The metropolitan areas where healthcare workers in multiple careers earn the highest annual mean wage are concentrated in California, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Below are the five top-paying metropolitan areas for four healthcare careers, based on May 2021 data released by the bureau March 31, the most recent figures available. Areas are ranked by annual mean wage.
Registered nurses
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.: $155,230
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.: $151,640
Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif.: $146,360
Santa Rosa, Calif: $141,440
Napa, Calif.: $139,680
Nurse practitioners
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.: $197,870
Napa, Calif.: $184,700
Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif.: $180,380
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.: $177,160
Yuba City, Calif.: $159,260
Physician assistants
Portsmouth, NH-ME: $167,240
Panama City, Fla.: $165,000
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.: $164,150
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.: $163,720
Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif.: $162,030
Pharmacists
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.: $168,640
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.: $163,840
Santa Rosa, Calif.: $158,420
Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif.: $156,850
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif.: $152,770