Registered Nurses salary in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
Official BLS OEWS May 2025 pay for Registered Nurses in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area earns $186,610 a year ($89.71 an hour), according to the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (full citation in Sources). The middle half of Registered Nurses in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA earn between $137,120 and $215,630 a year. At the ends of the distribution, the lowest-paid 10 percent earn $119,290 or less and the top 10 percent earn $223,770 or more. BLS estimates 41,750 Registered Nurses jobs in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area — 17.587 of every 1,000 jobs in the area, a location quotient of 0.81 (below the national concentration). That is 1.2% of all Registered Nurses employment in the United States (3,379,720 jobs nationally). By employment, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is the #14 largest of the 25 covered metro areas for Registered Nurses. In aggregate, Registered Nurses in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA earn about $7.39 billion a year (BLS employment multiplied by the mean wage). At the mean wage, the engine's take-home is $117,814.74 a year, so the aggregate take-home of San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Registered Nurses is about $4.92 billion. BLS reports a relative standard error of 1.2% for this employment estimate. Ranked by median pay, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA stands #1 of the 25 metro areas covered on this site for Registered Nurses. By employment, Registered Nurses is the #5 largest of the 30 covered occupations in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Placed against the national distribution for Registered Nurses, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA median of $186,610 falls above the national 75th percentile of $112,350. Across all occupations, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA median is $74,260 a year — Registered Nurses pay is 151.3% above the area's overall median.
Wages in detail
| Wage level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | $85.05 | $176,900 |
| 10th percentile | $57.35 | $119,290 |
| 25th percentile | $65.93 | $137,120 |
| Median (50th percentile) | $89.71 | $186,610 |
| 75th percentile | $103.67 | $215,630 |
| 90th percentile | $107.58 | $223,770 |
What the wage distribution says
The top 10 percent of Registered Nurses in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA earn 1.9 times what the bottom 10 percent earn ($223,770 against $119,290). The middle half spans $78,510 — from $137,120 to $215,630. Hourly, the 90th percentile ($107.58) is 1.88 times the 10th ($57.35). In the upper half of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA distribution, the 75th percentile wage of $215,630 takes home $140,181.38 and the 90th percentile wage of $223,770 takes home $144,410.98 — $4,229.60 more net for $8,140 more gross. Against the median take-home of $123,422.46, the top decile keeps 1.17 times as much. The mean wage of $176,900 sits 5.2% below the median: the average is held down by the lower end of the distribution in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Among the 30 covered occupations in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, Registered Nurses ranks #2 by median pay. In the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA wage ladder of covered occupations, Registered Nurses sits between Software Developers at $186,640 and General and Operations Managers at $149,990. Registered Nurses accounts for 1.8% of all employment in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area. The average covered metro employs 55,027 Registered Nurses; San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA employs 0.8 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) | $186,610.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $33,520.40 |
| Social Security (FICA) | $11,569.82 |
| Medicare (FICA) | $2,705.84 |
| California income tax | $12,965.59 |
| California SDI (State Disability Insurance) | $2,425.93 |
| Total deductions | $63,187.54 |
| Net pay (annual) | $123,422.46 |
| Net pay per biweekly paycheck | $4,747.02 |
| Total deduction rate | 33.86% of gross |
At the median, $123,422.46 of the $186,610 gross is kept ($4,747.02 per paycheck) — a deduction rate of 33.86%. The deduction rate moves with pay: 29.17% at the 10th percentile, 30.83% at the 25th percentile, 34.99% at the 75th percentile, 35.46% at the 90th percentile. Between the 25th and 75th percentile wages, annual take-home rises by $45,339.46 on a gross rise of $78,510.
The same engine at the other published points of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA wage distribution:
| Wage point | Net per year | Net per paycheck | Deduction rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile ($119,290) | $84,494.98 | $3,249.81 | 29.17% |
| 25th percentile ($137,120) | $94,841.92 | $3,647.77 | 30.83% |
| Median ($186,610) | $123,422.46 | $4,747.02 | 33.86% |
| 75th percentile ($215,630) | $140,181.38 | $5,391.59 | 34.99% |
| 90th percentile ($223,770) | $144,410.98 | $5,554.27 | 35.46% |
Across the published distribution, take-home pay runs from $84,494.98 a year at the 10th percentile to $144,410.98 at the 90th — a spread of $59,916.00 of net pay inside one occupation and one metro area.
For scale: across all occupations, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA median wage of $74,260 takes home $57,500.66 a year ($2,211.56 per paycheck, deduction rate 22.57%). The Registered Nurses median take-home of $123,422.46 sits $65,921.80 (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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA median of $186,610 is $89,060 (91.3%) above the national median.
The means rank the area the same way: $176,900 a year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA against $101,420 nationally, a gap of $75,480 (74.4%).
Set against the whole local market, the Registered Nurses 90th percentile of $223,770 is 110% of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA all-occupations 90th percentile ($203,570), and its 10th percentile of $119,290 is 304% of the area-wide 10th ($39,260).
| Median annual | Median hourly | Mean annual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $186,610 | $89.71 | $176,900 |
| United States | $97,550 | $46.90 | $101,420 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Registered Nurses in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
$186,610 a year ($89.71 an hour), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates. The mean is $176,900 a year. Ranked by median pay, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA stands #1 of the 25 covered metro areas for this occupation.
What is the take-home pay on $186,610 in California?
About $123,422.46 a year ($4,747.02 per biweekly paycheck) for a single filer with no dependents and no pre-tax contributions, under 2026 rules — a total deduction rate of 33.86% of gross. At the 75th percentile wage of $215,630, take-home is $140,181.38.
How does pay in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA compare with the national median for Registered Nurses?
The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA median of $186,610 is $89,060 (91.3%) above the national median of $97,550 a year. At the top of the distribution, the local 90th percentile is $223,770, against a national 90th percentile of $137,470.
How much do the top 10% of Registered Nurses earn in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
$223,770 a year or more ($107.58 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
On $223,770 a year, the engine gives a take-home of $144,410.98 a year ($5,554.27 per biweekly paycheck) in California under the same assumptions — a deduction rate of 35.46%.
How many Registered Nurses jobs are there in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
BLS estimates 41,750 Registered Nurses jobs in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area — 17.587 of every 1,000 jobs in the area.
How concentrated are Registered Nurses jobs in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
The location quotient is 0.81 — 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
From $84,494.98 a year at the 10th percentile wage ($119,290) to $144,410.98 at the 90th ($223,770), under the same single-filer assumptions in California.
What is the total wage bill for Registered Nurses in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?
About $7.39 billion a year — the BLS employment estimate of 41,750 multiplied by the mean wage of $176,900.
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.