- Salary statistics
- Orthopedic nurse salary
Orthopedic nurse salary
Latest available salary statistics are for 2024. Compare average pay, salary range and related job listings.
40 700 - 77 200 SEK / month
Women earn 96% of what men do.
Hälso- & sjukvård
Related tools
Salary progression Orthopedic nurse
What does an orthopaedic nurse do? – tasks and work environment
An orthopaedic nurse cares for patients being treated for diseases and injuries of the skeleton, joints, muscles, and tendons. The role often involves close contact with patients before and after orthopaedic surgeries, focusing on care planning, pain management, and rehabilitation. Tasks include changing dressings, casting fractures, monitoring medication treatment, and collaborating closely with doctors, physiotherapists, and other healthcare staff. The work is mainly performed in hospital orthopaedic wards, outpatient clinics, or operating units, and the work environment is often fast-paced with occasional high pressure and rapid adjustments.
Salary development over time
Salaries for orthopaedic nurses have shown steady and positive growth over the past three years. In 2022, the average salary was 41,100 SEK per month, increasing to 42 900 SEK in 2023, representing an increase of about 4.4%. Between 2023 and 2024, the salary further rose to 43 900 SEK, which is an additional increase of approximately 2.3%. Overall, the salary trend indicates that the profession remains attractive financially, especially with increasing demand for specialist skills in healthcare. Factors influencing salary development include region, education level, and work experience, but the ongoing shortage of nurses in certain areas also helps push wages upward.
Orthopaedic nurse salary – comprehensive overview
- Average salary: 43 900 SEK/month
- Lowest salary: 40,700 SEK/month (female, municipal sector, post-secondary education of 3 years or more)
- Highest salary: 77,200 SEK/month (male, public sector, research degree)
- Hourly wage (average): 264 SEK
- Gender differences: Men 45 400 SEK, women 43 700 SEK (women earn 96% of men's salary)
- Regional differences: Salaries vary between regions, with metropolitan areas often offering higher wages than smaller towns
Education and qualifications
To work as an orthopaedic nurse, a license as a registered nurse and specialized training in orthopaedics are required. The basic nursing education involves three years of full-time studies at a university or college, followed by a one-year specialist training in orthopaedic care. Practical experience from orthopaedic settings is often advantageous and sometimes necessary to qualify for the specialist program.
- Nursing degree: 3 years (basic level, university or college)
- Specialist training in orthopaedics: 1 year (advanced level)
- Practical training: Clinical practice during education and often work experience in orthopaedic care
- Certifications: Opportunities for extra courses in casting, pain management, and rehabilitation
- Prerequisites: Licensed nurse
Many orthopaedic nurses develop a unique tactile sense to quickly assess acute injuries and choose the right care intervention. This experience-based skill is highly valued among colleagues and can be crucial in high-pressure situations in emergency departments.
Common benefits and compensations
Orthopaedic nurses often have access to benefits such as extra pay for unsocial hours, wellness allowances, professional development, and opportunities for further education. In some regions, paid specialist training, flexible hours, and pension contributions beyond collective agreements are offered. Access to supervision and support in daily work is also a valued benefit.
Challenges and competition
The demand for orthopaedic nurses remains high, and the job market is characterized by recruitment difficulties, especially in certain regions. At the same time, there is a paradoxical situation with high levels of part-time work and staff turnover, which requires flexibility and adaptability. Workload can be high, particularly in emergency departments and during periods of high patient volume. Rapid technological and treatment developments also demand continuous further training and adaptation to new methods. Competition for the most attractive positions is most intense in metropolitan areas, where salary levels tend to be higher.
Tips for aspiring orthopaedic nurses
To succeed as an orthopaedic nurse, it’s good to combine analytical skills with a genuine interest in people and care. Being resilient under pressure is crucial, especially for acute orthopaedic injuries. Strong communication skills facilitate collaboration with patients and colleagues, and help explain treatment processes. Curiosity and willingness to continuously learn new methods help keep competence up to date. Accuracy is important in medication management and documentation, while empathy and attentiveness contribute to patient safety. A proactive approach to further education and professional development increases opportunities for advancement and higher salaries.
