How much do nurses make?

This is something me and my classmates have been debating about so I thought I'd ask here. I know it varies with where you live and setting, but I'm just trying to get an idea. I'm going for a 4yr degree and planning on applying to hospitals. As a new grad, was your salary what you expected? If you're willing to tell me, could you provide your current salary, state you live in, and years of experience?
As a new grad in iowa I was offered $20.25/hr at my current job. Rn's start from 17-25/hr here (17-19 in hospitals, 23-25 in ltc) from the offers I had when I graduated. Cost of living is cheap. I paid $655/mth for my 2bdrm (950sqft) apt and was not in a dumpy neighborhood. Gas costs $3.13/gal right now also.

Where I work in VA the hospital pays new grads $20/hr day shift. If you work nights then you would at least make $25/hr due to night diff.

In Mass the cost of living is high (Boston area). Pay for new grad RN is about $26 to $30 an hour. A 4 year degree doesn't make more than a 2 year degree but it does make it easier to get hired. I expected to get paid more honestly. I made more as a lab tech before I became s nurse.

I am a new grad with a BSN living in NYC. I recently got hired at a hospital with a starting rate of $39/hr. That is just the base pay with eduacation differential. It will be $3 more when I start the night shift. You also get a raise after 3 months (probation period) and again after 1 year. You also get more pay if you become specialized in that field.

My salary was actually more than I expected. I started out at $23.50 as a new grad in central Texas. With shift differentials, I was making $28/hr. Now I'm at $30/hr with differentials with my OT rate being $35 (1.5 years of experience). I also have my BSN.

I make $25/hr for clinic work, local hospitals start about $29. No experience beyond school, upper Midwest. I'm pretty pleased, overall. Any weekends I work are 4-hour shifts, and no nights.

As a new grad in 2008 my base pay was 20.72 and this year it is 23.09. I live in the south and have an ADN.

South FLorida where the pay is very low.....20 years of experience and a Master's Degree $30 dollars an hour (Utilization Review RN)

My new grad job has a base pay of $19.86/hour, with overnight differential I will be making 22.75/hour. I live in KY and have an ADN, although in my area, ADNs and BSNs make the same starting out.

My new grad pay rate was $27/hr in 2007. New grads at that same hospital today can expect about $28 and change/hr. The union hospitals in the city pay is about 10% more. This is, however, Massachusetts and, as sboston said, the cost of living is high. I was paying $950/month for a studio apartment when I started my job. When I left this job earlier this year, I was making $31/hr.

I make about $23 per hr in OH. Less than $1 shift differential or charge pay. No pull or preceptor differential. No difference in pay between ADN and BSN.

2001- new BSN RN- San Antonio hospital= 14.75 an hour.2012- Home Hospice -San Antonio= 32.00 an hour + mileage @ 43 cents a mile.