Geriatric Nurse: Salary, Duties & How to Become One (2026)

What you’ll learn in this article…

Geriatric RN median salary is roughly $86,070 annually per BLS data.
ANCC certification requires 2,000 hours of clinical geriatric experience.
BLS projects 6 percent RN job growth through 2033, favoring elder care.

Geriatric nursing is one of the fastest-growing specialties in the profession, driven by an older-adult population that the U.S. Census Bureau projects will exceed 80 million by 2040. A geriatric nurse is a registered nurse who specializes in the care of aging adults, managing the chronic conditions, cognitive changes, and functional declines that define later life.

The role spans settings from long-term care nursing to hospital-based acute care units, with median RN salaries near $86,000 and higher earning potential for those who pursue nurse practitioner credentials. Demand is strong, but competition for specialty-certified positions is tightening as more employers require or prefer the ANCC Gerontological Nursing certification.

Geriatric Nurse Vs. Gerontological Nurse: What's the Difference?

If you have searched for jobs in this specialty, you have probably noticed that "geriatric nurse" and "gerontological nurse" show up almost interchangeably, and the profession itself has been slowly consolidating around the broader term. In practice, hiring managers, patients, and even seasoned nurses use both words to describe roughly the same work: caring for older adults. Academically and on your credential, however, the distinction still matters.

The Scope Distinction

The traditional split comes down to focus. Geriatric nursing refers to the clinical care of sick, frail, or medically complex older adults, the person recovering from a hip fracture, managing late-stage heart failure, or living with advanced dementia. For example, a case management nurse coordinating post-discharge care for an older adult with multiple chronic conditions is doing geriatric nursing in one of its most intensive forms. Gerontological nursing is broader. It covers the full experience of aging, including health promotion, preventive care, and wellness for older adults who are still active and independent. In other words, all geriatric nursing is gerontological, but not all gerontological nursing is geriatric.

Why the Credential Says "Gerontological"

The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) offers its board certification under the title Gerontological Nursing, not geriatric nursing. That is the standard credential regardless of which term appears in a job posting. If you are weighing certification pathways, a comparison of AANP and ANCC NP certification exams can clarify how these credentialing bodies differ across specialties. Nursing programs, textbooks, and professional organizations have largely followed suit, favoring "gerontological" as the umbrella academic term.

What This Means for Your Job Search

Search both terms. A posting for a "geriatric staff nurse" at a skilled nursing facility and a "gerontological nurse" role in an outpatient wellness clinic often lead to the same credential path and the same core competencies. The wording differs; the career does not.

What Does a Geriatric Nurse Do?

A geriatric nurse is a registered nurse who specializes in the care of older adults, typically people age 65 and older. These nurses address the complex, overlapping health needs that come with aging, from managing multiple chronic illnesses to preventing falls and supporting end-of-life care. Rather than focusing on one disease, geriatric nurses treat the whole person, helping patients maintain function, dignity, and independence across various care settings.

A Day in the Life

A geriatric nurse's shift often starts with a round of patient assessments, checking vital signs, reviewing medication lists, and evaluating any changes in condition since the previous day. These nurses pay close attention to subtle shifts, such as confusion, a new pain complaint, or a change in gait, that could signal a developing problem. Medication management is a critical part of the day: reconciling multiple prescriptions, educating patients and families about side effects, and watching for drug interactions that are more common in older bodies. Throughout the shift, geriatric nurses communicate with family members, often serving as the link between the patient and the broader care team. They also join interdisciplinary huddles with physicians, physical therapists, social workers, and pharmacists to adjust care plans and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

Core Clinical Responsibilities

Geriatric nurses manage a wide range of health concerns, but several duties form the backbone of the specialty:

Chronic disease management: Tracking and coordinating care for conditions like diabetes, heart failure, COPD, and hypertension, which rarely appear in isolation in older patients.
Fall prevention: Assessing home hazards, reviewing medications that contribute to dizziness, and implementing strength and balance programs.
Cognitive assessments: Performing regular screenings for dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and adjusting care strategies as cognitive function changes.
Pain management: Using both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches to address acute and chronic pain, while considering age-related changes in drug metabolism.
End-of-life care coordination: Helping patients and families navigate advance directives, hospice options, and palliative care nurse resources, focusing on comfort and quality of life.

