RNs in California are paid an average of $148,330 annually and $71.31 hourly. California is significantly higher than the other states paying the next highest wages, including Hawaii ($123,720), Oregon ($120,470), Washington ($115,740), and Massachusetts ($112,610), rounding out the top five highest-paying states.
California has the fifteen U.S. markets with the highest annual mean wages for registered nurses. Sacramento is the fifth highest-paying market in the country, averaging $163,020 per year.
According to the Department of Labor Statistics, nurse practitioners in California earn the highest wages in the nation, with annual wages of $173,190. California is followed by New York ($148,410) and Oregon ($148,030).
Four of the five highest-paying markets for Nurse Practitioners in the U.S. are also in Northern California.
Becker’s calculated the figures using May 2024 salary data from BLS and 2024 cost of living index data from the World Population Review. California has 326,720 registered nurses, the most in the country.
To view the data in this link, select “healthcare practitioners and technical occupations” under the pulldown tab in “major occupation groups.” Then, under “detailed occupations,” choose “registered nurses.”
