New grad RN jobs and nurse residency programs in Alaska

A quarter of Alaska RNs earn less than $46.97 an hour ($97,700 a year) and half earn more than $52.64. First-year offers tend to sit near the lower figure, since hospital pay scales usually rise with experience.

Alaska ranks 5th of the 50 states and DC for median RN pay, among the best-paid places to be a nurse in the country.

$5.67 an hour separates the 25th percentile from the median here, close to the typical gap across the states.

Anchorage employs 4,990 RNs, 66% of the state's total, so most RN jobs in Alaska are there.

The Alaska Board of Nursing licenses RNs in Alaska.

Alaska is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so you need an Alaska license to work here whatever license you hold elsewhere. If you studied in another state, you can apply to the Alaska Board of Nursing for licensure by examination and take the NCLEX for Alaska directly, or pass in your school's state and apply here by endorsement afterward.

Of the nearest states, Washington and Idaho are in the compact, which matters if you plan to move between them.

Yes, with conditions. If you have not failed or missed a scheduled NCLEX, you can get a nonrenewable temporary permit. It lasts six months or until you are notified of your result, whichever comes first, and it becomes invalid if you do not pass.

Source: Alaska Board of Nursing, RN by examination instructions, read October 2026. The permit makes it legal; whether you can use it depends on the employer, since not every hospital starts graduate nurses before they are licensed. Ask the recruiter.

29 of the 50 states and DC allow something like this, each with its own limits. See every state's rule.

In 2025, 248 first-time, U.S.-educated candidates took the NCLEX-RN for an Alaska license and 77.8% passed, 8.9 points below the national rate of 86.7%. That ranks Alaska 51st of the 50 states and DC.

Set against the 5 new-grad programs we track here, that is about 50 new test takers per program, fewer than the national figure of about 114.

The exam is the same everywhere; the rate tells you about the graduates who tested here, not about your own chances. See pass rates in every state.

Among the nearest states, Oregon pays RNs the most, a median of $129,010. Washington has the most new-grad programs on our list (42).