California public employers · 2026 pay · 10,339 people
How much does a registered nurse make in California public employers?
$127,596typical pay for a registered nurse in 2026
$82,784 – $170,655what most people earned
Includes everyone paid during 2026, including part-year workers. Each employer counts with its latest published year (2025 or 2026). Typical pay fell 1.1% from the same employers' year before.
✓ Official data from 6 agencies · Matches each agency's latest release · Show sourcesHide sources
- LA County Auditor-Controller · lacounty.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- SF Controller's Office · sf.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
Where registered nurses work
Typical pay at each employer, 2026 (everyone paid).
- Los Angeles County4,570 people$130,485
- San Francisco1,703 people$230,772
- Antelope Valley Healthcare District1,611 people$13,075
- Contra Costa County674 people$184,207
- Kaweah Delta Health Care District356 people$91,475
- Ventura County315 people$127,032
- Tri-City Healthcare District166 people$56,800
- Sierra View Local Health Care District147 people$110,858
- Lompoc Hospital District147 people$87,530
- Alameda County131 people$171,871
- Riverside County113 people$122,160
- John C. Fremont Healthcare District60 people$63,653
- Bear Valley Community Healthcare District45 people$63,863
- San Bernardino Mountains Community Hospital District44 people$60,806
- Mayers Memorial Hospital District40 people$62,484
- Mountain Communities Healthcare District38 people$30,351
- Kern Valley Hospital District31 people$36,426
- Plumas Hospital District25 people$101,956
- San Bernardino County25 people$146,206
- Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District20 people$101,408
- Soledad Community Health Care District15 people$21,153
- North Kern-South Tulare Hospital District12 people$55,745
- Orange County9 people$91,757
- West Side Health Care District6 people$92,137
- City of Long Beach5 people$120,438
- Nevada County5 people$58,357
- Kings County4 people$67,600
- Surprise Valley Hospital District4 people$40,264
- Plumas County4 people$41,635
- Coast Community College District3 people$69,442
- West Valley-Mission Community College District2 people$143,361
- South Orange County Community College District2 people$33,498
- Placer County2 people$3,704
- Tehama County2 people$80,378
- Madera County1 person$94,793
- City of Pasadena1 person$51,563
- Mariposa County1 person$96,412
No employers match.
Pay by level
Levels with 5 or more people.
- Registered Nurse I2,602 people$116,534
- Registered Nurse5,104 people$118,450
- Registered Nurse IV62 people$129,226
- Registered Nurse V27 people$137,344
- Registered Nurse II1,948 people$143,270
- Registered Nurse III594 people$160,806
Highest-paid registered nurses, 2026
- 1Cynthia V GarciaRegistered Nurse III · Los Angeles County$872,119
- 2Brenda GonzalezRegistered Nurse III · Los Angeles County$781,422
- 3Eric LeeRegistered Nurse · San Francisco$780,240
- 4Juan C GarciaRegistered Nurse III · Los Angeles County$769,894
- 5Elizabeth HernandezRegistered Nurse II · Los Angeles County$756,543
Common questions
How much does a registered nurse make in California public employers?
The typical registered nurse was paid $127,596 in 2026; most earned between $82,784 and $170,655. This counts all 10,339 people paid, including part-year workers.
How much of the pay is overtime?
Overtime made up 6.1% of all pay for registered nurses in 2026.
Which job titles are included?
Everyone whose payroll title is Registered Nurse, at any level (for example "Registered Nurse I"). Part-time-schedule titles (such as "20 hours") are left out. Senior, supervising and trainee titles have their own pages.
Job titles are written out in full from the payroll's abbreviations (for example "SR CRRECTNL POLC OFCR" → "Senior Correctional Police Officer"). "Typical pay" is the median; "most earned" is the middle half. How we calculate this