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Registered Nurse Jobs in San Diego, CA: Pay and Who's Hiring
In San Diego, the May 2025 median is about $139.5K, 43% over the U.S. median. The state's own median is about $140.3K. Read the 25th and the 75th on the table before you treat the middle as the offer.
Pay
The median is the middle of nurses already doing the job, not a starting wage. The 25th is the lower quarter of that group. The 75th is what the upper quarter already earns. If your years look like the people at the 75th, an offer at the median is a cut you can see before the interview.
| Percentile | Metro | CA | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25th | $128,380 | $122,440 | $80,330 |
| Median | $139,520 | $140,270 | $97,550 |
| 75th | $169,920 | $173,170 | $112,350 |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Hiring difficulty and demand
Who's hiring
San Diego is outside the provider extract, so employer names are not listed.
License and training
Registered nurses in California answer to their own board, separate from vocational nurses, and the state is outside the compact. The 2024 hour responses for that RN board fell between 21 and 30.
Sources: Nurse Licensure Compact, participating jurisdictions and the 60-day move rule NLC implementation dates by jurisdiction NCSBN 2024 licensure survey, continued competency questions 95 through 103 BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, registered nurses, duties and licensure path New York State Education Department, BSN in 10 law North Dakota Board of Nursing, licensure by examination and the 90-day graduate work authorization
The work
A hospital shift starts with report and a list that is not yesterday's list. You assess, give medications, watch the monitor, and call when the story changes. The chart has to say what you saw.
Clinic work runs on appointments instead of a unit. You room people, give the injections the protocol allows, teach the discharge, and still catch the person who looks worse than the visit type. Home health is one house, then the car, then the next house.
In a lot of settings the license also means you are the one who can delegate. If the task is outside what this state lets you hand to an aide, it is still your license on the note. Charge and precepting show up after the basics are boring and reliable.
Nearby metros
- Riverside, CA · 79 miles
- El Centro, CA · 92 miles
- Los Angeles, CA · 111 miles
- Oxnard, CA · 153 miles
Related roles
- CNA jobs in San Diego
- Medical Assistant jobs in San Diego
- Pharmacy Technician jobs in San Diego
- Phlebotomist jobs in San Diego
One manager hiring: Hire a Registered Nurse in San Diego.
Registered Nurses hiring pages Hiring difficulty for Registered Nurses in San Diego
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Questions
What do registered nurses earn in San Diego, CA?
In San Diego, the May 2025 median is about $139.5K, 43% over the U.S. median. The state's own median is about $140.3K. Read the 25th and the 75th on the table before you treat the middle as the offer.
Who hires registered nurses in San Diego?
That list is the provider extract, not every door in San Diego. A one-site clinic is still hiring against the hospital's schedule.
What license do I need to work in California?
You need a California license, or a multistate license if California has implemented the compact and that license is your home-state license. The state section on this page is the sourced rule. Confirm it with the board before you book a start date in San Diego.
Should a small clinic in San Diego offer the median?
Offer the median when you want the middle of the San Diego workforce and you can train. If you need someone who already carries a full assignment, look at $169.9K, the 75th on this page. National growth for registered nurses is 5.6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 180.8 thousand openings a year, and that figure is the country, not San Diego.