Registered Nurse Jobs in Atlanta, GA
Registered nurses in Atlanta earn a median of about $48 an hour, well above the Georgia median, and Grady, Emory, Piedmont and Northside all bring in new graduates through nurse residency programs. Here are the current RN openings, followed by who is hiring, what it pays and how to get licensed.
Current registered nurse Openings in Atlanta, GA
Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.
Registered Nurse Work in Atlanta
RN jobs in Atlanta follow the hospital map. Downtown, Grady Memorial on Jesse Hill Jr. Drive is the city's only verified Level I trauma center and sees about 7,300 trauma patients a year. Emory University Hospital sits on Clifton Road in Druid Hills, Emory Midtown and Piedmont Atlanta line the Peachtree corridor, and Pill Hill at GA-400 and I-285 in Sandy Springs packs Northside Hospital Atlanta, Emory Saint Joseph's and Children's at Scottish Rite around the Medical Center MARTA station. Children's added the 446-bed Arthur M. Blank Hospital on North Druid Hills Road in 2024, and the Atlanta VA on Clairmont Road in Decatur rounds out the map.
That concentration means an Atlanta RN can change specialties, or employers, without changing commutes. Grady took on more emergency volume after Wellstar closed Atlanta Medical Center in 2022, and Georgia's membership in the enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact makes it easy for nurses from other compact states to start here.
Top Atlanta Employers Hiring Registered Nurses
These systems hire RNs year round, from new graduates to critical care veterans:
- Grady Health System - the downtown trauma and safety-net hospital, with a 12-month nurse residency for new graduates.
- Emory Healthcare - Magnet-designated hospitals including Emory University Hospital and Emory Midtown, plus an internal travel nursing program.
- Piedmont Atlanta Hospital - the Peachtree Road hospital hires staff nurses and runs a nursing residency for new grads.
- Northside Hospital - the metro's second-largest employer, hiring RNs at its Pill Hill flagship and through RN residencies.
- Children's Healthcare of Atlanta - pediatric nursing at Arthur M. Blank and Scottish Rite, with flexible WorkFlex schedules and shift differentials.
- Atlanta VA Medical Center - the Decatur VA hires RNs for critical care, surgery and clinics through USAJOBS.
Registered Nurse Salaries in Atlanta
- Entry level: about $37 to $42 an hour for new graduates and early-career staff nurses.
- Experienced: roughly $43 to $55 an hour, around a metro median of $48.
- Senior: $55 to $64 an hour or more for specialty, charge and critical care nurses.
These are estimates built on federal wage data for the Atlanta metro, where the middle 80 percent of RNs earn about $37 to $64 an hour. Night, weekend and float differentials add to base pay, and federal roles pay on their own scale: a 2025 critical care RN posting at the Atlanta VA listed $90,211 to $158,541 a year.
How to Become a Registered Nurse in Atlanta
You need an associate degree or BSN from an approved nursing program, a passing score on the NCLEX-RN, and a license from the Georgia Board of Nursing, which sits under the Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia applicants apply online and complete a fingerprint background check. Locally, Atlanta Technical College offers an Associate of Science in Nursing and an LPN to RN bridge, Georgia State's Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing teaches the BSN downtown, and Emory's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing offers traditional and accelerated BSN tracks. Georgia is in the enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact, so a multistate license from your home compact state also works here.
What the Job Involves
Registered nurses assess patients, give medications and IV therapy, carry out physician orders, monitor vital signs and lab results, and chart every step in the electronic health record. They educate patients and families, supervise LPNs and patient care techs, and coordinate with doctors, therapists and case managers. Hospital nurses usually work three 12-hour shifts a week, including nights, weekends and holidays.
Skills Employers Look For
- An active Georgia or multistate compact RN license
- BLS, plus ACLS or PALS for critical care and pediatrics
- Strong patient assessment and clinical judgement
- Electronic health record charting
- Calm communication under pressure
- Teamwork with LPNs, techs and physicians
Career Path and Advancement
Most Atlanta RNs start in a hospital residency at Grady, Emory, Piedmont or Northside, spend a year or two on a medical-surgical or step-down unit, then move into the ICU, emergency, labor and delivery, oncology or pediatrics. From there the ladder leads to charge nurse, nurse educator and nurse manager, or back to Georgia State or Emory for an MSN or DNP and a nurse practitioner role.
Related Careers in Atlanta
If nursing interests you, these Atlanta guides are close matches:
Frequently Asked Questions
Who licenses registered nurses in Georgia?
The Georgia Board of Nursing, part of the Professional Licensing Boards Division of the Georgia Secretary of State, licenses RNs by examination or endorsement. You need to pass the NCLEX-RN and complete a fingerprint background check.
Can I work in Atlanta with a nursing license from another state?
Georgia belongs to the enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact, so an RN with a multistate license from another compact state can work here. Nurses from non-compact states apply to the Georgia Board of Nursing for licensure by endorsement.
How much do registered nurses make in Atlanta?
Federal wage data puts the Atlanta median at about $48 an hour, or roughly $100,000 a year, with most RNs earning between $37 and $64 an hour. Shift differentials and specialty units push pay toward the top of that range.
Do Atlanta hospitals hire new graduate nurses?
Yes. Grady runs a 12-month nurse residency, Emory has a new graduate RN program and opened an emergency nursing residency at Emory Decatur in 2026, and Piedmont and Northside both run residencies for new grads.
How long does it take to become an RN in Atlanta?
An associate degree in nursing usually takes about two years after prerequisites, and a BSN takes four. Accelerated BSN programs, like Emory's, are faster for people who already hold a bachelor's degree, and LPNs can shorten the path through a bridge program.
Ready to apply? Browse all Registered Nurse jobs in Atlanta, GA on LocalJobPage and apply today.