How much do hospice nurses make in 2026?
Hospice nurses are paid from the registered nurse series: BLS OEWS May 2025 gives the SOC 29-1141 national median as $97,550 a year ($46.90 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $68,940 and the top 10% at $137,470. BLS publishes no hospice-specific wage, and hospice sits in the lower-middle part of that distribution for a structural reason: most hospice care is delivered in homes and nursing facilities under the Medicare hospice benefit, which pays agencies a per-diem rather than for procedures, so there is no acuity premium to pass through to wages. What does pay is availability — on-call rotations for after-hours symptom crises and deaths, mileage for a rural territory, and admission-nurse or triage roles that carry their own differentials. CHPN certification from the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center is the recognised credential. Registered nurse employment is projected to grow 4.9% through 2034 with roughly 189,100 openings a year. → Full hospice nurse career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $97,550 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Hospice Nurses earn a national median $97,550/yr ($46.90/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1141); the P10 to P90 range is $68,940 to $137,470.
- BLS reports one registered nurse wage, so hospice pay is a position within the $68,940 to $137,470 RN distribution — generally the lower-middle part of it.
- The Medicare hospice per-diem payment model means there is no acuity premium to fund higher wages; on-call, mileage and admission roles are where the extra money is.
- CHPN certification plus an on-call or admission-nurse rota is the realistic route above the $80,330 P25 toward the $97,550 median and beyond.
US Hospice Nurse Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do hospice nurses earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 29-1141; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1141, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a hospice nurse earn at each career stage?
Hospice pay follows caseload responsibility, certification and on-call commitment rather than a licence ladder above the RN. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS registered nurse distribution (SOC 29-1141).
By State
Which states pay hospice nurses the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national registered nurse median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Hospice geography has its own logic: reimbursement is federal and largely uniform, so agencies in high-wage states face the same per-diem as agencies in low-wage ones, which compresses hospice pay relative to hospital nursing in expensive markets. Rural territories add mileage and drive time instead. Nurse Licensure Compact membership governs cross-state practice.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($112,180), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay hospice nurses the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the registered nurse national median scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a hospice nurse’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does hospice nurse pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Hospice Nurses sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify hospice nurse wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a hospice nurse actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Hospice Nurse Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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