Registered Nurses salary in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Official BLS OEWS May 2025 pay for Registered Nurses in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area — and the estimated take-home pay on the median wage under 2026 California tax rules.
The figures
The median Registered Nurses in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area earns $135,560 a year ($65.18 an hour), according to the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (full citation in Sources). The middle half of Registered Nurses in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA earn between $112,070 and $167,800 a year. At the ends of the distribution, the lowest-paid 10 percent earn $100,980 or less and the top 10 percent earn $174,200 or more. BLS estimates 109,360 Registered Nurses jobs in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area — 17.437 of every 1,000 jobs in the area, a location quotient of 0.8 (below the national concentration). That is 3.2% of all Registered Nurses employment in the United States (3,379,720 jobs nationally). By employment, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA is the #2 largest of the 25 covered metro areas for Registered Nurses. In aggregate, Registered Nurses in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA earn about $15.35 billion a year (BLS employment multiplied by the mean wage). At the mean wage, the engine's take-home is $96,718.60 a year, so the aggregate take-home of Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Registered Nurses is about $10.58 billion. BLS reports a relative standard error of 2.2% for this employment estimate. Ranked by median pay, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA stands #3 of the 25 metro areas covered on this site for Registered Nurses. By employment, Registered Nurses is the #7 largest of the 30 covered occupations in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA. Placed against the national distribution for Registered Nurses, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA median of $135,560 falls above the national 75th percentile of $112,350. Across all occupations, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA median is $55,850 a year — Registered Nurses pay is 142.7% above the area's overall median.
Wages in detail
| Wage level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | $67.48 | $140,370 |
| 10th percentile | $48.55 | $100,980 |
| 25th percentile | $53.88 | $112,070 |
| Median (50th percentile) | $65.18 | $135,560 |
| 75th percentile | $80.67 | $167,800 |
| 90th percentile | $83.75 | $174,200 |
What the wage distribution says
The top 10 percent of Registered Nurses in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA earn 1.7 times what the bottom 10 percent earn ($174,200 against $100,980). The middle half spans $55,730 — from $112,070 to $167,800. Hourly, the 90th percentile ($83.75) is 1.73 times the 10th ($48.55). In the upper half of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA distribution, the 75th percentile wage of $167,800 takes home $112,559.62 and the 90th percentile wage of $174,200 takes home $116,255.62 — $3,696.00 more net for $6,400 more gross. Against the median take-home of $93,941.02, the top decile keeps 1.24 times as much. The mean wage of $140,370 sits 3.5% above the median: higher-paid Registered Nurses pull the average up in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA. Among the 30 covered occupations in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, Registered Nurses ranks #2 by median pay. In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA wage ladder of covered occupations, Registered Nurses sits between Software Developers at $160,920 and General and Operations Managers at $125,830. Registered Nurses accounts for 1.7% of all employment in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area. The average covered metro employs 55,027 Registered Nurses; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA employs 2.0 times that.
Take-home pay on the median wage in California
Single filer, no dependents, no pre-tax contributions, paid biweekly, a full year of W-2 wages in California; city and local taxes are not included:
| Gross pay (annual) | $135,560.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $21,268.40 |
| Social Security (FICA) | $8,404.72 |
| Medicare (FICA) | $1,965.62 |
| California income tax | $8,217.94 |
| California SDI (State Disability Insurance) | $1,762.28 |
| Total deductions | $41,618.98 |
| Net pay (annual) | $93,941.02 |
| Net pay per biweekly paycheck | $3,613.12 |
| Total deduction rate | 30.70% of gross |
At the median, $93,941.02 of the $135,560 gross is kept ($3,613.12 per paycheck) — a deduction rate of 30.70%. The deduction rate moves with pay: 27.16% at the 10th percentile, 28.45% at the 25th percentile, 32.92% at the 75th percentile, 33.26% at the 90th percentile. Between the 25th and 75th percentile wages, annual take-home rises by $32,378.36 on a gross rise of $55,730.
