6. West Virginia — $68K – $82K
West Virginia combines an aging population, an ongoing opioid crisis, and a shrinking nursing school pipeline. State workforce reports estimate a shortfall of several thousand RNs by 2028 if trends hold, with the deepest gaps in southern coalfield counties and along the Ohio River corridor.
Charleston and Morgantown absorb graduates from WVU and Marshall, but rural critical access hospitals routinely rely on travel nurses to fill nights and weekends. State loan repayment programs through the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission cover RNs in Health Professional Shortage Areas.
The BLS OES median for West Virginia RNs sits near $72K, with shortage-area facilities pushing pay to $68K to $82K once differentials and retention bonuses stack. Sign-on packages of $8K to $15K are common for two-year commitments in southern counties per state hospital association data.
