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. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jul 22 by RosesrReder RosesrReder has 15 years experience. 8,433 Posts; 26,442 Profile Views No part of California is a low cost of living or affordable lol. 13 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jul 22 by FNP2B1 FNP2B1 specializes in Family Practice Nurse Practitioner. 156 Posts; 10,786 Profile Views LOL true, but you can still get a decent house in Modesto for $400,000. In San Francisco you will pay over $1 million for a tear down. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jul 22 by RosesrReder RosesrReder has 15 years experience. 8,433 Posts; 26,442 Profile Views 12 minutes ago, FNP2B1 said: LOL true, but you can still get a decent house in Modesto for $400,000. In San Francisco you will pay over $1 million for a tear down. No thanks! lol 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jul 22 by traumaRUs, MSN, APRN, CNS traumaRUs has 27 years experience as a MSN, APRN, CNS and specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU. 166 Articles; 21,045 Posts; 191,640 Profile Views Wow is all I can come up with. However, while I "wow" the salary, I also "wow" the cost of a house! $400,000 for something decent???!!! Yikes! Thats not affordable to my midwestern sense of affordable. I would think $320k for salary would translate roughly to 100k here in rural central IL where you can get a decent house fo 100k. 10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jul 22 by babyNP., APRN babyNP. has 11 years experience as a APRN and specializes in NICU. 2 Followers; 1,800 Posts; 27,588 Profile Views You also have California state taxes which eat up quite a lot of that income. I agree with the above- I don't know how sustainable that salary is for the work being given. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jul 23 by ToFNPandBeyond 2 Followers; 154 Posts; 3,386 Profile Views 10 hours ago, RosesrReder said: No part of California is a low cost of living or affordable lol. Not true. Many parts of Sacramento are very affordable. I can attest. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jul 23 by caliotter3 3 Followers; 36,949 Posts; 98,082 Profile Views 9 hours ago, traumaRUs said: Wow is all I can come up with. However, while I "wow" the salary, I also "wow" the cost of a house! $400,000 for something decent???!!! Yikes! Thats not affordable to my midwestern sense of affordable. I would think $320k for salary would translate roughly to 100k here in rural central IL where you can get a decent house fo 100k. Yesterday evening I was looking at a pop up ad for new housing. The low end models, move-in ready, were $768,000 give or take, while the others were $1,380,000 and above. These are all in the general area where I want to live. I calculated a standard 20% down payment and then looked at my "new and improved" salary since MediCal increased their reimbursement rates for home care in July 18 (that I had to fight my employer for, no less). Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jul 23 by MikeFNPC, MSN MikeFNPC is a MSN and specializes in FNP. 215 Posts; 5,821 Profile Views Sorry, you couldn't pay me enough to live in CA. And according to all the pt's I'm getting from CA to TX, this isn't news. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jul 23 by Thanksforthedonuts, BSN, RN 202 Posts; 2,693 Profile Views Coming from Seattle’s east side area.... a decent house for 400k seems like a dream. Unless you want a creepy house in a sketchy area. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jul 23 by Thanksforthedonuts, BSN, RN 202 Posts; 2,693 Profile Views Small empty plots of land go for more than 200k here. Edited Jul 23 by Thanksforthedonuts 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jul 23 by NurseBlaq 1 Follower; 693 Posts; 3,724 Profile Views Note to self: Stay on this side of the MS River. Sheesh at the cost of living on the west coast. No thanks! 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
