At a glance
The nominal median for Registered Nurses is $101,420 in Dallas versus $100,490 in Atlanta, a gap of $930 a year.
After the BEA 2024 price adjustment the order flips and Atlanta leads: $100,432 versus $98,380, a gap of $2,052.
Published medians for the occupation, not an offer, take-home pay or a relocation recommendation.
Sources: BLS wages (May 2025) · BEA price parity (2024) · Census ACS (2020–2024) · metro areas, not city limits · How we calculate
Dallas vs. Atlanta: key measures
For the BLS Registered Nurses classification, this comparison holds the occupation code constant between Dallas and Atlanta. It pairs reported wage percentiles with regional prices, metro rents and commuting context. The metrics are not job offers, apartment quotes or a complete household budget. The figures describe metropolitan statistical areas, not city limits.
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| Measure | Dallas | Atlanta |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile annual wage (BLS) | $73,400 | $77,510 |
| 25th percentile annual wage (BLS) | $81,640 | $82,500 |
| Annual occupational median (BLS) | $101,420 | $100,490 |
| 75th percentile annual wage (BLS) | $110,630 | $108,680 |
| 90th percentile annual wage (BLS) | $129,710 | $132,230 |
| Price-adjusted median (site calculation) | $98,380 | $100,432 |
| All-items RPP (BEA) | 103.090 | 100.058 |
| Median gross rent / month (ACS) | $1,614 | $1,672 |
| 45+ minute commute share (ACS) | 18.5% | 24.0% |
The price-adjusted wage equals the BLS May 2025 annual occupational median × 100 ÷ the BEA 2024 all-items regional price parity. Census rent, household income and commuting figures are ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimates. They describe different populations and do not determine take-home pay, employment prospects or individual rent. ACS gross rent includes contract rent plus estimated utility and fuel costs.
What changes when location is considered?
Dallas leads on published nominal annual median pay by $930. Atlanta leads on the national-price-equivalent median by $2,052. The higher nominal wage reverses after the broad price adjustment.
These are different lenses: the nominal figures come from BLS, while the adjusted metric uses the 2024 BEA all-items regional price parity (103.1 for Dallas versus 100.1 for Atlanta). Neither is a prediction of an actual offer.
Atlanta has a higher metro-wide ACS monthly median gross rent by $58. The share of workers with one-way trips of at least 45 minutes is 5.5 percentage points higher in Atlanta.
How Dallas and Atlanta rank for this occupation
Out of the 74 curated metros with a reported registered nurses median, Dallas ranks 19th on nominal median pay and 27th on price-adjusted pay. Atlanta ranks 24th nominal and 19th adjusted. The middle adjusted median across all 74 metros is $95,438: Dallas’s ($98,380) is 3.1% above that middle value and Atlanta’s ($100,432) is 5.2% above it.
Ranks compare published medians for this one occupation. See all 74 metros for registered nurses for the full list.
Pay at each percentile and how common the job is
After the BEA price adjustment, Dallas is higher at 0 of the 5 published percentile levels and Atlanta at 5. The 90th percentile is 1.8× the 10th in Dallas and 1.7× in Atlanta; the middle half of wages spans 29% of the median in Dallas and 26% in Atlanta.
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| Percentile | Dallas adjusted | Atlanta adjusted | Higher after adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $71,200 | $77,465 | Atlanta |
| 25th | $79,193 | $82,452 | Atlanta |
| 50th (median) | $98,380 | $100,432 | Atlanta |
| 75th | $107,314 | $108,617 | Atlanta |
| 90th | $125,822 | $132,153 | Atlanta |
Twelve months of median gross rent equals 19% of the registered nurses median wage in Dallas and 20% in Atlanta (a lens, not a budget). BLS estimates 76,680 such workers in Dallas and 56,460 in Atlanta. Per 10,000 commuting workers that is 231.4 versus 229.1, ranking 58th and 59th of 74 metros (middle value 263.8). These are employment estimates, not open vacancies.
A role-specific offer checklist for this comparison
Match the actual work: Registered-nurse pay reflects diverse hospitals, clinics and employers. These metro-wide estimates do not measure shift differentials, experience, specialties or licensing requirements. Before treating the median difference as a personal salary difference, confirm that both positions share responsibilities, experience requirements and hours, and compare written offers with local rent quotes. The full checklist has the steps.
How reliable are the surrounding housing estimates?
These ACS medians are 2020–2024 five-year metro estimates with published margins of error. Household income covers households, not workers in this occupation.
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| ACS metro context | Dallas | Atlanta |
|---|---|---|
| Median gross rent (± MOE) | $1,614 ± $6 | $1,672 ± $7 |
| Median household income (± MOE) | $90,275 ± $491 | $89,724 ± $630 |
Neither displayed rent nor income estimate crosses the site’s 30% relative-MOE caution threshold. Sampling uncertainty still applies. The 30% flag is our editorial rule, not a Census certification. See the methodology.
How should I use these figures for a relocation decision?
Start with written offers and real housing quotes, then enter them in the browser-only worksheet. Rent is already part of the price parity, so do not subtract it again from a price-adjusted salary. These comparisons are not placement, tax or financial advice.