The Average Salary of a Director of Nursing

According to the National Student Nurses' Association, a director of nursing fills an administrative role between unit-based nurse managers and the chief nursing officer responsible for all of nursing services in an organization.

Entry Level

• According to Payscale.com, a director of nursing with less than one year of experience can expect a median salary somewhere between $52,072 and $85,000 annually. Another one to three years of experience will increase that figure to a range of $54,953 to $75,354.

Experienced

• By the time a nursing director has 20 or more years under her belt, she can expect to earn a median salary between $66,559 and $99,421 a year.

Bonus

• According to Nurse Universe, nursing directors earn an average bonus of $3,660 on top of an average salary of $104,191.

Benefits

• The salary package for a nursing director typically includes benefits such as a retirement plan and health insurance. According to NurseUniverse, the benefits add another $34,344 to the figure paid for a base salary with bonuses, for an average total salary package of $142,195.

Considerations

• The employment outcome for nursing directors is rosy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for health services managers such as directors of nursing are expected to grow 16 percent from 2006 to 2016.