Insights / Highest-paying healthcare jobs / California
5 highest-paying healthcare jobs in California
Top pay in California is Nurse Practitioners at about $168.5K, 27% above the national median.
California pays Nurse Practitioners about $168.5K, 27% above the national median. The national median is about $132.3K.
Upper-half pay for Nurse Practitioners in California starts near $209.4K.
Dental Hygienists still belongs on the California sheet, at about $124.9K, 27% above the national median.
Ranked table
| Rank | Occupation | State median | 75th percentile | U.S. median | State vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nurse Practitioners | $168,520 | $209,350 | $132,300 | 1.27 |
| 2 | Physician Assistants | $165,650 | $206,990 | $135,880 | 1.22 |
| 3 | Pharmacists | $164,610 | $197,860 | $140,910 | 1.17 |
| 4 | Registered Nurses | $140,270 | $173,170 | $97,550 | 1.44 |
| 5 | Dental Hygienists | $124,930 | $132,120 | $98,100 | 1.27 |
Takeaways
- Lead the California offer talk with Nurse Practitioners at about $168.5K.
- National pay for Nurse Practitioners, the comparison California should use, is about $132.3K.
- The California 75th percentile on that row is $209.4K.
- The closing California median is about $124.9K for Dental Hygienists.
For recruiters
- Clear the California median for Nurse Practitioners.
- Do not quote a national template for Nurse Practitioners.
FAQ
- Are these posted wages or open jobs?
- No. The table is a government survey or a designation file.
- What should a recruiter do first?
- Follow the recruiter note on this page.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Related hiring pages
Methodology
Rows are the 5 occupations on the 25-occupation hiring list with the highest California OEWS median, limited to occupations that also publish a 75th percentile. OEWS May 2025. A comparison of 1.00 matches the U.S. median. Sorted by the leading median, California is 1 of 51. A row links to the California metro page with the highest public market difficulty score for that occupation when one is published, and otherwise to the occupation page on the hiring grid. An unpublished percentile or employment count is shown as unpublished rather than replaced with a zero. The wages are annual OEWS figures. They are not job listings and they are not an employer's current offer. Read the comparison beside the dollar figures: a high state wage can still sit under the national median for that occupation, and a lower state wage can still sit above it. Rounded figures in the prose: $168,520 is stated as about $168.5K. a comparison of 1.27 is stated as 27 percent. $132,300 is stated as about $132.3K. $209,350 is stated as about $209.4K. $124,930 is stated as about $124.9K.
Sources
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