Palmdale Regional Medical Center

On campus, The Birth Place — a new 33,000-square-foot Labor and Delivery unit with 25 private rooms, six LDR suites, and two surgical suites — is now open. Web figures put registered nurse average hourly pay near $61.21 from a dozen reported salaries; the one posting we tracked sat flat at $28.51 an hour. Only about 38% of employees report satisfaction with pay. Across roughly 130 reviews, the company rating lands near 3.2, with work-life and culture around 3.1 and management closer to 2.7. Palmdale housing often costs less than elsewhere in California, offset by commutes people describe as long and hard. California is not a compact-license state and uses a graduated state income tax.