How much does an RN make in California?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $140,330 for RNs in California as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $119,710 and the 75th-percentile is $172,200.

What is the real (cost-adjusted) RN salary in California?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 112.2 for California), the real-wage equivalent is $125,077 — what the $140,330 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $106,698 to $153,483.

How are California RN salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

Why is the BEA RPP for California different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. California's overall index of 112.2 reflects rents 157.8, services 147.3, and goods 106.8.

Where does California rank for RN pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, California ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

What are the limits of these RN salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

How does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in California?

BLS reports a single 'Registered Nurses' SOC code (29-1141), so the figures on this page are not specialty-segmented. In practice, ICU, NICU, and OR roles in California typically pay 8-15% above the all-RN median; L&D and ER vary by hospital system. Travel-RN contracts can substantially exceed staff rates during demand spikes.

California Registered Nurse Salary: BLS $140K Median, Real $125K (2026)

TL;DR

Headline RN pay in California is $140,330. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $125,077.
Quartile range $119,710 (bottom 25%) to $172,200 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $100,120 to $208,880.
BEA RPP 112.2 drains roughly $15,253 of purchasing power from the BLS median, the gap routes mostly into housing.
Nominal: #1/51 · Real: #1/51 — ranking shifts by 0 positions after RPP.
Non-compact: California requires its own RN license; an NLC multistate license alone is not enough to practice.

Wage breakdown — California

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$100,120	$89,237
P25 (lower quartile)	$119,710	$106,698
P50 (median)	$140,330	$125,077
P75 (upper quartile)	$172,200	$153,483
P90 (top tier)	$208,880	$186,176
Mean	$148,330	$132,207
Employment	326,720 RNs in California

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	California index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	112.2
Goods	106.8
Services	147.3
Rents	157.8

California is a high-cost state — RPP 112.2 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (157.8) and services (147.3).

After-tax take-home — California (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (RN)	$140,330	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$22,497	16.0% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$9,078	1–13.3% (10 brackets, +1% mental-health surcharge >$1M)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$10,735	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$98,020	69.8% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$87,366	÷ (112.2 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the California state-tax burden means for RN take-home

California carries one of the heavier state-tax loads in the country at this income tier (6.5% effective on the BLS median). Combined with federal and FICA, gross-to-take-home spread is 30.2%, leaving $98,020 pre-RPP and $87,366 after the 112.2 cost-of-living index — a $52,964 gap from the headline gross.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $93,600 for RNs with mean pay of $98,430 and total employment of 3,282,010. California sits at #1 on nominal pay and #1 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. Nominal and real ranking are the same — cost of living and pay scale together.

Licensure — California (NLC)

California is not currently a NLC member. RNs moving to California must apply for a California-issued license through endorsement; a multistate license from a Compact state alone is not sufficient. Endorsement timelines and fees are set by the California Board of Nursing.

Legislative status (2026-05): Bills introduced 2018, 2021, 2026 — none advanced past committee. Strong opposition from California Nurses Association around scope-of-practice harmonization.

Source: NCSBN compact implementation tracker — re-synced quarterly. See NLC reciprocity hub for the cross-state matrix and changelog for status changes.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an RN make in California?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $140,330 for RNs in California as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $119,710 and the 75th-percentile is $172,200.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) RN salary in California?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 112.2 for California), the real-wage equivalent is $125,077 — what the $140,330 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $106,698 to $153,483.
How are California RN salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
Why is the BEA RPP for California different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. California's overall index of 112.2 reflects rents 157.8, services 147.3, and goods 106.8.
Where does California rank for RN pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, California ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
What are the limits of these RN salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
How does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in California?: BLS reports a single 'Registered Nurses' SOC code (29-1141), so the figures on this page are not specialty-segmented. In practice, ICU, NICU, and OR roles in California typically pay 8-15% above the all-RN median; L&D and ER vary by hospital system. Travel-RN contracts can substantially exceed staff rates during demand spikes.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1141, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how California RN pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.