How Duties Vary by Care Setting

In a hospital geriatric unit, the emphasis is on acute interventions: stabilizing a heart failure exacerbation, treating a urinary tract infection that caused delirium, or rehabilitating after a hip fracture. Nurses here often juggle fast-paced discharges and detailed patient education. Long-term care and skilled nursing facilities shift the focus to ongoing chronic care management, maintaining skin integrity, preventing infections, and supporting residents with dementia. Wound care nurses are frequent collaborators in these settings, helping manage pressure injuries that older adults are especially prone to developing. Home health geriatric nurses, on the other hand, prioritize keeping older adults independent in their own homes. They adapt the environment for safety, teach family caregivers to manage medications and daily tasks, and coordinate community resources.

The Human Side of Geriatric Nursing

Beyond clinical skills, geriatric nursing calls for a deep well of patience and strong communication abilities, particularly when working with patients who have cognitive impairment. Nurses learn to read nonverbal cues, simplify instructions without being condescending, and validate the person's emotions even when words fail. Advocacy is central: geriatric nurses often speak up for patients who cannot fully articulate their needs, ensuring their voice is heard in treatment decisions. This blend of clinical expertise and human connection is what makes geriatric nursing both demanding and profoundly rewarding.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Do you find more satisfaction in long-term patient relationships than in fast-paced acute interventions?

Geriatric nursing often means following the same patients across months or years. If continuity of care energizes you more than the rush of the emergency setting, this specialty rewards that preference directly.

Are you comfortable discussing end-of-life wishes, advance directives, and hospice options with patients and families?

These conversations are a routine, not an exception, in geriatric practice. Nurses who approach them with calm and skill provide measurably better comfort and dignity for older adults nearing the end of life.

Can you adapt your communication style for patients with hearing loss, cognitive decline, or dementia?

A significant portion of older adults live with conditions that affect communication. Your willingness to slow down, repeat, and reframe determines whether care feels safe or frightening to this population.

Do you have patience for complex, layered cases where multiple chronic conditions interact?

Older patients rarely present with a single diagnosis. If untangling polypharmacy, mobility issues, and cognitive changes within one care plan sounds engaging rather than frustrating, geriatric nursing fits your mindset.

How to Become a Geriatric Nurse

The path to becoming a geriatric nurse begins with earning your nursing degree and builds through licensure, hands-on experience, and specialty certification. Your choice between an ADN and a BSN shapes both the pace and scope of your career. An ADN gets you working faster, typically in about two years, while a BSN takes roughly four years but is increasingly preferred by hospitals and opens more doors for advancement.

Five-step credentialing ladder from ADN or BSN through NCLEX-RN, clinical experience, ANCC gerontological certification, and optional Geriatric NP advancement

Geriatric Nurse Certification Requirements

The tradeoff most nurses weigh here is time versus title: earning the formal credential takes years of bedside work and a real financial commitment, but it validates a specialty you may already be practicing informally. Understanding exactly what the credential requires, and what it does not, helps you decide when (or whether) to pursue it.

Is Geriatric Nursing a Certification or a Specialty?

It is both. Geriatric, or gerontological, nursing is the clinical specialty focused on the care of older adults. The formal certification that validates expertise in that specialty is the Gerontological Nursing Certification offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), which awards the GERO-BC credential (previously issued as RN-BC).¹ You can practice geriatric nursing without the credential, but the credential is the recognized way to demonstrate advanced knowledge to employers, patients, and peers.

ANCC GERO-BC Eligibility Requirements

The ANCC pathway is designed for practicing RNs, not new graduates. To sit for the exam, candidates must hold:¹

RN license: An active, unrestricted registered nurse license in a U.S. state or territory.
Work experience: The equivalent of 2 years of full-time practice as an RN.
Clinical hours: A minimum of 2,000 hours of clinical practice in gerontological nursing within the past 3 years.
Continuing education: 30 hours of continuing education in gerontological nursing within the past 3 years.

Notably, a BSN is not required. ADN-prepared RNs who meet the experience, clinical hour, and CE requirements are eligible to certify. This makes GERO-BC one of the more accessible specialty credentials for associate degree nurses, comparable in reach to credentials available to orthopedic nurses and other RN specialists.

Exam Format and Fees

The exam is computer-based and runs 3 hours. It contains 150 questions total: 125 scored items and 25 unscored pretest items.¹ Content spans assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of care for older adults, along with professional practice topics.

The application fee is $395 for non-members, with discounts available through American Nurses Association membership.²

Renewal Cycle

The credential is valid for 5 years. To renew, certified nurses must complete 75 continuing education hours in gerontological nursing (along with meeting one or more professional development categories) and submit a renewal fee of $350.³ If you have questions about structuring those hours, the CE/CME FAQs for Medical Professionals resource covers common continuing education scenarios in depth. Planning your CE across the full 5-year window, rather than scrambling in the final year, keeps renewal affordable and manageable.