The same engine at the other published points of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA wage distribution:
| Wage point | Net per year | Net per paycheck | Deduction rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile ($100,980) | $73,554.68 | $2,829.03 | 27.16% |
| 25th percentile ($112,070) | $80,181.26 | $3,083.89 | 28.45% |
| Median ($135,560) | $93,941.02 | $3,613.12 | 30.70% |
| 75th percentile ($167,800) | $112,559.62 | $4,329.22 | 32.92% |
| 90th percentile ($174,200) | $116,255.62 | $4,471.37 | 33.26% |
Across the published distribution, take-home pay runs from $73,554.68 a year at the 10th percentile to $116,255.62 at the 90th — a spread of $42,700.94 of net pay inside one occupation and one metro area.
For scale: across all occupations, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA median wage of $55,850 takes home $45,005.40 a year ($1,730.98 per paycheck, deduction rate 19.42%). The Registered Nurses median take-home of $93,941.02 sits $48,935.62 (above that area-wide figure.
Run your own numbers
Your own withholding depends on your Form W-4, your benefits and your other income — run your exact figures through the calculator:
Against the national median
Nationally, the median Registered Nurses earns $97,550 a year ($46.90 an hour). The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA median of $135,560 is $38,010 (39.0%) above the national median.
The means rank the area the same way: $140,370 a year in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA against $101,420 nationally, a gap of $38,950 (38.4%).
Set against the whole local market, the Registered Nurses 90th percentile of $174,200 is 123% of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA all-occupations 90th percentile ($141,370), and its 10th percentile of $100,980 is 282% of the area-wide 10th ($35,870).
| Median annual | Median hourly | Mean annual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $135,560 | $65.18 | $140,370 |
| United States | $97,550 | $46.90 | $101,420 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Registered Nurses in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA?
$135,560 a year ($65.18 an hour), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates. The mean is $140,370 a year. Ranked by median pay, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA stands #3 of the 25 covered metro areas for this occupation.
What is the take-home pay on $135,560 in California?
About $93,941.02 a year ($3,613.12 per biweekly paycheck) for a single filer with no dependents and no pre-tax contributions, under 2026 rules — a total deduction rate of 30.70% of gross. At the 75th percentile wage of $167,800, take-home is $112,559.62.
How does pay in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA compare with the national median for Registered Nurses?
The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA median of $135,560 is $38,010 (39.0%) above the national median of $97,550 a year. At the top of the distribution, the local 90th percentile is $174,200, against a national 90th percentile of $137,470.
How much do the top 10% of Registered Nurses earn in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA?
$174,200 a year or more ($83.75 an hour or more), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates.
What is the take-home pay at the 90th percentile for Registered Nurses in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA?
On $174,200 a year, the engine gives a take-home of $116,255.62 a year ($4,471.37 per biweekly paycheck) in California under the same assumptions — a deduction rate of 33.26%.
How many Registered Nurses jobs are there in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA?
BLS estimates 109,360 Registered Nurses jobs in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area — 17.437 of every 1,000 jobs in the area.
How concentrated are Registered Nurses jobs in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA?
The location quotient is 0.8 — below the national concentration. A quotient of 1.0 means the occupation's share of local employment equals its national share.
How much does take-home pay vary for Registered Nurses in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA?
From $73,554.68 a year at the 10th percentile wage ($100,980) to $116,255.62 at the 90th ($174,200), under the same single-filer assumptions in California.
What is the total wage bill for Registered Nurses in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA?
About $15.35 billion a year — the BLS employment estimate of 109,360 multiplied by the mean wage of $140,370.
Sources and method
Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026 — bls.gov/oes. OEWS figures are survey estimates for May 2025, not job offers. Take-home pay is computed by this site's paycheck engine with 2026 federal and state rules; the method, and what the engine does not model, is documented in the paycheck methodology guide. Estimates only — not tax advice.