Key facts about orthopaedic nurses
- Education level: Nursing degree + specialist training in orthopaedics
- Salary range: 40,700–77,200 SEK/month
- Work environment: Hospitals, emergency departments, or specialist clinics
- Demand: Large job opportunities nationwide
- Typical work pattern: Shift work with on-call duties and unsocial hours
Career paths and future prospects
After three to five years in the profession, an orthopaedic nurse can develop into roles such as team leader, care developer, or take responsibility for specific patient groups within orthopaedics. There are also opportunities to work as clinical supervisors for students or to further qualify as a specialist nurse in related fields such as anesthesia or surgical care. According to the latest forecast from the Employment Service, the opportunities for employment as a basic nurse remain strong, and demand is expected to stay unchanged over the next five years. The shortage of specialist competence in orthopaedics offers good future prospects for those pursuing further education, and the availability of vacant positions is high within the profession. Currently, there are 375 available jobs nationwide.
Common questions about orthopaedic nurses
- What is the average salary of an orthopaedic nurse?
- The average salary for an orthopaedic nurse is 43 900 SEK per month. - Are there differences between men's and women's salaries in the profession?
- Yes, men earn on average 45 400 SEK and women 43 700 SEK, which means women earn approximately 96% of men's salaries. - What are the future prospects for orthopaedic nurses?
- The job market is very good, and demand for orthopaedic nurses is expected to remain unchanged over the next five years. - What education is required to become an orthopaedic nurse?
- A license as a registered nurse and specialist training in orthopaedics are required. - What is the highest and lowest salary for an orthopaedic nurse?
- The highest salary is 77,200 SEK per month and the lowest is 40,700 SEK per month. - Where do orthopaedic nurses usually work?
- Most work in hospital orthopaedic wards, outpatient clinics, or emergency departments. - What benefits are common in the profession?
- Common benefits include overtime pay, wellness allowances, professional development, and opportunities for further education.
Salary distributed by age and sector
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 97% | 31400 kr | 35200 kr |
| 25-34 | 96% | 36400 kr | 39800 kr |
| 35-44 | 97% | 40800 kr | 43600 kr |
| 45-54 | 92% | 44000 kr | 46700 kr |
| 55-64 | 96% | 45200 kr | 48000 kr |
| 65-68 | 102% | 47900 kr | 50800 kr |
| Snitt | 96% | 40900 kr | 43900 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 97% | 31100 kr | 35000 kr |
| 25-34 | 97% | 34300 kr | 37900 kr |
| 35-44 | 96% | 38200 kr | 41100 kr |
| 45-54 | 96% | 41400 kr | 44500 kr |
| 55-64 | 98% | 43500 kr | 46600 kr |
| 65-68 | 98% | 45500 kr | 48900 kr |
| Snitt | 97% | 38500 kr | 41700 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25-34 | 92% | 51300 kr | 51400 kr |
| 35-44 | 78% | 61300 kr | 62100 kr |
| 45-54 | 86200 kr | 90500 kr | |
| 55-64 | 75100 kr | 75200 kr | |
| Snitt | 71% | 65900 kr | 67100 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 104% | 34300 kr | 35500 kr |
| 25-34 | 100% | 38400 kr | 39800 kr |
| 35-44 | 97% | 41000 kr | 42600 kr |
| 45-54 | 99% | 43600 kr | 45800 kr |
