RN going to California, questions on pay and location.

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Hi folks:

I am thinking about moving to L.A or San Francisco area. Which area is better in terms of income compared to the living expenses? Any specific hospitals anyone can recommend? I can work at Med/Surg or Tele dept.

I heard RN's income in Cali is very high, close to six digits. But you pay a lot of state taxes, what percentages of income will go to the state tax there?

Arizona is too boring for me and my family, I will like move to Cali for a change. Thanks for helps!

Jane

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I heard RN's income in Cali is very high, close to six digits. But you pay a lot of state taxes, what percentages of income will go to the state tax there?
I lived in California most of my life and never paid much state income tax; however, the cost of living is outrageous.
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This is a link to BLS stats on what RN's make, on average, in various areas of California. It should give you some idea on the salary differences. Follow the links to healthcare practitioners where RN average hourly and yearly pay is listed:

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm

And this is a cost of living calculator from Salary.com. It might help you estimate costs versus higher pay and whether you come out ahead. Sometimes higher paying areas are more expensive and, therefore the net income is lower. You can sometimes have higher net income with lower pay in cheaper areas since the cost of living is much lower.

http://swz.salary.com/CostOfLivingWizard/layoutscripts/coll_start.asp

Just FYI: California nurses statewide make, on average, about $70,000 a year. Arizona nurses make, on average, $56,000 a year so ... even with the higher cost of living, you can come out ahead ... as long as you don't pay a fortune for a house or ... something like that.

:typing

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Suppose I make $100000 a year. How much state taxes I will pay? And how much it is going to cost to rent to average 2 bed rooms in San Francisco or L.A?

Thanks! Jane

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Suppose I make $100000 a year. How much state taxes I will pay? And how much it is going to cost to rent to average 2 bed rooms in San Francisco or L.A?

Thanks! Jane

The average RN in California earns $70,000 per year. Both cities will run about $1,500 rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in a so-so area.
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The average RN in California earns $70,000 per year. Both cities will run about $1,500 rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in a so-so area.

Yeah but San Fran RN's make $80K on average. LA RN's make $67K.

:typing

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This is all really variable. I live in the LA area and made a lot more than the average because I was in a non-benefitted (read higher paying) position. My rent for a nice one bedroom in a nice neighbourhood is about $1100. A 2 bedroom in my building is $1500-ish. I briefly looked at SF when I was deciding on where to live and the rents seemed a lot higher.

I made close to 100K as a staff nurse last year and took home about 2/3 of it after taxes. I don't remember how much went to state and how much to federal taxes, but I also don't have any deductions (no kids, no mortgage, no student loans, etc).

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Specializes in Public Health, DEI.
http://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/tax_table/index.asp
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I'm from Cali and my sister lives in the bay area and she pays over $2000 for rent.

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Specializes in LABOR & DELIVERY, Float Pool, med-surg+.
Hi folks:

I am thinking about moving to L.A or San Francisco area. Which area is better in terms of income compared to the living expenses? Any specific hospitals anyone can recommend? I can work at Med/Surg or Tele dept.

I heard RN's income in Cali is very high, close to six digits. But you pay a lot of state taxes, what percentages of income will go to the state tax there?

Arizona is too boring for me and my family, I will like move to Cali for a change. Thanks for helps!

Jane

I live in the Bay Area, and work in Salinas, the pay is very very very good. New RN's start out around 31$ or so. I heard down south by LA or San Diego, they pay about $10 less/hour, the cost of living is the same or higher. The good thing is that there are many things to do compared to where I live. If you dont mind driving, you can still go to bigger cities to find things to do. Up north by San Fran, the pay is also high. It just depends where you want to live. The state tax, Im not sure, but I do get back gooooooooooooood $$$$ from income tax, lol.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Perinatal, Float.

I live in Santa Cruz and make about $15 per hour more than I did in Portland, OR, (that doesn't include $10/hr night diff) so I guess $25/ hr more then!

Rent is high and houses are astronomical! But if you can get good equity from selling a current home it is possible.

There are plenty more openings in med-surg around here, so check it out if you like the beach, being close to San fran and big city but not having to live in it.

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Specializes in LABOR & DELIVERY, Float Pool, med-surg+.
I live in the Bay Area, and work in Salinas, the pay is very very very good. New RN's start out around 31$ or so. I heard down south by LA or San Diego, they pay about $10 less/hour, the cost of living is the same or higher. The good thing is that there are many things to do compared to where I live. If you dont mind driving, you can still go to bigger cities to find things to do. Up north by San Fran, the pay is also high. It just depends where you want to live. The state tax, Im not sure, but I do get back gooooooooooooood $$$$ from income tax, lol.

oops, that was $31/hr for new nurses

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