Registered Nurses salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
Official BLS OEWS May 2025 pay for Registered Nurses in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area — and the estimated take-home pay on the median wage under 2026 Texas tax rules.
The figures
The median Registered Nurses in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area earns $99,830 a year ($48.00 an hour), according to the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (full citation in Sources). The middle half of Registered Nurses in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX earn between $81,890 and $116,000 a year. At the ends of the distribution, the lowest-paid 10 percent earn $74,860 or less and the top 10 percent earn $130,440 or more. BLS estimates 65,910 Registered Nurses jobs in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX area — 20.035 of every 1,000 jobs in the area, a location quotient of 0.92 (below the national concentration). That is 2.0% of all Registered Nurses employment in the United States (3,379,720 jobs nationally). By employment, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX is the #6 largest of the 25 covered metro areas for Registered Nurses. In aggregate, Registered Nurses in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX earn about $6.61 billion a year (BLS employment multiplied by the mean wage). At the mean wage, the engine's take-home is $79,384.18 a year, so the aggregate take-home of Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Registered Nurses is about $5.23 billion. BLS reports a relative standard error of 1.7% for this employment estimate. Ranked by median pay, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX stands #17 of the 25 metro areas covered on this site for Registered Nurses. By employment, Registered Nurses is the #5 largest of the 30 covered occupations in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX. Placed against the national distribution for Registered Nurses, the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX median of $99,830 falls between the national median ($97,550) and the national 75th percentile ($112,350). Across all occupations, the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX median is $49,410 a year — Registered Nurses pay is 102.0% above the area's overall median.
Wages in detail
| Wage level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | $48.21 | $100,290 |
| 10th percentile | $35.99 | $74,860 |
| 25th percentile | $39.37 | $81,890 |
| Median (50th percentile) | $48.00 | $99,830 |
| 75th percentile | $55.77 | $116,000 |
| 90th percentile | $62.71 | $130,440 |
What the wage distribution says
The top 10 percent of Registered Nurses in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX earn 1.7 times what the bottom 10 percent earn ($130,440 against $74,860). The middle half spans $34,110 — from $81,890 to $116,000. Hourly, the 90th percentile ($62.71) is 1.74 times the 10th ($35.99). In the upper half of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX distribution, the 75th percentile wage of $116,000 takes home $90,436.02 and the 90th percentile wage of $130,440 takes home $100,421.70 — $9,985.68 more net for $14,440 more gross. Against the median take-home of $79,060.42, the top decile keeps 1.27 times as much. The mean wage of $100,290 sits 0.5% above the median: higher-paid Registered Nurses pull the average up in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX. Among the 30 covered occupations in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, Registered Nurses ranks #3 by median pay. In the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX wage ladder of covered occupations, Registered Nurses sits between General and Operations Managers at $119,600 and Project Management Specialists at $99,510. Registered Nurses accounts for 2.0% of all employment in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area. The average covered metro employs 55,027 Registered Nurses; Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX employs 1.2 times that.
Take-home pay on the median wage in Texas
Single filer, no dependents, no pre-tax contributions, paid biweekly, a full year of W-2 wages in Texas; city and local taxes are not included:
| Gross pay (annual) | $99,830.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $13,132.60 |
| Social Security (FICA) | $6,189.46 |
| Medicare (FICA) | $1,447.54 |
| Texas income tax | $0.00 |
| Total deductions | $20,769.58 |
| Net pay (annual) | $79,060.42 |
| Net pay per biweekly paycheck | $3,040.79 |
| Total deduction rate | 20.80% of gross |
At the median, $79,060.42 of the $99,830 gross is kept ($3,040.79 per paycheck) — a deduction rate of 20.80%. The deduction rate moves with pay: 17.85% at the 10th percentile, 18.87% at the 25th percentile, 22.04% at the 75th percentile, 23.01% at the 90th percentile. Between the 25th and 75th percentile wages, annual take-home rises by $23,996.52 on a gross rise of $34,110.
