Most of the top paying metropolitan areas for nurse specialties are located in California, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The agency collected the average annual salary for six nurse specialties across metropolitan areas in 2022, the latest data available.
Here are the top three areas by pay for each specialty:
Carbondale-Marion, Ill. — $321,730
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. — $278,790
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. — $268,850
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. — $199,630
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. — $190,070
Napa, Calif. — $189,190
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. — $164,760
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. — $160,020
Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif. — $158,340
Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary
Visalia-Porterville, Calif. — $121,290
New Haven, Conn. — $119,920
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. — $113,580
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. — $80,590
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. — $80,470
Santa Rosa, Calif. — $76,710
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. — $52,280
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. — $51,600
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. — $46,520