How much do infection control nurses make in 2026?
Infection control nurses — infection preventionists — 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. The survey has no infection prevention wage, so the role must be placed inside that band, and its economics are unusual for nursing. This is a salaried, weekday, non-bedside post: surveillance of healthcare-associated infections, mandatory reporting to the National Healthcare Safety Network, outbreak investigation, isolation policy and construction risk assessment. There are no shift differentials, so pay above the median comes from CIC certification through the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, from taking responsibility across multiple facilities, and from moving into director-level infection prevention. Registered nurse employment is projected to grow 4.9% through 2034 with roughly 189,100 openings a year. → Full infection control 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.
- Infection Control 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 publishes one registered nurse wage, so infection prevention pay sits inside the $68,940 to $137,470 RN range rather than in a separate series.
- The post is salaried, weekday and non-bedside, so leaving shift differentials behind can mean a nurse's total pay drops even when the base salary rises.
- CIC certification, multi-facility responsibility and the move into infection prevention leadership are the levers that carry pay toward the $112,350 P75 and above.
US Infection Control Nurse Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do infection control 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 an infection control nurse earn at each career stage?
Infection prevention pay follows certification, scope of facility responsibility and programme leadership 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 infection control 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. State regulation is the live variable in this specialty: reporting mandates, public infection-rate disclosure rules and long-term-care staffing requirements differ, and states with stricter regimes create more preventionist posts per facility. Nurse Licensure Compact membership governs cross-state practice for nurses covering sites in several states.
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 infection control 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 an infection control 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 infection control nurse pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Infection Control 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 infection control nurse wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does an infection control 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
Infection Control Nurse Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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