$200,000 salary as a RN, it's true

Specialties NP

Published

I'm a NP who works in the Stockton/Sacramento area. One of my boating buddies is a RN at Kaiser. He has been there 10 years and is a charge nurse on a med/surg floor. I didn't believe it until he showed me but he does make a base of $200k a year. With overtime he clears a little of $350,000. This is due to Kaiser in Northern California being unionized. He lives in Modesto which is a low cost of living area but the contracts for the union are tied in with San Francisco which leads to high hourly wages. At retirement he is guaranteed at least $110k annually for life and lifetime medical benefits with any medical insurer he chooses whether it is Kaiser or not. I read the contract and couldn't believe what I was reading but there it was.

SO as a NP it makes me want to jump to Kaiser but......if I was to start at Kaiser with 10 years of NP experience under my belt I still wouldn't be making as much as my friend.

Disturbing??? Maybe....I'm happy for him. It just lets me know that there really are those rare RNs who make more than NPs....way, way more and more than most primary care MDs working on the floor. It makes you wonder if this model is sustainable.

12 hours ago, murseman24 said:

In this scenario that's simply not true. Your mortgage payment would be well below 30% of your after tax income (the guideline for upper limit of affordability), and the extra money would go a LONG way because your biggest expense at 500k mortgage is a small fraction of your income. The complaints about high cost of living and taxes are unfounded based on simple arithmetic, the numbers don't agree with your statements. I don't even live on the west coast and 400 - 500k is what a good home in a good neighborhood (think middle to upper middle class) costs where I live. CRNAs here don't even make 200k base salary, but if they did a 500k house would be considered affordable based on those numbers.

Keep in mind that the mortgage is only single part of the COL. Taxes and other factors in the COL make living in Northern California far more expensive than other areas...I know I lived in Sacramento and moved out of California.

Schools for example. In some states the public schools are as good as the private schools in Northern California. $500k for a house in Sacramento means you are in an OK neighborhood. Not awesome but you won't get raped on your way to your car. To get into a good neighborhood with level 9-10 schools you are looking at 50-75% more for that house.

13 minutes ago, Asystole RN said:

Keep in mind that the mortgage is only single part of the COL. Taxes and other factors in the COL make living in Northern California far more expensive than other areas...I know I lived in Sacramento and moved out of California.

Schools for example. In some states the public schools are as good as the private schools in Northern California. $500k for a house in Sacramento means you are in an OK neighborhood. Not awesome but you won't get raped on your way to your car. To get into a good neighborhood with level 9-10 schools you are looking at 50-75% more for that house.

What's a level 9-10 school? The guy in question lives in Modesto not Sacramento...

30 minutes ago, Jkloo said:

What's a level 9-10 school? The guy in question lives in Modesto not Sacramento...

I also want to mention, crime statistics per capita for Sacramento is literally the EXACT same compared to places like Omaha. Per capita places like Minneapolis and San Antonio have more crime including violent events.

My apartment complex is now renting one bedroom apartments at more than my fixed income. Until a couple of months ago, the rent was only 93% of my monthly income. Now, when I am not working two jobs on top of my regular income, I can expect to be forced to move. Nothing is affordable to the schmuck at the bottom of the pile, a $200,000 yearly income would be very welcome to me. MediCal reimbursement does not allow for any kind of living wage. It never has, and never will. Mention wage scales to the employers and what kind of a reaction do you get? Nothing but a hard time and blank stares.

Sad to me that people are so suckered into so-called perfect weather all year long, that they will pay anything to live there, and the costs have escalated dramatically.

I know there is more to it than that, but perfect weather bores the poop out of me. Give me a torrential rain, or a 20 degrees below zero day, to make soup.

1 Votes

While I can enjoy a torrential rain or 20 degrees below zero every so often, unfortunately in my old age, my health no longer gives me the luxury of enjoying bad weather. At least when I get evicted because I can't pay the next rent increase, the possibility of living under a bridge in Cali may not be an automatic death warrant. Many homeless in Cali will say that is one of the reasons they gravitated to the state.

