- Nurses in El Centro are typically paid $60,180 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $98,380

- Nurses in Santa Maria are typically paid $63,780 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $109,910

- Nurses in Oxnard are typically paid $64,620 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $111,260

- Nurses in San Diego are typically paid $68,560 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $118,270

- Nurses in Visalia are typically paid $68,980 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $106,920

- Nurses in Bakersfield are typically paid $69,450 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $110,330

- Nurses in Merced are typically paid $74,280 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $114,110

- Nurses in Riverside are typically paid $77,040 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $122,190

- Nurses in San Luis Obispo are typically paid $80,390 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $126,210

- Nurses in Los Angeles are typically paid $80,490 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $128,960

- Nurses in Fresno are typically paid $82,570 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $123,310

- Nurses in Stockton are typically paid $83,200 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $129,290

- Nurses in Chico are typically paid $85,080 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $128,160

- Nurses in San Jose are typically paid $86,330 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $163,070

- Nurses in Sacramento are typically paid $87,380 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $137,940

- Nurses in Napa are typically paid $89,000 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $137,260

- Nurses in Modesto are typically paid $89,200 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $134,250

- Nurses in Yuba City are typically paid $90,210 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $134,930

- Nurses in Redding are typically paid $91,310 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $135,220

- Nurses in Salinas are typically paid $91,460 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $131,710

- Nurses in Santa Rosa are typically paid $107,410 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $156,250

- Nurses in San Francisco are typically paid $107,990 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $173,510

- Nurses in Vallejo are typically paid $114,830 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $164,960

- Nurses in Santa Cruz are typically paid $128,000 more than the metro's median income.
- Median annual wage for nurses: $175,350

In addition to salary considerations, young workers increasingly prioritize flexible schedules and support for their mental health while at work. Several nurses' unions in recent years went on strike to push for better working conditions, citing chronic understaffing at hospitals as a major issue.

With the field so mentally and emotionally taxing, and overtime hours that notoriously lead to burnout, roughly 100,000 RNs left the profession since 2020 and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report published in 2023 from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Another analysis from National Nurses United, the largest professional association of registered nurses, found that more than 1 million registered nurses with active licenses in 2022 were not actively employed as RNs. Nurses leaving hospitals due to burnout and looking for more regular schedules may turn to physicians' offices, home health care services, and nursing care facilities.

California has attracted new nursing talent with its first-in-the-nation law that sets minimum nurse staffing requirements: Lower patient-to-nurse ratios are associated with better patient outcomes and less burnout for nurses. Oregon will soon join the exclusive club, becoming the second state to mandate nurse-to-patient ratios.

This story features data reporting by Paxtyn Merten, writing by Cassidy Grom, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 47 states.