Nurse pay in California
Nurses in California are being offered a median $115,440 a year right now across 415 live job postings that state pay — ranking #4 of 46 states. Updated July 24, 2026.
Where does your pay sit in California?
Checked against 415 live postings that state pay. Your number stays in your browser.
Enter your pay to see your percentile.
Posted offers on live listings — not take-home pay or a promise of what any one nurse will earn.
California market overview
- 25th percentile
- $98,800
- Median
- $115,440
- 75th percentile
- $137,972
- 90th percentile
- $156,000
- Median hourly (48 postings)
- $44/hr
- Sign-on bonus, median (9 postings)
- $7,000
- Sign-on bonus, highest posted
- $20,000
- Live postings stating pay
- 415
Annual figures are posted offers (midpoint of stated ranges) on live listings, updated July 24, 2026.
What each specialty is offered in California
Highest-offering employers in California right now
- #1$191k
Veterans Health Administration
median across 3 priced postings
- #2$160k
Sutter Health
median across 6 priced postings
- #3$158k
Per Diem Staffing Systems, Inc.
median across 4 priced postings
- #4$156k
Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health
median across 4 priced postings
- #5$153k
Providence
median across 8 priced postings
What nurses say they’re paidreported by nurses
No community reports for California yet — posted offers only tell half the story. Be one of the first five and this section unlocks for every nurse in the state.
What are you actually being paid?
30 seconds, fully anonymous — no name, no email. Your report joins the community-reported series (always labeled nurse-reported) so nurses can compare real experiences with what employers post.
What to do with this
- See the rolesJobs in California paying around $115,440Every posting behind these numbers is a live job you can open and apply to.
- Offer in hand?Run it through the offer reality calculatorAnnualize it honestly and see what it's worth where you'd actually live — then compare offers side by side.
- 3-minute fit quizFind out which roles actually fit youPay is one axis. Shift, specialty, setting, and commute decide whether the job is worth it.
- CommunityAsk nurses what they really take homeDifferentials, ratios, and the offer nobody posts. Bring your number and compare notes.
Want the craft behind the numbers — differentials, negotiating, travel packages? Read the pay & salary guides.
Questions nurses ask
- How much do nurses make in California?
- Across 415 live job postings in California that state pay, the median posted offer is $115,440 a year (about $44/hr). The middle half of postings runs $98,800–$137,972, and the top 10% start at $156,000.
- How does California nurse pay compare nationally?
- California's posted median of $115,440 is 19% above the national median ($96,720), ranking #4 of 46 states on the Pay Index right now.
- Where does this data come from?
- Pay stated on live nursing job postings collected continuously by Nursing Mastery, last updated July 24, 2026. These are posted offers, not survey estimates or a promise of what any one nurse will earn. Implausible figures are excluded and small samples are suppressed.
- Do California nursing jobs offer sign-on bonuses?
- 9 live postings in California advertise a sign-on bonus right now, with a median of $7,000 and offers up to $20,000.