Highest-paying Cities for Registered Nurses

The top 100 highest paying cities for registered nurses (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of registered nurses in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $175,350, Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California is the highest paying city for registered nurses. It is followed by San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California (average annual salary $173,510). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of registered nurses in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Registered Nurses

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$175,350	$97,070	1,500
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$173,510	$106,760	41,970
3	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$164,960	$101,530	3,790
4	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$163,070	$107,370	20,150
5	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$156,250	$102,470	3,490
6	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$144,830	$97,460	14,170
7	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$137,940	$97,850	23,180
8	Napa, California	$137,260	$101,880	1,420
9	Redding, California	$135,220	$83,550	1,570
10	Yuba City, California	$134,930	$83,390	950
11	Modesto, California	$134,250	$95,320	4,780
12	Salinas, California	$131,710	$81,800	2,970
13	Stockton, California	$129,290	$95,250	4,760
14	North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$129,020	$84,080	1,660
15	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$128,960	$83,890	111,660
16	Chico, California	$128,160	$97,290	2,280
17	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$127,020	$76,890	8,970
18	Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$126,400	$96,600	1,140
19	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$126,210	$88,750	1,820
20	Hanford-Corcoran, California	$125,180	$98,580	970
21	Fresno, California	$123,310	$83,200	8,340
22	Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii	$122,740	$77,740	1,080
23	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$122,190	$82,070	31,270
24	North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$121,220	$83,710	1,750
25	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$118,270	$63,570	28,890
26	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$117,550	$70,740	19,550
27	Merced, California	$114,110	$82,100	860
28	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$111,260	$83,970	5,280
29	Bakersfield-Delano, California	$110,330	$81,420	5,190
30	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$109,910	$46,260	3,940
31	Bend, Oregon	$108,310	$83,680	1,970
32	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$108,290	$84,490	23,380
33	Fairbanks, Alaska	$107,880	$82,790	700
34	Visalia-Porterville, California	$106,920	$80,190	2,640
35	Hawaii-Maui-Kauai nonmetropolitan area, Hawaii	$106,480	$73,410	1,750
36	Danbury, Connecticut	$105,370	$77,580	1,540
37	Central Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$105,230	$78,640	1,150
38	Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$104,360	$81,070	730
39	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$103,540	$77,390	182,710
40	Albany, Oregon	$102,980	$78,870	560
41	Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$102,860	$78,860	2,190
42	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$102,770	$77,520	1,470
43	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$102,680	$80,770	37,120
44	Anchorage, Alaska	$102,260	$80,960	4,550
45	Eugene-Springfield, Oregon	$101,330	$80,660	2,900
46	Medford, Oregon	$101,260	$81,890	2,220
47	Spokane, Washington	$100,280	$76,600	6,790
48	North Valley Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$100,200	$64,370	290
49	Western Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$100,070	$75,060	2,170
50	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$99,750	$74,050	70,220
51	Eastern Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$99,690	$77,830	1,080
52	Salem, Oregon	$99,630	$65,460	3,850
53	Longview, Washington	$99,480	$74,550	790
54	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$99,260	$76,820	7,190
55	El Centro, California	$98,380	$73,880	820
56	Bremerton-Silverdale, Washington	$98,290	$76,680	1,300
57	Bellingham, Washington	$98,240	$74,410	1,620
58	New Haven, Connecticut	$98,140	$77,960	7,930
59	Grants Pass, Oregon	$97,580	$81,120	480
60	Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner, Massachusetts	$96,410	$65,400	1,250
61	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$95,960	$60,010	79,420
62	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$95,770	$76,050	17,860
63	Norwich-New London, Rhode Island	$95,590	$67,230	2,220
64	Worcester, Massachusetts	$95,360	$66,130	7,920
65	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington	$94,110	$68,270	940
66	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$93,760	$61,140	43,150
67	Eastern Sierra Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$93,650	$73,170	190
68	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$93,590	$63,940	88,420
69	Waterbury, Connecticut	$93,170	$74,270	1,590
70	Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, California	$92,880	$69,020	2,570
71	Honolulu, Hawaii	$92,790	$64,240	8,200
72	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$92,690	$70,990	12,010
73	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$91,700	$73,380	3,980
74	Railbelt-Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$90,650	$67,190	760
75	Coastal Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$90,260	$64,510	630
76	North Central Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area, Massachusetts	$90,080	$61,890	60
77	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$90,060	$56,420	28,600
78	Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$89,770	$68,830	460
79	Corvallis, Oregon	$88,530	$65,700	780
80	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$88,310	$58,750	18,280
81	Olympia, Washington	$88,070	$82,730	3,270
82	Walla Walla, Washington	$87,830	$65,410	760
83	Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$87,600	$31,710	1,040
84	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$86,950	$67,600	39,540
85	Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey	$86,240	$70,970	2,710
86	Flint, Michigan	$86,210	$66,540	3,900
87	Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, Washington	$86,210	$70,220	1,130
88	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$85,790	$63,060	98,330
89	Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$85,780	$68,590	1,360
90	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$85,760	$66,260	44,120
91	St Cloud, Minnesota	$85,730	$67,160	2,800
92	Ocean City, New Jersey	$85,490	$67,750	650
93	Boulder, Colorado	$85,410	$68,780	3,070
94	Reno-Sparks, Nevada	$85,290	$69,660	4,300
95	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$85,200	$64,310	2,330
96	Northcentral Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$84,910	$64,840	1,780
97	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$84,770	$65,260	13,420
98	Nevada nonmetropolitan area, Nevada	$84,710	$64,090	980
99	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$84,690	$65,840	69,370
100	Carson City, Nevada	$84,500	$79,190	740

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for registered nurses.