High-Paying RN Jobs Await in Portland, Oregon
Welcome to the second-largest city of the majestic Pacific Northwest. Portland, Oregon, is nicknamed the City of Roses, Stumptown, and Bridge City, all true to this city’s stunning landscape. Portland stands as the hub of a metropolitan area that stretches into Washington State. Amid the hustle and bustle of urban life and the majesty of giant fir trees, dedicated healthcare professionals, particularly registered nurses (RNs), play an essential role in nurturing the community's well-being.
Are you an RN exploring job opportunities in Portland? Read on to learn about flexible RN jobs in Portland with competitive pay.
How Many Active RNs Are There in Portland?
At the core of Portland’s healthcare practice, registered nurses bring comfort, expertise, and compassion to their work. With approximately 23,380 RNs working in the Portland metropolitan area alone and a wider workforce of 37,400 RNs across Oregon, these bright professionals are the heart and hands of patient care.
What's the Average RN Salary in Portland?
Within the dynamic Portland metro area, each city offers opportunities for RNs, CNAs, and LPNs. The average RN salary is $111,610 yearly or $53.66 hourly, ranging from $84,490 up to $134,800, in the following percentiles:
- 10th percentile: $84,490
- 25th percentile: $100,520
- 50th percentile: $108,290
- 75th percentile: $127,720
- 90th percentile: $134,800
These percentiles indicate the nurses earning more and less than the given amounts. In other words, 50 percent of nurses in Portland earn less than $108,290 per year, and 50 percent earn more.
How Much Can Nurses Make?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Oregon is one of the highest-paying states for RNs—coming in third after California and Hawaii—offering top nursing opportunities with a respectable average salary of $106,610 compared to the national average of $89,010 per year. Plus, remember that per diem jobs pay significantly more per hour than long-term positions.
The average salary for registered nurse jobs in Portland is $111,610, somewhat above the Oregon State average. In the table below, you can see the highest-paying areas in Oregon—with Portland at the top, as well as the distance from Portland to the other areas. As you can see, most of them are beyond a reasonable commuting distance if your home base is in Portland.
Highest-Paying Areas in Oregon
What Cities Are in the Portland Metro Area?
Identified as the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metropolitan area by the United States Census Bureau (USCB), this metro serves 24 cities and three counties. This metropolitan area is mainly in Oregon but also spreads out into Washington State. The largest cities are Portland, Hillsboro, and Gresham in Oregon, as well as Vancouver and Beaverton in Washington State. The entire area had a population of around 2.5 million at the 2020 census, an increase of over 12 percent since 2010.
The cities included in the Portland metro area are very nearby, so you might be interested in jobs in these locations.
Cities within the Portland Metro, Size and Distance
Leading the Way: Premier Healthcare Institutions in Portland
Among the cornerstones of Portland's healthcare, you will find at least five outstanding institutions: Legacy Health System, Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), Providence Portland Medical Center, and Avamere at Bethany Assisted Living.
- Legacy Health prioritizes diversity and inclusion as a moral and social imperative and was named by Becker's Hospital Review on their 2023 list of the 150 top places to work, which spotlights healthcare systems that favor the well-being, satisfaction, and fulfillment of their personnel.
- Providence St. Vincent Medical Center (PSVMC) received recognition from Healthgrades as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals in 2023, 2022, and 2021—as well as the Outstanding Patient Experience Award in the same three years—placing Providence St. Vincent right up there among the very top 1 percent of the country's hospitals.
- OHSU proudly ranks as the #1 best hospital in Oregon, year after year. As a nationally ranked world-class teaching hospital, OHSU serves as a beacon of innovation and comprehensive healthcare, with a commitment to serving more than 250,000 patients annually through its hospitals and clinics. In 2022, OHSU healthcare professionals not only made groundbreaking findings but also acted as reliable support systems for patients across the region, providing high-level trauma care, treatment for the rarest types of disease, and cutting-edge therapies unparalleled in Oregon. Here are three noteworthy accomplishments from 2022:
- New approach to tremors: vanguard brain surgery with no cutting
- Fetal care program with in-utero treatments for complex pregnancies
- Enhanced estimation of the true percentage of people with ADHD
- Providence Portland Medical Center (PPMC)—with high performance ratings in two adult specialties and 13 procedures and conditions—was awarded the Outstanding Patient Experience Award™ for the years 2022 and 2023. PPMC also received an award to launch the delivery system transformation of Oregon's largest Medicaid Coordinated Care Organization (CCO). The aim is to create an integrated patient-centered system, improving care coordination, care quality, and outcomes for Medicaid patients with complex needs while reducing healthcare expenses. This project expects to generate approximately 67 jobs.
- The Avamere at Bethany assisted living facility won the Bronze Commitment to Quality award from the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living.
You also may be interested in the Nursing Well-Being Projects funded by the Oregon Center for Nursing, including a learning project with OHSU, a well-being project for nurses who care for the homeless with Central City Concern, and a project to promote workplace safety with the Macdonald Residence—all three located in Portland.
A Glimpse into the Healthcare Landscape
As we navigate the diverse healthcare settings of the Portland metro area, it becomes evident that nurses are the driving force behind many critical facilities. The following are the most common settings for Portland, Oregon, RN nursing jobs.
- Hospitals: 55%
- Clinics: 12%
- Hospice services: 5%
- Long-term care: 4%
- Ambulatory surgical centers: 3%
- Other settings, including public health and K-12 education: 20%
In all cases, these settings and organizations need per diem nurses to cover sick calls or high seasons, and you can try out these diverse settings with PRN work.
How Can I Find PRN RN Jobs near Me?
For those seeking a dynamic and flexible nursing career, per diem RN jobs in Portland offer exciting possibilities and higher hourly rates than regular full-time positions. If you're ready to explore PRN nursing jobs, platforms like Nursa offer a streamlined solution. With Nursa's open nursing marketplace and app, nurses can easily discover PRN nursing jobs in their vicinity, transforming a frustrating job search into an empowering journey.
