Average Intensive Care Registered Nurse Salary in Brazil for 2026
An intensive care registered nurse in Brazil earns about 87,640 BRL a year. That's 13% below the national average of 101,120 BRL.
Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Brazil sit around 43,080 BRL a year, while the very top stretches to 138,200 BRL. Everything on this page is in Brazilian real (BRL, symbol R$), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.
The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Brazil, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.
How much does an intensive care registered nurse make in Brazil?
A typical intensive care registered nurse working in Brazil brings home around 7,303 BRL a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 43,080 BRL, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 138,200 BRL for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.
The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior intensive care registered nurse working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.
How intensive care registered nurse pay ranges in Brazil
A good way to think about salary in Brazil is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all intensive care registered nurses in Brazil earn less than 89,340 BRL a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".
Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 60,180 BRL (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 115,220 BRL (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of intensive care registered nurses sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.
The very lowest reported salaries sit around 43,080 BRL. The highest stretch to 138,200 BRL, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.
Intensive care registered nurse pay by experience in Brazil
Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for an intensive care registered nurse in Brazil, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical intensive care registered nurse salary changes as you move through the career ladder.
- 0-2 Years53,120 BRL
- 2-5 Years+23% from previous65,080 BRL
- 5-10 Years+38% from previous89,980 BRL
- 10-15 Years+25% from previous112,440 BRL
- 15-20 Years+7% from previous119,900 BRL
- 20+ Years+7% from previous128,500 BRL
The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 38%. That is the point at which a intensive care registered nurse typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.
Intensive care registered nurse pay by education in Brazil
Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving intensive care registered nurse pay in Brazil. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.
Below is the average intensive care registered nurse salary in Brazil broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.
- Bachelor's Degree62,860 BRL
- Master's Degree+67% from previous105,080 BRL
Intensive care registered nurse gender pay gap in Brazil
The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Brazil is no exception. Male intensive care registered nurses in Brazil earn an average of 82,520 BRL a year, while female intensive care registered nurses earn around 93,100 BRL. That works out to a 11% gap in favour of women, even when comparing people doing the same work.
A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.
Intensive Care Registered Nurse gender pay gap
11%
Men earn this much less than women on average in Brazil.
Pay raises for an intensive care registered nurse in Brazil
Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.
A typical worker doing this role in Brazil sees a raise of about 10% every 18 months, which works out to roughly 7% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.
Across all jobs in Brazil, the national average raise is around 9% every 16 months.
By industry
Industries with the highest pay raises in Brazil:
- Banking
- Energy
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Travel
- Construction
- Education
By experience level
Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.
- Junior Level3% - 5%
- Mid-Career
- Senior Level
- Top Management
Intensive care registered nurse bonus rates in Brazil
Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.
56% of intensive care registered nurses in Brazil reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes an intensive care registered nurse a moderate-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.
Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6% of base salary. The remaining 44% of intensive care registered nurses reported no bonus at all over the same period.
Which careers pay bonuses in Brazil
Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.
- Finance
- Architecture
- Sales
- Business Development
- Marketing / Advertising
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Customer Service
- Human Resources
- Construction
- Transport
- Hospitality
Intensive care registered nurse: public vs private sector pay
Public-sector pay in Brazil is about 7% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.
Public vs private pay gap
7%
Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Brazil on average.
Intensive care registered nurse salary by city in Brazil
Intensive care registered nurse pay is not even across Brazil. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.