12 minutes ago, caliotter3 said:

While I can enjoy a torrential rain or 20 degrees below zero every so often, unfortunately in my old age, my health no longer gives me the luxury of enjoying bad weather. At least when I get evicted because I can't pay the next rent increase, the possibility of living under a bridge in Cali may not be an automatic death warrant. Many homeless in Cali will say that is one of the reasons they gravitated to the state.

Interesting. I live with chronic arthritis that is exactly the same in January and July. I can't predict the weather by my joints, not even a little, but I have heard some people allegedly can.

The one thing is that southern folks probably don't have to worry about is icy sidewalks and falls.

1 Votes

@Jkloo, I highly suggest you google the cost of living comparison of Texas to California. There is no real comparison, Texas is one of the cheapest states to live in and California one of the more expensive in America. You say gas 'only' costs $40 extra per month but that is not the only metric and it is a mistake to think that is unrelated to all other expenses also increased by 'only' a percentage. Groceries are just as costly in California as they are in Texas if not more so due to increased taxes, transportation costs, salaries of workers, etc. Entertainment (like movies) are more costly for the same reasons. Seriously, google cost of living for San Antonio versus whatever city in California you live in and you will see that Texas is far cheaper than California. There is no comparison.

1 hour ago, Xance said:

@Jkloo, I highly suggest you google the cost of living comparison of Texas to California. There is no real comparison, Texas is one of the cheapest states to live in and California one of the more expensive in America. You say gas 'only' costs $40 extra per month but that is not the only metric and it is a mistake to think that is unrelated to all other expenses also increased by 'only' a percentage. Groceries are just as costly in California as they are in Texas if not more so due to increased taxes, transportation costs, salaries of workers, etc. Entertainment (like movies) are more costly for the same reasons. Seriously, google cost of living for San Antonio versus whatever city in California you live in and you will see that Texas is far cheaper than California. There is no comparison.

You just debunked your own statement. Everything is more expensive in California because everyone wants to live there. It's the most populous state in the US. If you actually did what you wrote and considered cost of living you would see that it balances out.

I know from my own high school buddies, a doctor, occupational therapist, a pharmacist and a lawyer that all live in California and none of them think that somehow Texas is more affordable in relation to the pay there. As they can do the math and see that moving to Texas means a 50% or more pay cut.

California is the most populous state for a reason, it has the things that attract people and a highly educated work force. Silicon Valley doesn't exist in the South for a reason. I live in a state that only attracts retirees and poor people seeking low wage jobs.

It's really sad the ignorant knee jerk comments in here written by people who literally didn't even bother to think about the facts.

My state is an income tax free state that's considered cheap and yet rent is sky rocketing due to the influx of people seeking low wage jobs in the metro area. The local newspaper has been writing about people moving out of the area as the low wage jobs can't match the massive rent increases, the 2nd highest rent increases in the nation for 2 years running. People often complain the my city is ringed with toll highways and it's common for people to spend several hundred dollars a month in tolls. Yet, none of them ever think why the state has no income tax and what those taxes pay for.

Vast majority of the people in my metro area simply cannot afford the $2400 a month rent for a 3 bedroom house within city limits and can only to live in the suburbs with their $12 an hour jobs and commute an hour each way.

Too many people lack basic critical thinking and never asked themselves why NYC and San Fran attract literally the most educated work force in the US and why people seek to live there and why employers put their HQs there. It's not for 0 state income tax, low wage manual labor jobs or an uneducated work force.

Just to give you a hint how far ahead California compared to the rest of the nation and the WORLD.

California has the 5th largest GDP IN THE WORLD. Ahead of the UK. Single handedly makes up for nearly a quarter of America's total GDP.

6 Votes
1 hour ago, Xance said:

@Jkloo, I highly suggest you google the cost of living comparison of Texas to California. There is no real comparison, Texas is one of the cheapest states to live in and California one of the more expensive in America. You say gas 'only' costs $40 extra per month but that is not the only metric and it is a mistake to think that is unrelated to all other expenses also increased by 'only' a percentage. Groceries are just as costly in California as they are in Texas if not more so due to increased taxes, transportation costs, salaries of workers, etc. Entertainment (like movies) are more costly for the same reasons. Seriously, google cost of living for San Antonio versus whatever city in California you live in and you will see that Texas is far cheaper than California. There is no comparison.

