 2026 has run around 9 to 11 percent per hospital association compensation tracking. Sign-on bonuses of $15K to $25K are standard in ICU, ED, OR, and L&D, and specialty premiums for CCRN, CEN, CNOR, and PALS-stacked credentials add meaningful layers on top of base pay grids.
