West Virginia
A look at pay for WV nurses and mid-levels, and some thoughts on the nurse shortage – Dominion Post
MORGANTOWN – Registered nurses in West Virginia rank relatively low for hourly pay compared to those in other states, but fare better when their pay is adjusted for cost of living.
Pay for nurse practitioners ranks even lower, but their adjusted rate places them even higher.
And the pay for physician assistants, when adjusted for cost of living, is among the best in the nation.
The numbers come from three articles in Becker’s Hospital Review. This story looks at the numbers and then focuses on registered nurses and the various factors – not just pay – affecting the nursing shortage statewide and across the nation.
The numbers
West Virginia registered nurses rank 45th in the nation among the 50 states and Washington, D.C., for mean hourly pay, at $36.53 per hour.
But adjusting for cost of living (COL), their pay amounts to $40.45 per hour, 35th in the nation.
Becker’s used May 2023 salary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and 2024 COL data from the World Population Review.
World Population Review averages COL across the nation and sets that as the baseline of 100. Individual states are then given a number reflecting costs there compared against the baseline. West Virginia’s index number is 90.3.
Among West Virginia’s neighbors, Maryland is 16th nationally at $44.27 per hour, but 45th adjusted for COL, at $37.05. It’s COL index is 119.5.
The other neighbors: Virginia, 23rd, $42.48; COL adjusted, 31st, $41.20. Pennsylvania, 25th, $42.08; COL adjusted, 21st, $42.51. Ohio, 29th, $40.59; COL adjusted, 17th, $43.18. Kentucky, 38th, $39.31; COL adjusted, 25th, $41.91.
West Virginia nurse practitioners rank 47th nationally, at $54.54. They rise to 28th nationally when adjusted for COL, at $60.40.
Maryland, 20th, $61.54; COL adjusted, 47th, $51.50. Pennsylvania, 24th, $61.27; COL adjusted, 21st, $61.89. Ohio, 33rd, $59.07; COL adjusted, 17th, $62.84. Virginia, 39th, $58.11; COL adjusted, 39th, $56.36. Kentucky, 49th, $53.06; COL adjusted, 37th, $56.57.
West Virginia’s physician assistants rank higher than all of our neighbors for actual mean hourly wage and adjusted for COL. For actual wage, they rank 37th, at $58.55. Adjusted for COL, they climb to 13th, at $64.84.
Virginia, 38th, $57.70; COL adjusted, 40th, $55.98. Ohio, 39th, $57.67; COL adjusted, 25th, $61.35. Pennsylvania, 40th, $57.58; COL adjusted, 33rd, $58.16. Maryland, 42nd, $56.39; COL adjusted, 47th, $47.18. Kentucky, 47th, $47.74; COL adjusted, 45th, $50.89.
The nurse shortage
Melanie Heuston is chief nursing executive for the entire WVU Health System and is overseeing the creation of the WVU Medicine Center for Nursing Education at the WVU Innovation Corp. building.
“The nursing shortage has been going on for quite some time,” she said – nationally and in West Virginia.
It preceded COVID, though the pandemic exacerbated it and brought more attention to it. Bottom line was not enough nurses were and are being produced to meet the demand, she said. “As a state we’ve continued to not put out enough nurses.”
Pay is one factor among several, she said, and not necessarily the chief factor.
“Pay is always important to people and it always matters,” she said. “Staying competitive to the local market is really important.”
They focus on the local market, she said. For registered nurses, West Virginia can’t compete with California, for instance – first in hourly wage at $66.20 and adjusted for COL at $49.22.
Just as important is how they’re treated and the work environment, Heuston said.
With that in mind, she said, WVUM within the past two years has revised the clinical ladder to increase nurses’ pay while allowing them to keep taking care of patients.
The clinical ladder has six steps of increases built on experience, responsibilities and education. “You don’t want a nurse to feel as though they need to leave bedside care to get an increase in salary.”
Like other systems, WVUM relies on contract nurses to fill the gaps. Part of that is good news – the system is growing and needs more nurses.
