Critical Care Nurses Career, Salary and Skills
Critical Care Nurses have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $97,550 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 3,379,720. Wage data is published for 433 locations.
Occupation description
Provide specialized nursing care for patients in critical or coronary care units.
O*NET code
29-1141.03
Job zone
4
Typical education
Bachelor's Degree
Experience
None
National salary and employment
Median annual
$97,550
Hourly median
$46.90
Employment
3,379,720
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
$68,940
10th
$80,330
25th
$97,550
Median
$112,350
75th
$137,470
90th
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring | 4.12 | 4.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Speaking | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Active Listening | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Critical Thinking | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Service Orientation | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Coordination | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Active Learning | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.88 | 3.38 |
Typical tasks
- Monitor patients for changes in status and indications of conditions such as sepsis or shock and institute appropriate interventions.
- Administer medications intravenously, by injection, orally, through gastric tubes, or by other methods.
- Monitor patients' fluid intake and output to detect emerging problems, such as fluid and electrolyte imbalances.
- Prioritize nursing care for assigned critically ill patients, based on assessment data or identified needs.
- Compile and analyze data obtained from monitoring or diagnostic tests.
- Conduct pulmonary assessments to identify abnormal respiratory patterns or breathing sounds that indicate problems.
- Assess patients' pain levels or sedation requirements.
- Evaluate patients' vital signs or laboratory data to determine emergency intervention needs.
Technology
- Allscripts Professional EHR
- American Association of Critical Care Nurses AACN Medicopeia
- Amkai AmkaiCharts
- Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
- Cerner Millennium
- ChartWare EMR
- e-MDs software
- eClinicalWorks EHR software
- Epic Systems
- GE Healthcare Centricity EMR
- Google Drive
- MEDITECH Healthcare Information System HCIS
- MEDITECH software
- Medscribbler Enterprise
Critical Care Nurses salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Critical Care Nurses Salary in CAMedian $140,270 · Employment 338,940
- Critical Care Nurses Salary in TXMedian $95,970 · Employment 271,380
- Critical Care Nurses Salary in FLMedian $84,190 · Employment 229,940
- Critical Care Nurses Salary in NYMedian $109,440 · Employment 205,810
- Critical Care Nurses Salary in New York, NYMedian $119,720 · Employment 197,740
- Critical Care Nurses Salary in PAMedian $96,430 · Employment 146,520
- Critical Care Nurses Salary in OHMedian $82,510 · Employment 143,730
- Critical Care Nurses Salary in ILMedian $95,990 · Employment 138,910
- Critical Care Nurses Salary in NCMedian $84,350 · Employment 111,120
- Critical Care Nurses Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $135,560 · Employment 109,360
- Critical Care Nurses Salary in MIMedian $94,300 · Employment 104,950
- Critical Care Nurses Salary in GAMedian $93,550 · Employment 100,950
Related careers
- HospitalistsNational median $265,930
- Pediatric SurgeonsNational median $559,030
- Pediatricians, GeneralNational median $210,040
- Family Medicine PhysiciansNational median $244,180
- Physician AssistantsNational median $135,880
- CardiologistsNational median $496,010
- Anesthesiologist AssistantsNational median $135,880
- AnesthesiologistsNational median $391,490
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.