Geriatric Nursing Courses and Continuing Education

Live conferences build community and give you a fixed date on the calendar; self-paced online modules let you accumulate credits between shifts. Most nurses building geriatric expertise use both, and either format can satisfy ANCC certification and renewal requirements as long as the provider is accredited.

Types of Courses Available

Geriatric education generally falls into three buckets: university-based certificate programs (structured, often multi-course sequences aimed at deeper specialization), online CE modules from professional organizations and accredited providers (short, targeted, easy to stack), and live workshops or annual conferences hosted by health systems and nursing societies (best for current clinical updates and networking). Nurses pursuing advanced credentials can also explore APRN continuing education and CEU credits guidance to understand how different formats count toward renewal.

Specific Programs to Consider

Mayo Clinic 42nd Annual Geriatric Care 2026 Livestream: An ANCC-accredited live virtual CNE conference.¹ Good option if you want a concentrated update from academic clinicians without the travel.
NYU Rory Meyers, Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing (HIGN): The Foundations of Nursing Care for Older Adults series is delivered as interactive, self-paced e-learning modules.² HIGN is one of the most established names in the field.
University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing: The Advanced Geriatric Practice course through the Johnson-Turpin Center is self-paced online and offers 2.5 CE credits, useful for filling a specific gap in a renewal cycle.³
American Society on Aging Geriatric Certification Course: An on-demand, ANCC-accredited program offering 56.25 CE credits, including 19.0 pharmacology contact hours.⁴ Covers dementia, medication management, wounds, falls, and nutrition.

Why It Matters for Certification

CE in gerontological nursing is not optional enrichment. Contact hours from ANCC-accredited providers count toward initial certification eligibility and toward the 75 contact hours required every five years to renew the Gerontological Nursing Certification. Track your certificates as you earn them.

Geriatric Nurse Salary

Geriatric nurses who hold RN credentials earn salaries consistent with the broader registered nurse workforce, while those who advance to the nurse practitioner level can expect significantly higher compensation. The figures below, drawn from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (2024) published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, reflect national salary benchmarks for both career levels. Because the BLS does not publish a separate geriatric nursing category, these figures represent the occupational groups most closely aligned with geriatric nursing practice.

Role	Total National Employment	25th Percentile Salary	Median Salary	75th Percentile Salary	Mean Salary
Registered Nurses	3,282,010	$78,610	$93,600	$107,960	$98,430
Nurse Practitioners	307,390	$109,940	$129,210	$149,570	$132,000

Worth Noting

The salary figures shown here reflect Bureau of Labor Statistics data for all registered nurses. RNs who hold geriatric or gerontological specialty certification often earn above these medians, particularly when working in long-term care facilities, memory care units, or other settings facing acute staffing shortages for nurses trained in older adult care.

Geriatric Nurse Salary by State

Geriatric nurse pay varies considerably depending on where you practice. The table below reflects annual wages for registered nurses across selected states, based on 2024 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program. Because the BLS does not track geriatric nurses as a separate occupation, these figures represent RN salaries overall. Nurses who specialize in geriatrics and hold relevant certifications may earn at the higher end of these ranges.

State	Total RN Employment	25th Percentile	Median Salary	75th Percentile	Mean Salary
Rhode Island	10,760	$83,870	$99,960	$112,540	$99,770
Arizona	64,430	$81,390	$96,890	$105,450	$95,230
New Hampshire	16,580	$79,720	$96,830	$105,500	$94,620
Maryland	48,980	$81,470	$96,830	$104,840	$96,650
Colorado	54,510	$81,790	$96,520	$104,370	$95,470
Delaware	13,260	$82,600	$92,610	$108,360	$95,450
Texas	261,050	$77,450	$90,010	$102,200	$91,690
Virginia	77,420	$77,650	$88,820	$100,920	$90,930
New Mexico	17,510	$82,630	$88,260	$104,720	$94,360
Pennsylvania	146,840	$78,570	$87,610	$102,030	$90,830
Georgia	97,410	$76,600	$86,560	$104,790	$91,960
Illinois	139,900	$79,150	$86,410	$103,660	$91,130
Idaho	14,540	$78,020	$86,100	$100,220	$89,770
Wisconsin	64,960	$79,570	$86,070	$100,680	$90,450
Michigan	104,210	$80,030	$85,670	$101,210	$90,580
Vermont	7,240	$79,980	$85,150	$104,110	$92,710
Maine	16,280	$76,890	$82,860	$98,000	$87,440
Florida	218,100	$77,070	$82,850	$99,260	$88,200
Utah	25,780	$77,030	$82,270	$101,530	$88,240
North Carolina	108,510	$74,710	$81,860	$98,720	$86,270
Wyoming	5,180	$75,540	$81,790	$100,910	$88,020
Montana	10,540	$77,800	$81,560	$100,510	$88,480
Ohio	138,360	$77,420	$81,250	$97,440	$86,110
Oklahoma	32,870	$75,320	$81,160	$96,460	$85,800
Nebraska	24,180	$76,430	$81,020	$93,140	$82,890

