Dialysis Nurse Salary Guide

Another option is to go back to school. If you have a diploma or an associate degree, earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing is a good way to bump up your pay. According to a 2022 BLS report, workers in any field with four-year degrees have median weekly earnings that are 38.5% higher than the weekly median for those with two-year degrees.

You may also be able to pick up per diem dialysis nursing jobs. Per diem jobs in dialysis nursing let you sign up for a few extra shifts per week or per month. This flexibility allows you to increase your earnings while retaining your full-time position.

According to Vivian Health's salary data for the week ending April 29, 2023, staff dialysis registered nurses (RNs) earned an average of $41.81 per hour. If you work a standard 40-hour schedule, that's a weekly salary of $1,672.40.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) includes dialysis nurses in its occupational outlook data for all registered nurses. According to BLS data in May 2021, the demand for RNs should increase by 6% between 2021 and 2031. The demand for dialysis nurses may increase even more, as the prevalence of end-stage renal disease increases by more than 20,000 cases per year, per a report from Penn Medicine.

The BLS doesn’t provide data for separate nursing specialties. However, based on May 2022 data for RNs in every field, including dialysis, BLS analysts report that hospitals account for nearly 31% of all RN employment. Another 7.5% of RNs work in doctor’s offices, with about 11% working for home health services and nearly 15% in ambulatory healthcare settings. Nursing homes and residential care facilities account for slightly more than 9% of RN employment. Specific to dialysis RNs, Indeed lists dialysis clinics as the most common employer, followed by hospitals.

According to May 2022 BLS data, top-paying industries for RNs in all fields included numerous nontraditional settings. Pharmaceutical manufacturing paid $53.02 per hour, nonscheduled air transportation paid $52.48 and employment services paid $52.43 hourly. More traditional nursing workplaces had higher employment but lower wages, including outpatient care centers at $46.73 and hospitals at $43.56 hourly.

The pay for dialysis nursing is similar to that provided to nurses in renal progressive care units, who care for patients with a wide range of kidney problems. While staff dialysis nurses earn an average of $41.81 per hour, staff renal PCU nurse salaries averaged $40.51 per hour, according to Vivian Health's salary data on April 29, 2023. Travel dialysis nurses had an average weekly rate of $2,184 on the same date, while travel renal PCU nurses had an average weekly rate of $2,108.