Understanding what cities pay nurses the most is an important part of a nurse’s decision about where to work. In order to understand the best paying cities for nurses, we pulled the latest salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics to see salaries for all cities in the United States. We also calculated the cost of living adjustment for those cities to see how expensive it is to live in that city.
Understanding cost of living is important for nurses to measure because many cities have astronomical salaries for nurses, but also have very high expenses for things like rent, groceries and basic necessities. For example, San Jose is the highest paying city for nurses in the U.S. with an average salary of $68 / hour but it is 214% more expensive to live there than the rest of the U.S. Factoring in cost of living, the adjusted salary for San Jose is only $32 / hour.
If you’d like to ensure you are paid what you deserve, log into Incredible Health to check out the free nurse salary calculator. It takes about 2 minutes to sign up and helps you understand whether you’re being underpaid and how much money nurses like you around the country make.
5 Highest Paying Cities for Nurses in 2020
California is the highest paying state for nurses so it is no surprise that all 5 of the highest paying cities for nurses are also in California. With an average hourly salary of $68 / hour, San Jose is the best paying city for nurses. It is followed by San Francisco ($66), Santa Cruz ($64), Salinas ($64) and Fairfield ($63).
Unfortunately, living in all 5 of these cities in 2020 is very expensive. In fact, when we factor in cost of living, the adjusted salary looks very different:
5 highest paying cities for nurses
| City | Average Salary | Adjusted Salary |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $67.67 | $31.62 |
| San Francisco, CA | $66.35 | $24.67 |
| Santa Cruz, CA | $64.43 | $33.21 |
| Salinas, CA | $64.22 | $46.54 |
| Fairfield, CA | $63.45 | $46.31 |
Interestingly, the city with the best pay for nurses outside of California is Urban Honolulu, HI. This city averages $51 / hour but does have a very high cost of living. As a result, the adjusted salary is only $29 / hour.
5 Best Paying Cities for Nurses in 2020, Adjusted for Cost of Living
When we factor in the cost of living, none of the highest paying cities make our list of the best paying cities for RNs. While all the top 5 cities are still based in California, they are all located in the more rural central and northern California instead of being based around San Francisco and Southern California.
Adjusted for cost of living, Hanford, CA is the best paying city. Although the average salary is lower than many other cities, the cost of living is actually 4% cheaper than the rest of the United states so the adjusted salary is $54 / hour. The others are the state capital of Sacramento with an adjusted hourly salary of $52, Yuba City ($51), Fresno ($49), and Modesto ($48).
If you’re looking to maximize the value of the time you spend working, these 5 cities in California are the best places for you to live.
All 50 Best Paying Cities for Nurses in 2020
| City | Hourly Salary | Annual Salary | Cost of Living Adjustment | Annual Salary (Adjusted) | Hourly Salary (Adjusted | Nursing Jobs in City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $67.67 | $140,740 | 214 | $65,766 | $31.62 | 16,650 |
| San Francisco, CA | $66.35 | $138,000 | 269 | $51,301 | $24.67 | 38,580 |
| Santa Cruz, CA | $64.42 | $134,000 | 194 | $69,072 | $33.21 | 1,410 |