Meanwhile, the Center for Nursing Education is one way WVUM is building its own supply. As previously reported, there are people who’ve wanted to be nurses but weren’t able to go to school for various reasons, Heuston said, including money and time. The new school is designed to break down those barriers.
The center will have a tuitionless option. Even with tuition waivers, nursing students still have fees, uniform and book costs. At the center, all of those costs will be covered if the students agree to a three-year work commitment with WVU Medicine.
Another factor in the nurse shortage is a faculty shortage, Heuston said. “I think a lot of that is pay related.” Academia typically doesn’t pay as well as the private sector.
The nurse shortage is chiefly in acute care hospitals – mostly the medical/surgical areas, she said. “Nurses have more options today than they’ve ever had in the 40 years I’ve been a nurse. … The places where nurses are is endless.” They can work remotely, or for an insurance company, or advance to nurse practitioner, or many other options.
After talking about the barrier-breaking of the new school, Heuston talked a bit about other barriers to entering nursing. She cited the work of Peter Buerhaus, a nurse, healthcare economist and author.
One of his points, she said, is that social media, with its penchant for emphasizing the negative side of just about everything, has not been good for nursing. And today’s culture doesn’t provide opportunities for high school students to get an introduction – such as the candy stripers some Baby Boomers and Gen Xers might remember.
“We’ve got to figure out ways to shine a light on how wonderful nursing is so people can go into it,” she said.
One way WVU Medicine is doing that, she said, is through its Aspiring Nurse Program. The program offers financial and human-centered support to nursing students enrolled at select schools in West Virginia and neighboring states. This helps not only WVU, but other nursing schools fill their open seats, and helps the students have access to the education they want and need.
Under the program, the students can receive up to $5,000 per semester, twice a year, for a total $25,000 for the duration of their nursing education, in exchange for a three-year work commitment in the WVU Health System. There are now 200 students in the program, she said.
Mon Health Medical Center did not have anyone available to talk about nursing in time for this report.
Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history, compiled by the West Virginia Humanities Council from its online encyclopedia, e-WV.
April 19, 1896: Writer Melville Davisson Post was born in Harrison County. His best-known works are the Randolph Mason series, published in three volumes, and the more successful collection Uncle Abner: Master of Mysteries.
April 19, 1902: Author Jean Lee Latham was born in Buckhannon. She wrote a number of children’s books, including Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, which won the 1956 Newbery Award.
April 20, 1823: Gen. Jesse Lee Reno was born in Wheeling. He graduated from West Point in 1846 with another cadet from western Virginia, Thomas J. Jackson, later known as “Stonewall.” Reno was the highest-ranking officer from present West Virginia killed in the Civil War.
April 20, 1863: President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that in 60 days, West Virginia would become a state. The occasion was marked 100 years later during the state’s Centennial celebration with a special ceremonial session of the West Virginia Legislature on April 20, 1963, in Wheeling.
April 20, 1909: Fiddler Melvin Wine was born near Burnsville in Braxton County. A favorite of old-time music enthusiasts nationally, he was chosen as a National Heritage Fellow in 1991 by the National Endowment for the Arts — the highest recognition given to a folk artist in the United States.
April 20, 1939: Poet Irene McKinney was born in Belington, Barbour County. Gov. Gaston Caperton appointed her state poet laureate in 1993, and she served in that capacity until her death in 2012.
April 21, 1908: Musician Phoeba Cottrell Parsons was born in Calhoun County. Parsons’ traditional clawhammer banjo style, unaccompanied ballad singing, riddles and storytelling have influenced countless younger musicians.
April 21, 1936: President Franklin Roosevelt established the Jefferson National Forest. The West Virginia portion of the forest includes about 19,000 acres in Monroe County.
April 22, 1908: Marshall “Little Sleepy” Glenn was born in Elkins. Glenn coached basketball at West Virginia University from 1934 to 1938 and football from 1937 to 1940. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
April 22, 1948: Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and musician Larry Groce was born in Dallas, Texas. He is best known as the longtime host and artistic director of the Mountain Stage radio program.