| 55-64 | 100% | 45400 kr | 47900 kr |
| 65-68 | 98% | 47700 kr | 50400 kr |
| Snitt | 98% | 42000 kr | 43900 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 97% | 30900 kr | 35000 kr |
| 25-34 | 97% | 33800 kr | 37700 kr |
| 35-44 | 97% | 37800 kr | 40800 kr |
| 45-54 | 97% | 41000 kr | 44200 kr |
| 55-64 | 98% | 43200 kr | 46400 kr |
| 65-68 | 99% | 45100 kr | 48600 kr |
| Snitt | 98% | 37900 kr | 41400 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 33500 kr | 36600 kr | |
| 25-34 | 93% | 43500 kr | 46100 kr |
| 35-44 | 98% | 47100 kr | 49700 kr |
| 45-54 | 83% | 48900 kr | 50900 kr |
| 55-64 | 49300 kr | 51300 kr | |
| 65-68 | 54200 kr | 55900 kr | |
| Snitt | 93% | 47200 kr | 49400 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 33500 kr | 36600 kr | |
| 25-34 | 93% | 43500 kr | 46100 kr |
| 35-44 | 98% | 47100 kr | 49700 kr |
| 45-54 | 83% | 48900 kr | 50900 kr |
| 55-64 | 49300 kr | 51300 kr | |
| 65-68 | 54200 kr | 55900 kr | |
| Snitt | 93% | 47200 kr | 49400 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 97% | 31900 kr | 36400 kr |
| 25-34 | 96% | 36900 kr | 41200 kr |
| 35-44 | 97% | 40800 kr | 44600 kr |
| 45-54 | 92% | 46300 kr | 50400 kr |
| 55-64 | 96% | 46200 kr | 49900 kr |
| 65-68 | 102% | 45600 kr | 49900 kr |
| Snitt | 96% | 41400 kr | 45400 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 97% | 31200 kr | 35900 kr |
| 25-34 | 97% | 34200 kr | 38700 kr |
| 35-44 | 96% | 38400 kr | 42400 kr |
| 45-54 | 96% | 41800 kr | 46100 kr |
| 55-64 | 98% | 43200 kr | 47600 kr |
| 65-68 | 98% | 45400 kr | 49700 kr |
| Snitt | 97% | 38400 kr | 42700 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25-34 | 92% | 53400 kr | 53500 kr |
| 35-44 | 78% | 69800 kr | 69900 kr |
| 45-54 | 86800 kr | 91500 kr | |
| 55-64 | 79800 kr | 80000 kr | |
| Snitt | 71% | 73900 kr | 75300 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 104% | 33000 kr | 34300 kr |
| 25-34 | 100% | 38200 kr | 39900 kr |
| 35-44 | 97% | 41700 kr | 43900 kr |
| 45-54 | 99% | 43400 kr | 46200 kr |
| 55-64 | 100% | 45000 kr | 48000 kr |
| 65-68 | 98% | 48700 kr | 51500 kr |
| Snitt | 98% | 42100 kr | 44500 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 97% | 31000 kr | 36000 kr |
| 25-34 | 97% | 33700 kr | 38600 kr |
| 35-44 | 97% | 37600 kr | 41900 kr |
| 45-54 | 97% | 40900 kr | 45500 kr |
| 55-64 | 98% | 42500 kr | 47200 kr |
| 65-68 | 99% | 44500 kr | 49200 kr |
| Snitt | 98% | 37600 kr | 42200 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25-34 | 93% | 45200 kr | 48800 kr |
| 35-44 | 98% | 47400 kr | 50700 kr |
| 45-54 | 83% | 57000 kr | 60300 kr |
| Snitt | 93% | 49600 kr | 52800 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25-34 | 93% | 45200 kr | 48800 kr |
| 35-44 | 98% | 47400 kr | 50700 kr |
| 45-54 | 83% | 57000 kr | 60300 kr |
| Snitt | 93% | 49600 kr | 52800 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 97% | 31300 kr | 35100 kr |
| 25-34 | 96% | 36400 kr | 39600 kr |
| 35-44 | 97% | 40800 kr | 43400 kr |
| 45-54 | 92% | 43700 kr | 46200 kr |
| 55-64 | 96% | 45100 kr | 47700 kr |
| 65-68 | 102% | 48100 kr | 50900 kr |
| Snitt | 96% | 40800 kr | 43700 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 97% | 31100 kr | 35000 kr |
| 25-34 | 97% | 34300 kr | 37800 kr |
| 35-44 | 96% | 38200 kr | 40900 kr |
| 45-54 | 96% | 41300 kr | 44200 kr |
| 55-64 | 98% | 43600 kr | 46500 kr |
