Pay in LA San Diego or Sacramento area?

I live in the Chicago area. I am paid $53/HR. I hear that California RN's make $70-85/hr-Staff Rn's. Is that true? I have 21 yrs. experience as a Tele nurse.

JB
You can realistically expect to earn in the high $60s per hour or greater if you land a unionized job in Sacramento or the SF Bay area.However, I seriously doubt you'll ever be offered more than the mid $40s per hour in LA or San Diego. The difference in nursing pay rates between Northern CA and Southern CA is striking.

Quote from TheCommuterYou can realistically expect to earn in the high $60s per hour or greater if you land a unionized job in Sacramento or the SF Bay area.However, I seriously doubt you'll ever be offered more than the mid $40s per hour in LA or San Diego. The difference in nursing pay rates between Northern CA and Southern CA is striking.

zzbxdo, do you live in the California area? I have a friend that has 18 yrs. exp. in San Diego. Her Staff flat rate (day shift) is $56/hr. So you sound more right on. It sounds as though, I might find $70/hr. in SF or Sacramento as a staff RN. In response to whether they want to hire an experienced nurse over a younger, less experienced one. I hear your argument, however, younger nurses tend to move around (leave the facility) more, thereby costing the hospital more in turnover $$. Plus, they usually need more training.

How much does in-house Flex (non-benefited or limited benefits) pay in SD, LA, SF, or Sac.?James

You can't discuss Sac vs SF wages without taking COL into consideration. We were just looking at rentals this weekend, 2 bd apt *starts* about $2,800 but more available above $3,300. (Thank goodness for rent control!)

I see many 2500-3000 5 bed SFH's in Sacramento suburbs for 450-500K. A 30 yr. mtg with good credit and it's 2500/month P&I. It's only about $1,000/month more than Chicago with better weather in Sacramento. I don't like the cold summer in SF, but Sacramento is warmer. So my feeling is that if I can make $20/hr MORE in Sacramento vs. Chicago, that's $3200/month MORE. So what if I have to pay $1000/month more for my home. That is of course if I can get a staff job in Sacramento at $73+/hr.