April 22, 2003: Activist Judy Bonds, a Raleigh County native, received the Goldman Environmental Prize for her fight against mountaintop removal mining. Her efforts inspired thousands and turned a local West Virginia issue into a national cause.
April 23, 1857: Andrew S. Rowan was born in Gap Mills, Monroe County. Rowan, a military officer, was chosen as the messenger when President William McKinley wanted to send a message to Cuban Gen. Calixto Garcia during the Spanish-American War. The 1899 pamphlet A Message to Garcia made the incident famous.
April 24, 1865: McNeill’s Rangers surrendered to Union troops at New Creek — now Keyser. The Confederate guerrilla force probably never numbered more than 100 men at any time but managed to inflict regular damage on Union operations.
April 25, 1863: In what became known as the Jones-Imboden Raid, about 1,500 Confederate soldiers under Gen. William “Grumble” Jones advanced through Greenland Gap, a deep pass through New Creek Mountain in present Grant County. The Confederates encountered 87 Union soldiers who held off several assaults before finally surrendering.
April 25, 1923: Union leader Arnold Ray Miller was born at Leewood on Cabin Creek in Kanawha County. In December 1972, he defeated Tony Boyle to become president of the United Mine Workers and served until 1979.
e-WV is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council. For more information, contact the council at 1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25301, call 304-346-8500 or visit wvencyclopedia.org.
During the Gold-Blue spring game on Saturday, the West Virginia coaching staff named wide receiver Cyrus Traught the recipient of the 2026 Tommy Nikolich Award.
The award, which is always given out at the end of spring ball, recognizes a walk-on team member who has distinguished himself through his attitude and work ethic. The award is presented in memory of Tommy Nickolich, a former WVU player (1980-82) who passed away from cancer in 1983.
Traugh is a Parkersburg native and graduate of Parkersburg South High School. He began his career at Youngstown State before transferring back home to play for the Mountaineers last season. In his final year with the Penguins, he logged 36 receptions, 409 yards, and a team-leading five touchdowns, two of which came against Pitt.
During the 2025 campaign with the Mountaineers, he saw action against Robert Morris and Kansas, playing 10 snaps against the Jayhawks, but did not record any stats.
Head coach Rich Rodriguez has mentioned him twice this spring as someone who has been doing some good things and making progress. Wide receivers coach Ryan Garrett also showed him some love during his press conference last week.
The Mountaineers completely revamped the wide receiver room this offseason, upping the level of talent at both inside and outside receiver spots, but perhaps Traugh can work his way into the mix if he puts together a strong summer and fall camp. If he’s not a regular in the rotation, he’ll serve as a quality depth piece who can play special teams.
Past Nickolich Award winners:
2025: Clay Ash, RB
2024: Avery Wilcox, S
2023: C.J. Cole, WR
2022: Nick Malone, OL
2021: Graeson Malashevich, WR/H
2020: Osman Kamara, S
2019: Jake Abbott, LB
2018: Evan Staley, K
2017: Nick Meadows, LS
2016: Jon Lewis, DL
2015: Justin Arndt, LB
2014: Michael Calicchio, OL
2013: Connor Arlia, WR
2012: Tyler Anderson, DE
2011: Ryan Nehlen, WR
2010: Matt Lindamood, FB
2009: Josh Taylor, DL
2008: Adam Hughes, LS
2007: Andy Emery, LB
2006: Tim Lindsey, LS
2005: George Shehl, H/DB
2004: Jeff Noechel, LB
2003: John Pennington, WR
2002: Moe Fofana, RB
2001: Jeremy Knapp, TE
2000: Ben Collins, LB
1999: Bryan Lorenz, LB
1998: Mark Corman, TE
1997: David Lightcap, DB
1996: Matt Ceresa, OL
1995: Rob Keys, DB
1994: Randy Fulmore, DB
1993: Matt McCulty, WR
1992: Brett Parise, WR, Ray Wilcox, LB
1991: Keith Taparausky, RB
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