pay rates in California (pre-and post tax)

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hello, i was reading post from here and found something interesting. i live here in san diego, california and about to take nclex this coming march. if i will be lucky, next thing is, i need to find a hospital to adopt me lol... but of course everything will depend on how much are they gonna pay me. san diego is a very expensive place to live as well. i have known some nurses here who are being paid 27/hr as starting salary. i wondered why san francisco nurses are being paid 35/hr up to $70/hr!. i would like to ask how much is the starting salary for nurses all over california (special unit and regular ward). i can choose any city in california but i cannot go out of ca because of the child custody of my husband with my step son. pls help me find and compare salary scales amongst california cities. i am an ex-uk (london) nurse and i have very little idea about california pay scale differences and taxes. any info. is valuable. thanks so much.

Specializes in icu,ccu, er, corrections.

as far as taxes go, you can google paycheck calculator and select what state and fill out for dependants and see what take home pay will be

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I know nurses in San Diego who started around 29 and within a year are up to 35 per hour.

What type of nurses are they?

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the reason for the big difference in starting pay between san diego & sf is the "sunshine tax". we (will once we graduate) get paid less because we choose to live in the beautiful weather in san diego.

the only starting pay i'm sure of in san diego is $26/hour at sharp, but the pay goes up quickly once you've been there a short while.

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Specializes in OR, MS, Neuro, UC.

Salaries are higher in Northern Ca. esp Bay area due to the cost of living as Suzanne said. As of April 1st a new grad will start at $61,000 a year at an LA County facility. Salaries are MUCH higher with years of experience and this is upper midrange for LA. They are recruiting extensively. You can pm me if you are interested.San Diego salaries are lower despite the recent increases in the cost of living there because the have an abundance of military wives who are RNs and willing to work for less. Good luck!!!!!!!!

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Where do you work? I am planning to find a new area to move to in California? The highest pay I can find in $30/hour. I'm still looking around. Can you recommend any hospitals.

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Let me know where they are recruiting. I am experienced and looking for a new place to work anywhere in CA. Thanks!

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Specializes in OR, MS, Neuro, UC.
WWW.LADHS.ORG WILL LET YOU LINK TO ALL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES HOSPITALS, CLINICS AND PUBLIC HEALTH.... DON'T USE THE ONLINE APP PROCESS, IT TAKES FOREVEVER. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN SOMETHING LET ME KNOW AND I'LL TELL YOU WHERE TO APPLY. GOOD LUCK.
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I'm not even in school yet, but I found this at the California Nurses Association website. It's the contract summary for Kaiser Permanente nurses from 2006 for Sacramento and Bay Area nurses.

http://www.calnurses.org/facilities-bargaining/kaiser/kp_contract_summary_0906.pdf

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I know nurses in San Diego who started around 29 and within a year are up to 35 per hour.

San Diego isn't particularly known to be a high-paying area for nurses. I would say that $35 an hour there is very good. And, yes, the $70 per hour is possible---not as a straight rate, but it is possible to get up there with shift diffs and OT.

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Specializes in Neuro Surgery,telemetry.

35 an hour thats is already more than sweet:) once my husband moves out from military, we maybe able to find higher paying job in a less expensive city:P

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Specializes in ER, CCU, DOU, L&D, PACU.

I live in the Central region of California. The cost of living is extremely high and houses start around $350,000 and up. Condos go for $300,000 minimum. The salaries of nurses have not kept up with the cost of living. Currently new grads are starting around $23/hr. All hospitals are owned by the same company so there is little hope of competition.

Good luck in your search.

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Specializes in O.R..

Im from AZ, Im curious of moving to Calif to work as OR nurse. We receive here between $25-30/hr. Which place in Calif is giving higher pay rate? Which hospital is also called a magnet hospital? Any reply is much appreciated.

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