The same engine at the other published points of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX wage distribution:
| Wage point | Net per year | Net per paycheck | Deduction rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile ($74,860) | $61,493.92 | $2,365.15 | 17.85% |
| 25th percentile ($81,890) | $66,439.50 | $2,555.37 | 18.87% |
| Median ($99,830) | $79,060.42 | $3,040.79 | 20.80% |
| 75th percentile ($116,000) | $90,436.02 | $3,478.31 | 22.04% |
| 90th percentile ($130,440) | $100,421.70 | $3,862.37 | 23.01% |
Across the published distribution, take-home pay runs from $61,493.92 a year at the 10th percentile to $100,421.70 at the 90th — a spread of $38,927.78 of net pay inside one occupation and one metro area.
For scale: across all occupations, the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX median wage of $49,410 takes home $41,880.92 a year ($1,610.80 per paycheck, deduction rate 15.24%). The Registered Nurses median take-home of $79,060.42 sits $37,179.50 (above that area-wide figure.
Run your own numbers
Your own withholding depends on your Form W-4, your benefits and your other income — run your exact figures through the calculator:
Against the national median
Nationally, the median Registered Nurses earns $97,550 a year ($46.90 an hour). The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX median of $99,830 is $2,280 (2.3%) above the national median.
The means rank the area differently: $100,290 a year in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX against $101,420 nationally, a gap of $1,130 (1.1%).
Set against the whole local market, the Registered Nurses 90th percentile of $130,440 is 102% of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX all-occupations 90th percentile ($128,040), and its 10th percentile of $74,860 is 273% of the area-wide 10th ($27,380).
| Median annual | Median hourly | Mean annual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $99,830 | $48.00 | $100,290 |
| United States | $97,550 | $46.90 | $101,420 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Registered Nurses in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
$99,830 a year ($48.00 an hour), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates. The mean is $100,290 a year. Ranked by median pay, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX stands #17 of the 25 covered metro areas for this occupation.
What is the take-home pay on $99,830 in Texas?
About $79,060.42 a year ($3,040.79 per biweekly paycheck) for a single filer with no dependents and no pre-tax contributions, under 2026 rules — a total deduction rate of 20.80% of gross. At the 75th percentile wage of $116,000, take-home is $90,436.02.
How does pay in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX compare with the national median for Registered Nurses?
The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX median of $99,830 is $2,280 (2.3%) above the national median of $97,550 a year. At the top of the distribution, the local 90th percentile is $130,440, against a national 90th percentile of $137,470.
How much do the top 10% of Registered Nurses earn in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
$130,440 a year or more ($62.71 an hour or more), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates.
What is the take-home pay at the 90th percentile for Registered Nurses in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
On $130,440 a year, the engine gives a take-home of $100,421.70 a year ($3,862.37 per biweekly paycheck) in Texas under the same assumptions — a deduction rate of 23.01%.
How many Registered Nurses jobs are there in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
BLS estimates 65,910 Registered Nurses jobs in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area — 20.035 of every 1,000 jobs in the area.
How concentrated are Registered Nurses jobs in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
The location quotient is 0.92 — below the national concentration. A quotient of 1.0 means the occupation's share of local employment equals its national share.
How much does take-home pay vary for Registered Nurses in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
From $61,493.92 a year at the 10th percentile wage ($74,860) to $100,421.70 at the 90th ($130,440), under the same single-filer assumptions in Texas.
What is the total wage bill for Registered Nurses in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
About $6.61 billion a year — the BLS employment estimate of 65,910 multiplied by the mean wage of $100,290.
Sources and method
Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026 — bls.gov/oes. OEWS figures are survey estimates for May 2025, not job offers. Take-home pay is computed by this site's paycheck engine with 2026 federal and state rules; the method, and what the engine does not model, is documented in the paycheck methodology guide. Estimates only — not tax advice.