Registered Nurses salary in Sacramento, California

With about 23,400 Registered Nurses employed in the Sacramento metro, this is one of California's larger regional nursing markets. The 2024 median annual wage came in at $169,210, roughly 21% above the California median of $140,330 and nearly 79% above the national figure of $94,511.

The gap between Sacramento and the US median is unusually wide. Part of that reflects California's strong union presence in hospital systems and the state's nurse-to-patient ratio law, both of which push wages up across the board. Sacramento sits above the state median too, which separates it from many inland California metros that tend to track closer to the state figure or fall below it.

The spread within the occupation is worth noting. At the 10th percentile, nurses earned $104,100. At the 90th, they earned $211,220. Top earners in Sacramento make about twice what the lowest earners do. That kind of range usually points to real differences in specialty, shift type, and years of experience rather than just employer variation. ICU nurses, travel contract holders filling local openings, and charge nurses in large hospital systems tend to cluster toward the higher end.

The mean wage of $163,020 sits below the median of $169,210. That is less common and suggests the middle of the distribution is doing relatively well compared to the very top, rather than a small group of outliers pulling the average up.