I brought up San Antonio and other cities as a metric of crime. The poster above was implying Sacramento was crime-ridden. That isn't the case when compared to other cities.

Lets say the cost of living is higher. You spend lets say, 20% more living in Modesto than you would in San Antonio. How much do you spend on average a year? 40k? So now you're spending 48k. You've gone up a whopping 8k.

Meanwhile, this guy is taking home 240k. How much can you take home in San Antonio? Guess what, his cost of living is higher, sure. But he is still financially WAY better off in this situation.

Obviously the guy is an outlier, but it's a real pain to see people throwing the whole thing out the window as a "wash" because of the "higher cost of living." It's preposterous, demonstrates a clear lack of financial understanding, and is driven by false ideas that the entirety of "California is too 'spensive to bother living in" by financial illiterates.

3 Votes
Specializes in Cardiology.
5 minutes ago, ConstantGardener said:

You just debunked your own statement. Everything is more expensive in California because everyone wants to live there. It's the most populous state in the US. If you actually did what you wrote and considered cost of living you would see that it balances out.

I know from my own high school buddies, a doctor, occupational therapist, a pharmacist and a lawyer that all live in California and none of them think that somehow Texas is more affordable in relation to the pay there. As they can do the math and see that moving to Texas means a 50% or more pay cut.

California is the most populous state for a reason, it has the things that attract people and a highly educated work force. Silicon Valley doesn't exist in the South for a reason. I live in a state that only attracts retirees and poor people seeking low wage jobs.

It's really sad the ignorant knee jerk comments in here written by people who literally didn't even bother to think about the facts.

My state is an income tax free state that's considered cheap and yet rent is sky rocketing due to the influx of people seeking low wage jobs in the metro area. The local newspaper has been writing about people moving out of the area as the low wage jobs can't match the massive rent increases, the 2nd highest rent increases in the nation for 2 years running. People often complain the my city is ringed with toll highways and it's common for people to spend several hundred dollars a month in tolls. Yet, none of them ever think why the state has no income tax and what those taxes pay for.

Vast majority of the people in my metro area simply cannot afford the $2400 a month rent for a 3 bedroom house within city limits and can only to live in the suburbs with their $12 an hour jobs and commute an hour each way.

Too many people lack basic critical thinking and never asked themselves why NYC and San Fran attract literally the most educated work force in the US and why people seek to live there and why employers put their HQs there. It's not for 0 state income tax, low wage manual labor jobs or an uneducated work force.

Just to give you a hint how far ahead California compared to the rest of the nation and the WORLD.

California has the 5th largest GDP IN THE WORLD. Ahead of the UK. Single handedly makes up for nearly a quarter of America's total GDP.

Gotta be Florida.

1 Votes
7 minutes ago, OUxPhys said:

Gotta be Florida.

Orlando, specifically.

Loved seeing people making $12 an hour, driving an hour each way to their manual labor job complain about spending $120 a month a tolls and then thinking the North East or the West Coast is a literal hell hole compared to the hell hole their physically living in now.

Yep, where in a near by rural county a few months ago, a guy with a long rap sheet, drove up to another car in an intersection. Unloaded his entire magazine killing the unarmed driver, hitting other cars nearby and striking businesses on that side of the street. Only stopped firing because he ran out of bullets. And yet the local sheriffs department claimed they lacked evidence to charge him with murder because he claimed stand your ground, that he thought the other driver reached into his car and he assumed he had a weapon, so he drew first and pressed the trigger until he ran out of bullets.

These kind of things do not attract America's top talent or draw a highly educate work force. And yet, we're a magnet for people seeking easy to find low wage jobs cleaning hotel rooms. Among my 500 person high school graduating class, the most successful are the most educated with graduate degree. Whom, not surprisingly live and work in the North East and West Coast as that's where the high paying jobs are and the most educated work force. Those who stayed ended up at middle, lower middle class, with about 1/3 of them straight out struggling to survive cleaning hotel rooms.

4 Votes
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