As of 2020, the median hourly wage of registered nurses in the US is $34.07, compared to $18.48 in 1998. However, increases in hourly wages are mostly seen at the top end of the scale: the 10th percentile pay in 1998 was $14.10 and increased to only $25.87 in 2020. Wages may be slowly increasing but the gap between the highest and lowest paid nurses is widening. A higher number of registered nurses is correlated with higher hourly wages.