| Salinas, CA | $64.22 | $133,580 | 138 | $96,797 | $46.54 | 2,740 |
| Fairfield, CA | $63.45 | $131,970 | 137 | $96,328 | $46.31 | 3,720 |
| Sacramento, CA | $60.85 | $126,560 | 118 | $107,254 | $51.57 | 19,860 |
| Yuba City, CA | $57.34 | $119,260 | 113 | $105,540 | $50.74 | 920 |
| Modesto, CA | $54.22 | $112,790 | 114 | $98,939 | $47.56 | 4,880 |
| Stockton, CA | $52.99 | $110,220 | 114 | $96,684 | $46.48 | 4,470 |
| Santa Barbara, CA | $52.38 | $108,940 | 223 | $48,852 | $23.49 | 3,180 |
| Hanford, CA | $51.45 | $107,020 | 96 | $111,479 | $53.59 | |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | $51.23 | $106,550 | 177 | $60,198 | $28.94 | 8,840 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $51.05 | $106,190 | 173 | $61,382 | $29.51 | 111,780 |
| Redding, CA | $50.97 | $106,010 | 108 | $98,157 | $47.19 | 1,500 |
| Fresno, CA | $50.90 | $105,880 | 103 | $102,796 | $49.42 | 7,640 |
| Riverside, CA | $50.75 | $105,570 | 133 | $79,376 | $38.16 | 29,780 |
| San Diego, CA | $50.42 | $104,860 | 160 | $65,538 | $31.51 | 25,260 |
| Napa, CA | $50.32 | $104,660 | 162 | $64,605 | $31.06 | 1,890 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $49.84 | $103,670 | 149 | $69,577 | $33.45 | 3,230 |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | $49.31 | $102,560 | 163 | $62,920 | $30.25 | 1,810 |
| Merced, CA | $48.26 | $100,370 | 105 | $95,590 | $45.96 | 860 |
| Boston, MA | $46.40 | $96,510 | 162 | $59,574 | $28.64 | 58,690 |
| Thousand Oaks, CA | $46.04 | $95,760 | 172 | $55,674 | $26.77 | 4,730 |
| Portland, OR | $45.87 | $95,420 | 131 | $72,840 | $35.02 | 22,100 |
| New York, NY | $44.85 | $93,280 | 188 | $49,617 | $23.86 | 174,210 |
| Eugene, OR | $44.68 | $92,940 | 105 | $88,514 | $42.55 | 3,370 |
| Bakersfield, CA | $44.44 | $92,440 | 103 | $89,748 | $43.15 | 5,290 |
| Danbury, CT | $44.41 | $92,380 | 115 | $80,330 | $38.62 | 1,510 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $43.91 | $91,330 | 112 | $81,545 | $39.21 | 17,210 |
| Visalia, CA | $43.79 | $91,080 | 101 | $90,178 | $43.36 | 2,050 |
| Seattle, WA | $43.62 | $90,730 | 172 | $52,750 | $25.36 | 33,180 |
| Medford, OR | $43.27 | $90,000 | 101 | $89,109 | $42.84 | 2,170 |
| Salem, OR | $43.07 | $89,580 | 102 | $87,824 | $42.23 | 3,780 |
| El Centro, CA | $43.02 | $89,480 | 92 | $97,261 | $46.76 | 960 |
| Bend, OR | $42.96 | $89,370 | 124 | $72,073 | $34.65 | 1,950 |
| Anchorage, AK | $42.72 | $88,860 | 124 | $71,661 | $34.45 | 4,270 |
| Grants Pass, OR | $42.50 | $88,390 | 98 | $90,194 | $43.37 | 470 |
| Leominster, MA | $42.50 | $88,390 | 104 | $84,990 | $40.87 | 1,230 |
| Bridgeport, CT | $41.89 | $87,120 | 106 | $82,189 | $39.52 | 7,450 |
| Barnstable Town, MA | $41.81 | $86,970 | 122 | $71,287 | $34.27 | 2,490 |
| Mount Vernon, WA | $41.08 | $85,450 | 115 | $74,304 | $35.72 | 1,060 |
| Fairbanks, AK | $40.94 | $85,150 | 108 | $78,843 | $37.91 | 700 |
| Chico, CA | $40.91 | $85,080 | 117 | $72,718 | $34.97 | 2,250 |
| Norwich, CT | $40.69 | $84,640 | 94 | $90,043 | $43.29 | 2,440 |
| Wenatchee, WA | $40.63 | $84,500 | 101 | $83,663 | $40.23 | 1,330 |
| Bremerton, WA | $40.59 | $84,420 | 109 | $77,450 | $37.24 | 1,450 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $40.58 | $84,400 | 107 | $78,879 | $37.93 | 41,640 |
| New Haven, CT | $40.43 | $84,100 | 102 | $82,451 | $39.64 | 8,180 |
| Washington, DC | $40.08 | $83,370 | 152 | $54,849 | $26.37 | 43,450 |
| Worcester, MA | $39.89 | $82,960 | 102 | $81,333 | $39.11 | 7,310 |
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