Nurse Practitioners or FNP salary in Bay Area/San Francisco Area

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Feb 26, 2015

You'll find a wide range here actually. The county facilities (like Santa Clara Valley and SFGH) typically pay higher. Kaiser facilities also pay pretty well.

zenman · Feb 26, 2015

Cost of living there is probably way up there also.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Feb 26, 2015

Sticker price for rent and real estate is a big shocker for sure for someone not used to living here. However, judging from the username, it seems like the OP is a local.

bayareaFNPstud · Feb 26, 2015

yes, I am originally from the Bay Area. The next challenge for me is finding a job in the Bay Area as a new grad, so I can be with my family. I also heard a rumor that Kaiser won't be hiring Family Nurse Practitioners anymore. Do you know if this may be true?

Thank you for your replies, Juan De La Cruz! I have read many of your posts and it has given me a lot of motivation and insight into becoming a FNP.

puravidaLV · Feb 27, 2015

I grew up in Palo Alto and the dream is to work for the Palo Alto VA, yet considering when my parents bought the house it was 290,000, we sold it for 980,000, and presently after they knocked down my childhood home a 2.8 million dollar house was built. I had a long discussion with my wife tonight as we sit in Las Vegas, NV about how much I hate it here. Yet, I have a 2900 sq/ft house which is something I won't ever be able to obtain in any part of California and I earn California wages.

I don't know where you heard FNP won't be hired I mean just looking here:

Nurse Practitioner \ Physician Assistant jobs in California at Kaiser Permanente

there are a few, yet they are specific to surgical and such. I don't know a single NP/RN that works only one job in the bay especially when the average home price and rent cost make you think "hell I could have bought a Lamborghini", yet I under stand the desire to move and the thrill of traffic.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Feb 27, 2015

For sure, the cost of rent and real estate is getting ridiculous. This is the kind of area where timing and personal and family needs makes a difference in survival. Blame the burgeoning tech industry or whoever but the reality is everyone including some physicians complain about the expense of living here.

Rents have doubled from just five years ago and if you happen to live "in the city" and lucky enough to land a rent controlled building, then you're OK - it's the new arrivals who have to suffer. If you bought a home around five years ago or more, you're now sitting on a goldmine. Since moving here from the Midwest, my spouse and I have been minimalists and don't need a lot of space. We still go out and eat out a lot - but not at the French Laundry in Napa, of course. There is so much recreation to do that do not cost much.

OP, just a warning that the job situation is very competitive here. I've known of new grads getting hired in hospitals but in hard to fill, less desirable roles. There are many applicants for most positions posted and many come from other states with NP experience so employers have the luxury to choose. VA Palo Alto is a nice hospital from what I hear but the friends I know who work or used to work there complain of the lower pay range (which is typical for VA facilities).

chouxpastry · Feb 27, 2015

bayareaFNPstud: i too am a new grad FNP looking to relocate to the bay. in my recent experience, i have yet to come across a proposed salary exceeding six figures (w/e county positions). under no intention to start a gender debate, these are my experiences as a female new grad. in any case, i was told by a provider recruiter that the high desirability of the bay area keeps salaries low due to high competition. whether this is true or not, i do not know. i have also noticed that the health care market (i.e. dominant medical groups and their resulting local hold) in SF differs from the remaining bay area. to remedy the living expense dilemma (if that is the case for you) there are also opportunities east and north of the bay (e.g. stockton) - which i have certainly considered.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Feb 27, 2015

I've actually heard of lowball offers (less than six figures) like you mentioned chouxpastry particularly in the private practice primary care areas. I'm an ACNP working for a university system. Our salary grades are searchable on the internet and in fact if you know my real name you could even search how much I made in the last 5 years via a state employee salary database (part of California transparency I guess). I think, NP's like myself who work in hospitals are shielded from the lowball figures because of the strong union presence in hospitals both public and private. An offer that is less than six figures is a slap in the face - New grad RN's start at 120K a year at our institution so it doesn't make sense to offer a new NP a salary lower than that.

chouxpastry · Feb 28, 2015

goodness would i love to start at 120K...and yes, these offers are from private practice (general and specialties both). i had the privilege of interviewing with a local university system and the benefits were unrivaled. it appears that private practices just cannot afford to pay NPs competitively. of course, ultimately, i can't generalize this observation for every NP position opening in the bay so best of luck, OP!

bayareaFNPstud · Feb 28, 2015

bayareaFNPstud: i too am a new grad FNP looking to relocate to the bay. in my recent experience, i have yet to come across a proposed salary exceeding six figures (w/e county positions). under no intention to start a gender debate, these are my experiences as a female new grad. in any case, i was told by a provider recruiter that the high desirability of the bay area keeps salaries low due to high competition. whether this is true or not, i do not know. i have also noticed that the health care market (i.e. dominant medical groups and their resulting local hold) in SF differs from the remaining bay area. to remedy the living expense dilemma (if that is the case for you) there are also opportunities east and north of the bay (e.g. stockton) - which i have certainly considered.

I am okay with finding a job around the east or south bay since I'm hoping to settle in Fremont. It's kind of daunting seeing the salaries they are offering to new grads, considering how much we can make as RNs here in the Bay Area. A full-time RN at kaiser can easily make 70$ an hour (130k/year), so it kind of makes me wonder if living in the Bay Area with a FNP salary will suffice. I was hoping to work in a hospital, as Juan said, to be shielded by the union from low balling clinics. But from reading recent threads, it seems like a challenge even finding a job in a hospital as a FNP. Are you looking for positions at private clinics or in hospitals?

bayareaFNPstud · Feb 28, 2015

Rents have doubled from just five years ago and if you happen to live "in the city" and lucky enough to land a rent controlled building, then you're OK - it's the new arrivals who have to suffer. If you bought a home around five years ago or more, you're now sitting on a goldmine. Since moving here from the Midwest, my spouse and I have been minimalists and don't need a lot of space. We still go out and eat out a lot - but not at the French Laundry in Napa, of course. There is so much recreation to do that do not cost much.
OP, just a warning that the job situation is very competitive here. I've known of new grads getting hired in hospitals but in hard to fill, less desirable roles. There are many applicants for most positions posted and many come from other states with NP experience so employers have the luxury to choose. VA Palo Alto is a nice hospital from what I hear but the friends I know who work or used to work there complain of the lower pay range (which is typical for VA facilities).

I was actually thinking of taking the family out to eat at French Laundry or Gary Danko's with my first paycheck, but considering new grad salary, maybe not until the third or fourth!

Do you know if most hospitals in the bay area prefer hiring ACNPs or FNP over the other? What does your institution prefer? I have searched job openings, but they don't state which type of NP they are looking to specifically hire. I know we must practice within our scope of our education, but I'm curious if I could get a position in a hospital so I won't be low balled by these private clinics. Do you think getting a post master's to become an ACNP will help me out? I was thinking of applying to USF's ACNP program after to make myself more marketable.