- Rio de Janeiro
- Belo Horizonte
- Recife
- Sao Paulo
- Salvador
- Brasilia
- Curitiba
- Fortaleza
- Goiania
- Belem
| Location | Type | Average | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio de Janeiro | City | 97,880 BRL | 106,600 BRL | 44,780-158,700 BRL |
| Belo Horizonte | City | 97,300 BRL | 91,520 BRL | 53,600-151,800 BRL |
| Recife | City | 96,980 BRL | 100,140 BRL | 42,960-152,100 BRL |
| Sao Paulo | City | 96,500 BRL | 101,840 BRL | 47,120-152,100 BRL |
| Salvador | City | 95,720 BRL | 97,260 BRL | 45,600-152,100 BRL |
| Brasilia | City | 95,600 BRL | 91,660 BRL | 49,020-150,000 BRL |
| Curitiba | City | 94,380 BRL | 94,380 BRL | 47,580-150,000 BRL |
| Fortaleza | City | 93,100 BRL | 84,180 BRL | 50,020-138,200 BRL |
| Goiania | City | 91,960 BRL | 88,240 BRL | 49,300-142,300 BRL |
| Belem | City | 91,520 BRL | 97,840 BRL | 41,560-142,300 BRL |
| Manaus | City | 90,900 BRL | 89,800 BRL | 47,540-139,100 BRL |
| Porto Alegre | City | 88,580 BRL | 84,180 BRL | 45,580-134,600 BRL |
| Teresina | City | 88,300 BRL | 92,500 BRL | 43,260-138,800 BRL |
| Sao Luis | City | 87,520 BRL | 83,140 BRL | 46,400-130,400 BRL |
| Maceio | City | 87,040 BRL | 87,040 BRL | 45,580-137,400 BRL |
| Campinas | City | 87,020 BRL | 89,280 BRL | 42,320-136,100 BRL |
| Cuiaba | City | 84,040 BRL | 78,620 BRL | 45,600-125,700 BRL |
| Joao Pessoa | City | 83,400 BRL | 88,300 BRL | 39,640-130,400 BRL |
| Aracaju | City | 82,200 BRL | 83,760 BRL | 39,560-125,700 BRL |
| Maringa | City | 81,880 BRL | 73,980 BRL | 43,520-123,400 BRL |
| Macapa | City | 80,840 BRL | 80,840 BRL | 38,780-127,700 BRL |
| Londrina | City | 80,640 BRL | 88,260 BRL | 39,960-128,900 BRL |
| Natal | City | 80,280 BRL | 74,380 BRL | 45,580-125,100 BRL |
| Santos | City | 80,060 BRL | 86,760 BRL | 36,020-125,700 BRL |
| Vale do Aco | City | 79,360 BRL | 72,740 BRL | 42,040-117,440 BRL |
| Petrolina and Juazeiro | City | 78,120 BRL | 78,160 BRL | 41,900-125,100 BRL |
| Vitoria | City | 77,640 BRL | 79,600 BRL | 37,740-119,080 BRL |
Intensive Care Registered Nurse in Brazil: FAQs
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How much does an intensive care registered nurse make per month in Brazil?
An intensive care registered nurse in Brazil earns about 7,303 BRL a month before tax, based on an annual average of 87,640 BRL.
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What's the salary range for an intensive care registered nurse in Brazil?
Entry-level intensive care registered nurses in Brazil start near 43,080 BRL. Top-end pay reaches around 138,200 BRL. The middle 50% of earners sit between 60,180 and 115,220 BRL.
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Is the median intensive care registered nurse salary in Brazil higher or lower than the average?
The median is 89,340 BRL, higher than the average of 87,640 BRL. Half of intensive care registered nurses in Brazil earn below the median, half earn above it.
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What's the gender pay gap for intensive care registered nurses in Brazil?
Men working as an intensive care registered nurse in Brazil earn around 11% less than women on average (82,520 vs 93,100 BRL a year).
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Do intensive care registered nurses in Brazil get bonuses?
About 56% of intensive care registered nurses in Brazil reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6% of base salary.
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Do intensive care registered nurses earn more in the public or private sector in Brazil?
In Brazil, the public sector pays an intensive care registered nurse about 7% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.
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How often do intensive care registered nurses in Brazil get a pay raise?
An intensive care registered nurse in Brazil sees a raise of around 10% every 18 months, equivalent to roughly 7% a year.