Geriatric Nurse Vs. Geriatric Nurse Practitioner

For nurses passionate about elder care, advancing from a geriatric RN to a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner (GNP) represents the primary career advancement path in this specialty. The NP route requires a significant investment in education, typically a Master's or Doctoral degree with at least 500 clinical hours, but it unlocks a dramatically expanded scope of practice that includes diagnosing conditions, prescribing medications, and leading care independently in many states. A geriatric RN with an Associate or Bachelor's degree focuses on executing care plans and providing bedside and coordinative care, while the Adult-Gerontology NP functions as an advanced practice provider with prescriptive authority. Certification pathways also differ: RNs pursue the Gerontological Nursing Certification through the ANCC (requiring two years of experience and 2,000 clinical hours), whereas NPs earn credentials such as the A-GNP through the AANP or the AGPCNP-BC through the ANCC. Both roles are found in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and outpatient clinics, though NPs are more likely to practice in primary care offices or lead geriatric specialty programs. For nurses who are committed to geriatric care long term, the NP route is generally considered well worth the investment given the higher earning potential and greater clinical autonomy.

Infographic comparing the salary gap between geriatric nurse practitioners and geriatric registered nurses nationally

Where Do Geriatric Nurses Work?

Which settings actually hire geriatric nurses, and what does the day-to-day feel like in each? Older adults receive care across nearly every corner of the healthcare system, so geriatric nurses have real flexibility in choosing an environment that fits their pace, personality, and career goals.

Hospitals and Acute Care

Hospital-based geriatric nurses work in dedicated ACE (Acute Care for Elders) units, medical-surgical floors with heavy older-adult populations, and emergency care in nursing settings where geriatric assessment skills are in demand. The pace is fast, patient acuity is high, and shifts run 8 or 12 hours around the clock. Expect to manage complex medication regimens, delirium, falls, and post-surgical recovery in patients who often have multiple chronic conditions.

Long-Term Care and Skilled Nursing Facilities

LTC and skilled nursing facilities remain the largest employer of nurses focused on older adults, and staffing shortages here mean openings are widely available in 2026. The work is steadier than the hospital floor, with a stronger emphasis on relationship building, chronic disease management, wound care, and coordinating with families. You will see the same residents week after week, which many nurses find deeply rewarding.

Home Health and Hospice

Home health agencies send nurses into patients' houses to manage medications, wound care, IV therapy, and post-hospital recovery. Hospice nurses focus on comfort and end-of-life care, either in-home or in inpatient units. Both settings offer strong continuity, more autonomy, and typically daytime hours, and both are experiencing sustained hiring demand as the population ages.

Assisted Living and Outpatient Clinics

Assisted living communities employ nurses to oversee medication management, health assessments, and coordination with outside providers, usually on a predictable weekday schedule. Outpatient geriatric clinics and primary care practices offer clinic-hour work with an emphasis on chronic disease follow-up, cognitive screening, and care planning. Nurses considering this shift can benefit from understanding the challenges of transitioning from hospital nursing to clinic ambulatory care.

Your setting shapes almost everything: schedule, pay, patient relationships, and stress level. Hospital roles tend to pay more per hour but demand nights and weekends, while LTC, hospice, and clinic roles trade some pay for continuity and predictability.

Geriatric Nurse Career Outlook and Advancement

For many nurses, the decision to focus on geriatric care presents a clear tradeoff: investing in specialized certification and potentially advanced degrees now for a career with long-term stability and leadership opportunities, versus remaining in general practice where roles are plentiful but advancement may be slower. With the rapid aging of the U.S. population, the demand for nurses who understand the complex health needs of older adults is outpacing general nursing demand, making this a strategic choice worth examining.

A Growing Workforce Need

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of registered nurses will grow 5 percent from 2024 to 2034, translating to roughly 166,100 new positions.¹ While that pace keeps up with average occupational growth, it does not capture the explosion in geriatric-specific demand. The industry category 'Services for the elderly and persons with disabilities' is expected to expand by 21 percent, adding over 528,500 jobs, far outpacing the overall healthcare sector's 8.4 percent growth.² By 2030, all Baby Boomers will be at least 65 years old, driving an unprecedented need for nurses skilled in managing multiple chronic conditions, polypharmacy, and the physical and cognitive changes associated with aging.

