NICU Nurse Salary in Texas 2026,
$95,970 Median | BLS Data by City

The BLS OEWS May 2025 Texas median for registered nurses is $95,970, or $46.14 an hour — 1.6% below the national median of $97,550, with no state income tax deducted. The middle half falls between $79,170 and $105,100 and the full band runs $67,120 to $127,950. The row covers all registered nurses rather than neonatal intensive care alone, though NICU assignments generally sit at or above the specialty average.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington at $101,420, then Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands $99,830, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos $97,890, San Antonio-New Braunfels $94,370 and Killeen-Temple $93,440. About eight thousand dollars separates the table, which is narrow for a state of this size and reflects hospital system staffing markets that operate statewide.

Yes. A registered nurse holding a multistate licence issued by another compact state may practise in Texas without obtaining a separate Texas licence, and a Texas-licensed nurse resident here may practise across the compact. That is a substantial practical advantage over California and Oregon, which are not members, and it is why Texas neonatal units can bring in travel and contract staff quickly when they run short.

Frequently, and it is one of the few levers a neonatal nurse controls directly. Many Texas hospital systems pay a certification differential, and the RNC-NIC from the National Certification Corporation is the recognised neonatal intensive care credential. Texas issues no neonatal-specific licence — the Board of Nursing licenses NICU nurses simply as registered nurses — so the certification is what evidences specialty competence.

Gross, California pays far more. Net and practically, the gap is narrower than it looks: Texas takes no state income tax where California's reaches 13.3% with an uncapped disability contribution, Texas housing costs are dramatically lower, and Texas is a compact state where California is not — so a nurse can start work here without waiting on a licence by endorsement. California still pays more in real terms for most nurses; the point is that the comparison requires more than the headline figures.

Because neonatal intensive care staffing is lumpy and urgent. A level III or IV unit that loses two experienced nurses cannot flex its ratios down — the acuity does not permit it — so it turns to travel and contract staffing, and the speed with which that can be arranged depends on licensure. In Texas a compact-licensed nurse can start immediately; in California or Oregon the same nurse waits on a licence by endorsement. For the individual nurse, compact membership means Texas assignments are easier to take and easier to leave, which is a real career flexibility that no wage figure captures.

It is the registered nurse row, not a NICU row — BLS publishes no separate neonatal wage — so it blends intensive care with clinic, school, case management and every other RN setting in Texas. It reports wages as paid including differentials and overtime, so a nurse working straight days without premiums will sit below it. And with about 271,380 registered nurses the sample is enormous but geographically broad, covering rural Texas hospitals alongside the metropolitan systems.

Shift pattern first: permanent nights with weekend rotation carries substantial differentials, and in Texas those hours are untaxed by the state. Certification second, with the RNC-NIC drawing a differential at many systems. Unit acuity third — level IV and transport assignments above level II. Charge and preceptor responsibility fourth, which is what the $105,100 seventy-fifth percentile describes. Contract and travel work fifth, which compact membership makes unusually accessible here and which is a large part of what the $127,950 ninetieth percentile reflects. Geography contributes about eight thousand dollars.