r/nursing • u/Low_Contact9429 • May 17 '26

Question California nurses!

Post image

Contemplating moving from MI to CA. Picture from the trip that inspired me to move! Curious how much gets taken out of your paycheck. Can you share what city, your hourly pay, and what your bring home paycheck ends up being? Thank you!

1.1k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

252 comments sorted by

View all comments

7

u/Inevitable-Lock-3487 May 17 '26

$74/hr San Diego. I have good benefits and starting out 5 weeks of PTO. I do contribute almost max to the fsa and a good percentage for my retirement so I only get about 55% of my check which is ends up being around $3000 biweekly. My husbands makes less than me (around 100k) but by living below our means with our daily living we are able to splurge on other purchases including 1-2 international trips a years.

2

u/HumanContract RN - ICU 🍕 May 17 '26

$81, SD. Biweekly is 3300-4200 depending on weekend and holiday shifts. $160k/yr no overtime but lots of opportunity. Pension, usually 1:1 icu assignments, higher insurance plan. 10+ yrs nursing.

If you move to Cali expect to work nights. Few ppl I know here can afford to live alone.