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What your hospital pays.

National figures, 2020–2024, from hospitals’ own IRS filings and federal wage data. For your own hospital’s executive pay, raises and finances, look it up.

17×
Across 1,080 covered nonprofit hospital filers, the median highest reported compensation was $1,626,964 in 2024. That is 17.4× the BLS national median annual registered-nurse wage of $93,600. This compares two medians, not a measured pay ratio at your hospital. Look yours up →
One nurse, to scale.
Staff nurse $93,600 Highest reported compensation $1,626,964
Medians across 1,080 nonprofit hospital filers reporting a top-paid figure. Bars to scale.
Whose pay actually grew, after inflation?
0% Highest reported compensation +6.7% Staff nurse +2.0% Nurse executive −2.4%
Change in median pay 2020–2024 after CPI-U inflation of 21.9%. Before inflation: +30.0%, +24.3%, +18.9%.

Among these three comparison series, the nursing-leadership median was the only one below inflation. The national RN wage median was above inflation in this comparison. Form 990 total compensation and BLS wages use different measures; these are not changes for the same people or a ratio at a selected hospital.

See what your hospital reported paying →
What these numbers are not.
  • Form 990 is not a roster of bedside-nurse wages. It lists specified leaders and certain highly compensated employees; a nurse can appear if the reporting rules apply. The nursing-role figures in this comparison come from disclosed nursing leadership titles, not a representative sample of bedside nurses. IRS reporting rules.
  • Staff nurse pay is a different source: BLS national median, all industries. Your state and hospital will differ.
  • The top-paid person is not always the CEO — sometimes a surgeon or a system executive.
  • 990 pay includes deferred compensation, which can spike in the year it pays out.
Highest reported compensation: Form 990 Part VII in the covered sample — 1,080 filers with a top-paid figure in both years, 492 disclosing a nursing title. Registered nurse wages: BLS OEWS May 2020 and May 2024, SOC 29-1141. Inflation: CPI-U June 2020–June 2024. All figures are medians.

About this data. Every executive figure comes from a hospital’s own IRS filing and each hospital page links to it. These are medians across filers, not the pay at any one hospital, and not a statement about whether anyone is paid appropriately. Figures lag one to two years. Published for general information only — not legal, financial or employment advice. If a figure does not match the filing it links to, tell us and we will correct it: cashpaymed.org