Nurse practitioners, whose advanced training allows them to take on much of the primary care burden for older adults, are projected to see a 40.1 percent job growth rate, ranking as the third fastest-growing occupation in the country.² This trajectory underscores why geriatric nursing is often called a high-need specialty: the patient population is expanding faster than the supply of clinicians who can care for them. For a broader look at workforce pressures shaping the field, the nursing shortage fact sheet provides useful context.

Advancement Pathways in Geriatric Nursing

Specializing in geriatric care is not a dead-end role. The field offers a ladder of leadership and clinical advancement:

Charge nurse: A first step into leadership, coordinating the day-to-day nursing care on a unit.
Nurse Manager: Overseeing budgets, staffing, and quality initiatives for a geriatric unit or skilled nursing facility.
Clinical Nurse Specialist: Becoming an advanced practice expert who shapes protocols and mentors staff on geriatric best practices.
Geriatric Nurse Practitioner: Earning a master's or doctoral degree to independently assess, diagnose, and manage older adult patient panels, often in primary or specialty care.
Best DNP programs: Pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice to lead system-level change or moving into academic positions to educate the next generation of geriatric nurses.

Each step typically requires additional education and certification, but many employers offer tuition reimbursement and professional development funds because they recognize the value of building a geriatric-ready workforce.

High-Need Settings and Incentives

Health systems are increasingly signaling that geriatric nursing is a priority. Some hospitals and long-term care organizations provide sign-on bonuses for nurses who hold the ANCC Gerontological Nursing Certification (RN-BC) or who commit to earning it within a set timeframe. Tuition reimbursement programs that cover advanced degrees, such as an Adult-Gerontology CNS or NP program, are common.

Rural and medically underserved communities face a particularly acute shortage of providers who can manage the complex needs of older adults. Geriatric nurse practitioners who work in these areas often have access to loan repayment programs and may command higher salary premiums. For nurses willing to step into these high-demand settings, the combination of job security, financial incentives, and the chance to practice at the top of their license makes geriatric nursing a compelling long-term career choice.

Frequently Asked Questions About Geriatric Nursing

Geriatric nursing is a rewarding specialty focused on the unique health needs of older adults. Below are answers to some of the most common questions prospective and practicing nurses ask about this career path.

How much do geriatric nurses make in the US?: Geriatric nurse salaries vary by location, experience, and work setting. As registered nurses, geriatric nurses typically earn in line with the national RN median, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports at approximately $86,070 per year. Nurses who hold specialty certifications or work in high cost of living states often earn above that median. Advanced practice geriatric nurse practitioners can earn significantly more.
Do you need a BSN to become a geriatric nurse?: No, a BSN is not strictly required. You can enter geriatric nursing with an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) and a valid RN license. However, a BSN opens doors to more leadership roles, hospital positions that prefer or require a bachelor's degree, and eligibility for certain specialty certifications. If you are weighing your options early in your education, reviewing an LPN vs ADN vs BSN comparison can help clarify which path fits your goals. Many employers increasingly favor BSN-prepared nurses.
What is the difference between a geriatric nurse and a gerontological nurse?: The terms are closely related and often used interchangeably in practice. Traditionally, "geriatric" nursing emphasizes the clinical and medical care of older adults who are ill or managing chronic conditions. "Gerontological" nursing takes a broader view, encompassing wellness, health promotion, and the full spectrum of aging. Major certification bodies, such as the ANCC, use the gerontological designation.
Is geriatric nursing a certification or a specialty?: It is both. Geriatric (or gerontological) nursing is a recognized nursing specialty focused on the care of aging populations. Within that specialty, nurses can earn formal certifications such as the ANCC Gerontological Nursing Certification or the Gerontological Nursing Certification from the AACN. These credentials validate specialized knowledge and can enhance career opportunities and earning potential.
What does a geriatric nurse do on a daily basis?: On a typical day, a geriatric nurse assesses patients' physical and cognitive health, administers medications, manages chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease, coordinates care with interdisciplinary teams, and educates patients and families on treatment plans. They also monitor for age-related complications such as falls, pressure injuries, and cognitive decline, while advocating for their patients' comfort and dignity.
How long does it take to become a certified geriatric nurse?: The timeline depends on your educational path. Earning an ADN takes roughly two years, while a BSN typically requires four years. After graduating and passing the NCLEX-RN, most certification bodies require at least two years of clinical experience in a gerontological setting before you can sit for a specialty exam. In total, expect a minimum of four to six years from the start of your nursing education to certification. Nurses interested in an advanced scope of practice may also want to explore NP school interview questions and answers to begin preparing for that next step.

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