| 65-68 | 98% | 45500 kr | 48800 kr |
| Snitt | 97% | 38500 kr | 41600 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25-34 | 92% | 49200 kr | 49200 kr |
| 35-44 | 78% | 53600 kr | 54900 kr |
| Snitt | 71% | 52900 kr | 53700 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 104% | 34400 kr | 35600 kr |
| 25-34 | 100% | 38400 kr | 39800 kr |
| 35-44 | 97% | 40900 kr | 42400 kr |
| 45-54 | 99% | 43600 kr | 45800 kr |
| 55-64 | 100% | 45500 kr | 47900 kr |
| 65-68 | 98% | 47500 kr | 50300 kr |
| Snitt | 98% | 42000 kr | 43800 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 97% | 30900 kr | 34900 kr |
| 25-34 | 97% | 33800 kr | 37500 kr |
| 35-44 | 97% | 37800 kr | 40600 kr |
| 45-54 | 97% | 41000 kr | 44000 kr |
| 55-64 | 98% | 43200 kr | 46300 kr |
| 65-68 | 99% | 45200 kr | 48600 kr |
| Snitt | 98% | 38000 kr | 41300 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 33300 kr | 36400 kr | |
| 25-34 | 93% | 43200 kr | 45600 kr |
| 35-44 | 98% | 47100 kr | 49600 kr |
| 45-54 | 83% | 48100 kr | 49800 kr |
| 55-64 | 48800 kr | 50700 kr | |
| 65-68 | 54300 kr | 56000 kr | |
| Snitt | 93% | 46800 kr | 49000 kr |
| Age | Base salary | Monthly salary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 33300 kr | 36400 kr | |
| 25-34 | 93% | 43200 kr | 45600 kr |
| 35-44 | 98% | 47100 kr | 49600 kr |
| 45-54 | 83% | 48100 kr | 49800 kr |
| 55-64 | 48800 kr | 50700 kr | |
| 65-68 | 54300 kr | 56000 kr | |
| Snitt | 93% | 46800 kr | 49000 kr |
About the data
All information displayed on this page is based on data from the Swedish Central Bureau of Statistics (SCB), the Swedish Tax Agency and the Swedish employment agency. Learn more about our data and data sources here.
All figures are gross salaries, meaning salaries before tax. The average salary, or mean salary, is calculated by adding up the total salary for all individuals within the profession and dividing it by the number of individuals. For specific job categories, we have also considered various criteria such as experience and education.
Profession Orthopedic nurse has the SSYK code 2221, which we use to match against the SCB database to obtain the latest salary statistics.
-
Nurse for Surgical/Orthopaedic Department – Region Kronoberg
Registered nurses
Thu, 4 Jun 2026 - 06:43
Compare salary, work tasks and job outlook in adjacent occupations to find roles with similar skills or pay levels.
-
Average salary: 53 000 SEK/month • Hälso- & sjukvård
Veterinarians
Compare with Orthopedic nurse
Thu, 4 Jun 2026 - 05:42 -
Average salary: 93 600 SEK/month • Hälso- & sjukvård
Specialist doctors
Compare with Orthopedic nurse
Thu, 4 Jun 2026 - 06:03 -
Average salary: 93 600 SEK/month • Hälso- & sjukvård
Specialist doctors
Compare with Orthopedic nurse
Thu, 4 Jun 2026 - 04:28 -
Average salary: 54 600 SEK/month • Hälso- & sjukvård
Dentists
Compare with Orthopedic nurse
Thu, 4 Jun 2026 - 04:25 -
Average salary: 30 200 SEK/month • Hälso- & sjukvård
Other health and care staff
Compare with Orthopedic nurse
Thu, 4 Jun 2026 - 03:14 -
Laboratory assistant, medical laboratory salary
Average salary: 41 200 SEK/month • Hälso- & sjukvård
Biomedical analysts etc.
Compare with Orthopedic nurse
Wed, 3 Jun 2026 - 01:24
-
Demoskop May 28, 2026: Social Democrats Lose, MP and KD Increase
Thu, 28 May 2026 - 19:35 -
Up to 25% off experiences for mom – Celebrate Mother’s Day with Live it
Tue, 26 May 2026 - 12:00