Labor & Delivery Nurse salary
A labor & delivery nurse earns about $103,400 a year — roughly $49.71/hour, with most earning between $85,150 and $119,090. This is an estimate — a starting point, not an exact figure.
Labor & Delivery Nurse — U.S. national
Specialty estimateMedian annual pay
$103,400
Hourly
$49.71/hr
- Typical range
- $85,150–$119,090
- What most nurses earn
- High end
- $145,720
- Top earners
- Entry level
- $73,080
- Newer nurses
What affects this pay
- Inpatient OB certification (RNC-OB)
- High-risk / NICU exposure
- Nights and on-call
- Metro labor market
About Labor & Delivery Nurses
What they do
Labor & delivery nurses support patients through labor, delivery, and immediate recovery, monitoring both mother and baby and assisting with both vaginal and cesarean births.
How to become a Labor & Delivery Nurse
L&D nurses are RNs who gain obstetric experience and often hold the RNC-OB certification; high-risk and NICU-adjacent roles add fetal-monitoring and neonatal-resuscitation credentials.
What drives the pay
Public wage data doesn’t separately track L&D nurses; figures are based on registered nurse pay. The modest premium reflects specialized OB skills, on-call demands, and high-risk exposure.
Labor & Delivery Nurse pay by state
Estimated labor & delivery nurse pay where this role tends to earn the most. Open a state for the full local picture.
| State | Est. annual pay | vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| California | $148,690 | +44% vs national |
| Hawaii | $144,500 | +40% vs national |
| Oregon | $136,750 | +32% vs national |
| Washington | $131,650 | +27% vs national |
| Alaska | $116,050 | +12% vs national |
| New York | $116,010 | +12% vs national |
| New Jersey | $112,890 | +9% vs national |
| Massachusetts | $110,820 | +7% vs national |
Why there is no labor & delivery nurse pay table by state
The federal wage survey behind these figures (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics) measures nursing by occupation code, not by clinical specialty. There is a published figure for Registered Nurse in every state, but none for labor & delivery nurse specifically. Any state-by-state labor & delivery nurse table would be the registered-nurse figure with a specialty adjustment applied — a model, not a local measurement, so we do not publish one.
For pay where you live, use the measured data: registered nurse salary by state, then apply the specialty difference described above. Our methodology explains how that adjustment is derived and where it is weakest.
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Labor & Delivery Nurse salary FAQ
- How much do Labor & Delivery Nurses make?
- Labor & Delivery Nurses earn an estimated $103,400 a year — about $49.71 an hour, with most between $85,150 and $119,090. Labor & Delivery Nurses aren't reported as a separate role in public wage data, so this is a specialty estimate that starts from registered nurse pay.
- What is the hourly pay for Labor & Delivery Nurses?
- Most Labor & Delivery Nurses are paid an hourly wage. The national estimate works out to about $49.71 an hour at a full-time schedule, with a typical range of $40.94 to $57.25. Nights, weekends, and overtime differentials push the real hourly rate higher.
- Which state pays Labor & Delivery Nurses the most?
- California is among the highest-paying states for Labor & Delivery Nurses, at roughly $148,690 a year, followed by other West Coast and Northeast states. State figures are estimates based on national pay and local cost of living.
- Why is Labor & Delivery Nurse pay shown as an estimate?
- No public source measures Labor & Delivery Nurses as a separate occupation, so we start from registered nurse pay and apply the pay difference these nurses typically see. The figure is clearly labeled an estimate and sharpens as nurses submit their own pay.
- Why are some figures verified and others estimates?
- National pay for the main nursing roles — registered nurses, LPNs/LVNs, nurse practitioners, CRNAs, nurse midwives, and nursing assistants — comes from verified public wage data. State, city, and specialty figures that aren't reported on their own start from that national pay and are labeled "Estimated" or "Specialty estimate." We never show an estimate as a verified figure.
Source & confidence— An estimate for a specialty that public pay data does not list on its own. A ballpark to start from, not an exact figure.
Modeled specialty estimate
Labor & Delivery Nurse is not broken out by BLS. Figures are modeled from the SOC 29-1141 median using a specialty differential of 1.06×, reflecting commonly reported pay differences. Treat as directional, not precise.
Source year 2025. Last reviewed July 17, 2026. Full methodology
This role isn’t broken out in public wage data, so the figure starts from registered nurse pay and sharpens as nurses submit their pay. Last reviewed July 17, 2026.