Registered Nurses salary in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
Official BLS OEWS May 2025 pay for Registered Nurses in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, 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 Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earns $139,520 a year ($67.08 an hour), according to the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (full citation in Sources). The middle half of Registered Nurses in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA earn between $128,380 and $169,920 a year. At the ends of the distribution, the lowest-paid 10 percent earn $102,480 or less and the top 10 percent earn $175,210 or more. BLS estimates 28,680 Registered Nurses jobs in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA area — 18.645 of every 1,000 jobs in the area, a location quotient of 0.86 (below the national concentration). That is 0.8% of all Registered Nurses employment in the United States (3,379,720 jobs nationally). By employment, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA is the #22 largest of the 25 covered metro areas for Registered Nurses. In aggregate, Registered Nurses in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA earn about $4.16 billion a year (BLS employment multiplied by the mean wage). At the mean wage, the engine's take-home is $99,427.14 a year, so the aggregate take-home of San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Registered Nurses is about $2.85 billion. BLS reports a relative standard error of 1.2% for this employment estimate. Ranked by median pay, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA stands #2 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 Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA. Placed against the national distribution for Registered Nurses, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median of $139,520 falls above the national 75th percentile of $112,350. Across all occupations, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median is $58,690 a year — Registered Nurses pay is 137.7% above the area's overall median.
Wages in detail
| Wage level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | $69.74 | $145,060 |
| 10th percentile | $49.27 | $102,480 |
| 25th percentile | $61.72 | $128,380 |
| Median (50th percentile) | $67.08 | $139,520 |
| 75th percentile | $81.69 | $169,920 |
| 90th percentile | $84.24 | $175,210 |
What the wage distribution says
The top 10 percent of Registered Nurses in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA earn 1.7 times what the bottom 10 percent earn ($175,210 against $102,480). The middle half spans $41,540 — from $128,380 to $169,920. Hourly, the 90th percentile ($84.24) is 1.71 times the 10th ($49.27). In the upper half of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA distribution, the 75th percentile wage of $169,920 takes home $113,784.18 and the 90th percentile wage of $175,210 takes home $116,838.70 — $3,054.52 more net for $5,290 more gross. Against the median take-home of $96,227.92, the top decile keeps 1.21 times as much. The mean wage of $145,060 sits 4.0% above the median: higher-paid Registered Nurses pull the average up in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA. Among the 30 covered occupations in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, Registered Nurses ranks #2 by median pay. In the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA wage ladder of covered occupations, Registered Nurses sits between Software Developers at $163,270 and General and Operations Managers at $119,600. Registered Nurses accounts for 1.9% of all employment in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area. The average covered metro employs 55,027 Registered Nurses; San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA employs 0.5 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) | $139,520.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $22,218.80 |
| Social Security (FICA) | $8,650.24 |
| Medicare (FICA) | $2,023.04 |
| California income tax | $8,586.22 |
| California SDI (State Disability Insurance) | $1,813.76 |
| Total deductions | $43,292.08 |
| Net pay (annual) | $96,227.92 |
| Net pay per biweekly paycheck | $3,701.07 |
| Total deduction rate | 31.03% of gross |
At the median, $96,227.92 of the $139,520 gross is kept ($3,701.07 per paycheck) — a deduction rate of 31.03%. The deduction rate moves with pay: 27.35% at the 10th percentile, 30.06% at the 25th percentile, 33.04% at the 75th percentile, 33.32% at the 90th percentile. Between the 25th and 75th percentile wages, annual take-home rises by $23,989.74 on a gross rise of $41,540.
The same engine at the other published points of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA wage distribution:
| Wage point | Net per year | Net per paycheck | Deduction rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile ($102,480) | $74,450.96 | $2,863.50 | 27.35% |
| 25th percentile ($128,380) | $89,794.44 | $3,453.63 | 30.06% |
| Median ($139,520) | $96,227.92 | $3,701.07 | 31.03% |
| 75th percentile ($169,920) | $113,784.18 | $4,376.31 | 33.04% |
| 90th percentile ($175,210) | $116,838.70 | $4,493.80 | 33.32% |
Across the published distribution, take-home pay runs from $74,450.96 a year at the 10th percentile to $116,838.70 at the 90th — a spread of $42,387.74 of net pay inside one occupation and one metro area.
For scale: across all occupations, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median wage of $58,690 takes home $47,079.96 a year ($1,810.77 per paycheck, deduction rate 19.78%). The Registered Nurses median take-home of $96,227.92 sits $49,147.96 (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 Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median of $139,520 is $41,970 (43.0%) above the national median.
The means rank the area the same way: $145,060 a year in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA against $101,420 nationally, a gap of $43,640 (43.0%).
Set against the whole local market, the Registered Nurses 90th percentile of $175,210 is 115% of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA all-occupations 90th percentile ($152,580), and its 10th percentile of $102,480 is 283% of the area-wide 10th ($36,250).
| Median annual | Median hourly | Mean annual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $139,520 | $67.08 | $145,060 |
| United States | $97,550 | $46.90 | $101,420 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Registered Nurses in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
$139,520 a year ($67.08 an hour), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates. The mean is $145,060 a year. Ranked by median pay, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA stands #2 of the 25 covered metro areas for this occupation.
What is the take-home pay on $139,520 in California?
About $96,227.92 a year ($3,701.07 per biweekly paycheck) for a single filer with no dependents and no pre-tax contributions, under 2026 rules — a total deduction rate of 31.03% of gross. At the 75th percentile wage of $169,920, take-home is $113,784.18.
How does pay in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA compare with the national median for Registered Nurses?
The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median of $139,520 is $41,970 (43.0%) above the national median of $97,550 a year. At the top of the distribution, the local 90th percentile is $175,210, against a national 90th percentile of $137,470.
How much do the top 10% of Registered Nurses earn in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
$175,210 a year or more ($84.24 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 Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
On $175,210 a year, the engine gives a take-home of $116,838.70 a year ($4,493.80 per biweekly paycheck) in California under the same assumptions — a deduction rate of 33.32%.
How many Registered Nurses jobs are there in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
BLS estimates 28,680 Registered Nurses jobs in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area — 18.645 of every 1,000 jobs in the area.
How concentrated are Registered Nurses jobs in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
The location quotient is 0.86 — 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 Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
From $74,450.96 a year at the 10th percentile wage ($102,480) to $116,838.70 at the 90th ($175,210), under the same single-filer assumptions in California.
What is the total wage bill for Registered Nurses in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
About $4.16 billion a year — the BLS employment estimate of 28,680 multiplied by the mean wage of $145,060.
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.