RN shift differential: nights, evenings and weekends

Typical Registered nurse (RN) differentials

Ranges are the lowest and highest figures in the linked contracts, statutes and employer postings, not averages; your employer's rate is set by its own contract or policy. Figures reported only on Indeed or Reddit are described in the text as self-reported and never used in this table.

Price your own week

Preloaded with the national median wage and a mid-range differential from the table; change any field.

How overtime works for registered nurses

Most RNs are under the standard FLSA rule: time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek (29 U.S.C. 207(a)), with no federal daily overtime. Hospitals may instead elect the 8-and-80 system under 29 U.S.C. 207(j), overtime after 8 hours in a day or 80 in a 14-day period, which requires a prior agreement or understanding with the affected employees before the work is performed (DOL Fact Sheet #54). California adds daily overtime at 1.5× after 8 hours and 2× after 12 in a workday unless a valid alternative workweek covers the 12-hour shift. Whichever threshold applies, the overtime rate must be built on the regular rate including the night, evening and weekend differentials earned that week: 29 CFR 778.207(b) names shift differentials specifically, whether a percentage or cents per hour, and Fact Sheet #54 calls leaving them out a common error. Contracts often say the same in plain language; Providence Alaska's states that shift differential is included in the nurse's base rate of pay for the purpose of computing overtime pay. New York Labor Law 167 separately bans mandatory overtime for nurses, though it does not change the pay rules.

How hospital RN differentials are structured

Hospital RN differentials are mostly flat dollar-per-hour add-ons written into a collective bargaining agreement or an HR pay policy, in three tiers: evening (roughly 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.), night (roughly 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) and weekend. The contracts we read agree on the shape and differ on the amount. St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma (WSNA, 2024–27) pays $3.00 evening, $5.50 night and $4.00 weekend. Brigham and Women's (MNA, 2023–26) pays $3.00 evening, $4.50 night rising to $6.50 for nurses who commit to nights for three months, and $2.25 weekend. Providence Alaska (AaNA, 2024–27) pays $3.00, $5.00 and $2.00; Kaiser Washington (SEIU 1199NW, 2023–27) pays $2.75, $4.00 and $4.00.

Percentage models exist alongside the flat ones. Samaritan Pacific in Oregon (ONA, 2024–27) pays 6% for evenings, 12.5% rising to 20% for nights by tenure, and 5% for weekends. The VA pays its Title 38 nurses 10% of the hourly basic rate for nights between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., for the whole shift when at least four hours fall in the window, and 25% for weekend hours from midnight Friday to midnight Sunday. A percentage differential rises with every step increase; a flat one rises only when the contract is renegotiated, which is why flat differentials tend to be higher in dollar terms at hospitals with strong unions.

Weekend windows depend on shift length. The Tacoma contract runs the weekend from 11 p.m. Friday to 11 p.m. Sunday for 8-hour staff and from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Sunday for 12-hour staff, so a Friday night twelve earns the full weekend rate. Evening and night windows are keyed either to where the majority of the shift falls or to the hours actually inside the window; read the definition in your own contract, because a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift can be treated either way.

What stacks on top: charge, preceptor, on-call and holidays

Differentials stack with role premiums. Charge nurse pay is $3.50 an hour at St. Joseph Tacoma and $3.25 at Providence Alaska; preceptor pay is $2.00 at both and $2.50 at the University of Vermont Medical Center. On-call is $6.00 an hour at Tacoma with callback paid at time and a half for a minimum of three hours, $4.50 at Providence Alaska, and $5.25 an hour ($7.00 on holidays) at Samaritan Pacific. A night charge nurse on a weekend at Tacoma is earning base plus $5.50 plus $4.00 plus $3.50 for the same hour, and all of it counts toward the overtime rate.

Holiday work is overwhelmingly time and a half on the hours worked: the Tacoma and Providence Alaska contracts both say time and one-half, and Minnesota's state nurses' contract pays 1.5× plus an alternate day off. The VA pays double time under 38 U.S.C. 7453(d). Differentials usually keep paying on the holiday hour; the holiday pay calculator stacks a differential under a 1.5× or 2× multiplier so you can see the loaded rate.

Negotiating and checking your paystub

Three things to check, and one to ask for.

• —Find the window definition: whole-shift (majority of hours) or hour-by-hour. A 7 p.m. start on a majority rule earns the night rate for all 12 hours; on an hour-by-hour rule it earns it for 8.
• —Check the overtime line. If you worked 48 hours of nights with a $5.00 differential, the overtime premium should be half of $51.90, not half of $46.90; that $2.50 an hour on 8 overtime hours is $20 a week.
• —Confirm weekend and night stack. Most contracts pay both when both apply; if yours does not, the language will say so explicitly.
• —In a non-union job, ask for the differential as a percentage or for a written review date; a flat $4.00 loses ground against every raise.

FAQ

Sources

1. BLS OES Registered Nurses (29-1141), May 2025 national median
2. WSNA / St. Joseph Medical Center Tacoma CBA 2024–27, Art. 10–11
3. MNA / Brigham and Women's Hospital CBA 2023–26, Art. 5
4. AaNA / Providence Alaska Medical Center CBA 2024–27, Art. 8–9
5. SEIU 1199NW / Kaiser Washington RN CBA 2023–27, Art. 8
6. ONA / Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital CBA 2024–27, Art. 4
7. 38 U.S.C. 7453: VA nurse premium pay
8. VFNHP / University of Vermont Medical Center CBA 2024–27, Art. 23
9. Minnesota / MNA state nurses contract 2023–25
10. 29 CFR 778.207: shift differentials in the regular rate
11. DOL Fact Sheet #54: hospital and residential-care overtime (8 and 80)
12. 29 U.S.C. 207 (FLSA overtime)
13. California DIR overtime FAQ
14. New York Labor Law 167: mandatory overtime for nurses
15. Indeed Q&A, Texas Health Resources RN night differential (self-reported)

BLS medians are the May 2025 national OES estimates. Contract figures are as written in the linked agreements on the date above; check the current agreement for your employer. Last reviewed 2026-08-27.