What Registered Nurses earn in Douglas County, NE
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $84,600: the median annual pay for Registered Nurses in Douglas County, NE. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $40.67 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Omaha, NE-IA metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $90,860, which is 7.4% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 13,200 people working in this occupation across the Omaha, NE-IA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Douglas County, NE has roughly 590,736 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Registered Nurses in the Omaha, NE-IA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $69,070 a year ($33.21 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $112,940 or more ($54.30 an hour). That is a gap of $43,870 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $79,240 at the 25th percentile and $102,670 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.6 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $40.67 an hour or $84,600 a year at the median for Douglas County, NE. Before any deductions, that is $7,050 a month, $3,254 every two weeks and $1,627 each week. After taxes the same job pays $31.14 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Douglas County, NE compares
Compared with the Nebraska average
A worker in this occupation in Douglas County, NE earns $855 more than the Nebraska average of $83,745, a premium of 1.0%. Over a year that premium is worth $855 before tax and roughly $654 after tax.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Registered Nurses is $99,368 across the contiguous United States. At $84,600, Douglas County, NE pays $14,768 less, which is 14.9% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Douglas County, NE
Among the 506 occupations with published wages in Douglas County, NE, Registered Nurses ranks number 100 by median pay, ahead of about 80% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is General and Operations Managers at $90,620 a year, which is $6,020 more than the median for Registered Nurses.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Registered Nurses earning the Douglas County, NE median of $84,600, they add up to $19,836. The result is $64,764 of take-home pay a year ($5,397 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $23 goes to taxes and $77 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 23.4%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $68,850. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $10,061, an effective 11.9% of gross pay, well below the 22% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $5,245 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,227. FICA totals $6,472, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Nebraska
Nebraska income tax on this salary is $3,303 a year, or 3.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 33% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $275 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Douglas County, NE
IRS Statistics of Income data for Douglas County, NE show an average adjusted gross income of $101,051 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 14.5% across all filers. Filers in the $75,000 to under $100,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 9.0%, compared with the 11.9% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Douglas County, NE
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Douglas County, NE: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $64,764 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Douglas County, NE, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,219 a month ($14,628 a year), and at $1,450 for two bedrooms. For Registered Nurses, a one-bedroom absorbs 22.6% of take-home pay and 17.3% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 4.1% of gross pay for Registered Nurses in Douglas County, NE. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Nebraska residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,218 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $410, for $1,628 in total. Gasoline in Nebraska averages $3.21 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,485.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $21,177 a year in Douglas County, NE. Subtract that from $64,764 of take-home pay and $43,587 remains, which is $3,632 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 51.5% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Registered Nurses afford to live in Douglas County, NE?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $84,600 that ceiling is $2,115 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,219 is $896 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $23.44 an hour; the median for Registered Nurses is $40.67, which is 73% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $31.14 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 9.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,450 a month means $725 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,928 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $49,515.
How fast you can save
At $3,632 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 3 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 6 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Registered Nurses pay in Douglas County, NE
How much do Registered Nurses make per hour in Douglas County, NE?
The median is $40.67 per hour, based on $84,600 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $33.21 at the 10th percentile to $54.30 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Registered Nurses take home after taxes in Douglas County, NE?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $84,600 becomes $64,764 a year. That is $5,397 a month, $2,491 every two weeks or $1,245 a week.
How much tax do Registered Nurses pay in Douglas County, NE?
Total taxes are $19,836 a year, an effective rate of 23.4%: $10,061 federal income tax, $6,472 FICA and $3,303 Nebraska income tax.
Do Registered Nurses earn more in Douglas County, NE than elsewhere in Nebraska?
Yes. The local median of $84,600 is +1.0% versus the Nebraska average of $83,745, a difference of $855 a year.
Can Registered Nurses afford a one-bedroom apartment in Douglas County, NE?
A one-bedroom costs $1,219 a month against take-home pay of $5,397, which is 22.6% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $2,115 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Registered Nurses in Douglas County, NE?
About $3,632 a month ($43,587 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $21,177 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Douglas County, NE at the 30% guideline?
$23.44 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $14,628 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Registered Nurses is $40.67.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Omaha, NE-IA metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Nebraska rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.