Nursing Salaries in California
It is pretty difficult to answer the question, what is the salary of a nurse because it does involve different factors. A salary of a nurse depends on his or her qualifications, training, education, experience, years of service, and the type of nursing job sought after. However, that definition is pertaining to the general description of the job. There are other factors at play such as varying economic factors. Hospitals have had to implement bonus add-ons to the basic salary for recruitment purposes as an incentive to keep nurses in the field when there is a shortage of nurses. This is in fact is what is happening in America today. New graduates coming out of universities will find that their first salary will be most likely considerably higher than nurses entering the field five years before them. It is quite possible that in some areas of the country newly-recruited nurses will actually be making more money than more seasoned nurses because of this very reason.
Another factor influencing nursing salaries is demand and location. Nursing salaries are not uniform across states. Each state will pay differently and these differences can be rather large. Fortunately for nurses practicing in California, they are the cohorts with the highest salaries recorded throughout the nation. Los Angeles has the highest salary median in the nation. If we compare other major cities in the USA we find that Chicago, for example, only comes in at the medium range for nursing salaries. California has the highest rate for salaries in the nation and New York State falls in second place.
Before recent graduates get overly zealous and plan a big out of state move to California, it must be known that salaries are based on cost of living factors and California is a very expensive state to live in. Home mortgages and even apartment rentals are extremely high in Los Angeles as compared to other American cities across the nation. Therefore if the recent graduate or seasoned nurse wishes to relocate for the higher nursing salary they must prepare a budget to see if in the long run this move will actually afford them a better economic situation after all is taken into consideration.
The following are some examples of nursing jobs and their salaries in the State of California:
Staff nurse RN – these nurses take care of all the documentation, recording, and nursing care for patients. They assist the doctors during various procedures, administer medication, teach self-care skills, and educate the patients and their families concerning health care issues. The average salary for staff nurses in California is between $56,011 and $81,000 per year.
The Certified Nurse Anesthetist will make between $141,524 and $184,368 per year and is the highest-paying salary in RN nursing.
A licensed practical nurse will administer care to the patients, but must work under the supervision of a registered nurse. This job requires a high school degree and certification. A licensed practical nurse can expect to receive between $36,000 and $52,000 per year in the State of California.
A nurse practitioner is a highly trained professional with several years of experience in a specialization. A nurse practitioner can lead a team and direct the duties of others. The California salary range for a nurse practitioner is between $77,975 and $106,934.
A short salary description of other nursing jobs includes: reserve medical surgical nurse, reserve perioperative nurse, reserve critical care nurse, and ob-gyn nurse will earn about $16,000 a year. An emergency room nurse will make around $17,000 per year. A Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse will make around $31,000, a medical surgical nurse will make roughly $32,000 and both a flu immunization nurse and a perioperative nurse will make around $39,000 per year. At the $40,000 a year range we have the critical care nurse and the nurse anesthetist who will make approximately $48,000 a year. The salary of the travel nurse RN jumps up to $69,000 and the home health RN can make up to $88,000.
Published: 2009-09-17
