Map My Pay

06/17/2026

06/13/2026

A nurse in Tacoma, WA keeps $38,517 more a year than one in New York, NY after taxes and rent, on nearly the same gross pay.

🏆 Tacoma, WA keeps the most at $71,611 a year
🌴 Miami, FL nurses pay zero in state tax and still land near the bottom
🧾 The state you work in taxes your base wage, not your agency's state

💬 Comment 'BLOG' and we'll send you the full breakdown.
💬 Comment 'MMP' to see what your city pays

06/11/2026

A New York, NY nurse earns $25,390 more than a Tampa, FL nurse and still keeps $14,947 less after taxes and rent.

We ran 14 union and non-union markets through the 2026 numbers.

🏆 San Francisco, CA keeps the most at $78,286
📉 Chicago, IL keeps less than every non-union city tested
🧾 The state decides what nurses keep, not the union label

💬 Comment 'BLOG' for the full breakdown
💬 Comment 'MMP' to see what your city pays

06/10/2026

$101 an hour for a Med/Surg nurse in Santa Cruz, and that's not even the top of what this hospital pays.

It hit our board today. Dignity Health Dominican Hospital, Med/Surg, nights, part-time, $79 to $101 an hour. One year of experience, RN, BLS, and you're in.

The posted range never tells the whole story though. Here's what Dominican actually pays once you see the real scale:
RN II runs $75.68 to $99.12 an hour
RN III runs $80.24 to $105.12
RN IV runs $85.07 to $111.44

Nights add another $6 an hour, evenings $3. Stick around long enough and an RN IV at the top is sitting well over $200,000 a year, before a single differential.

This is exactly the stuff nurses never get to see before they sign, and it's why I spend my time on this. On Map My Pay you can pull up any California hospital and see your real take-home by shift and years in, compare what your check is actually worth from one city to the next once rent and taxes take their cut, and trade notes on offers and contracts with other nurses who keep it real. Every job on the board is one we vetted ourselves too, not the recycled junk you see everywhere else.

This one and 400-plus more are at mapmypay.com/jobs. Comment MMP and I'll send you the app.

06/04/2026

A $10,640 raise to move to Denver, CO leaves a nurse just $5 more a month after taxes and rent.

🏥 Denver's higher pay gets eaten up almost entirely by its rent
💵 There are better cities that add $280 to $682 more per month after taxes and rent than Denver
📉 Getting paid more is not the same as more money kept

💬 Comment 'BLOG' for the full breakdown
💬 Comment 'MMP' to see what your city pays

06/01/2026

Most nurses don't have enough saved if the work dries up.

In 2026 hospitals are cutting hours and canceling contracts, and your emergency fund depends on where you live.

💸 A San Francisco, CA RN needs about $36,000 for six months
🏙️ A Memphis, TN RN needs about $20,600
📉 That's close to $16,000 apart
🏦 But the gap is mostly rent, not salary

💬 Comment 'BLOG' for the full breakdown
💬 Comment 'MMP' to see what your city pays

05/28/2026

ER nurses in Houston, TX take home $92,800 more a year than ER nurses in Sunnyvale, CA, on less than half the salary.

📊 Sunnyvale gross $208,404 vs Houston gross $97,810
🏠 Sunnyvale home $2.1M vs Houston home $262K
🏆 Houston keeps $52,188 a year after a mortgage
📉 Sunnyvale loses $40,605 a year on the same math

💬 Comment 'BLOG' for the full breakdown
💬 Comment 'MMP' to see what your city pays

05/26/2026

A San Francisco nurse takes home $53,000 more a year than a Nashville nurse. Even after California's higher taxes.

The myth is California's higher taxes cancel California's higher nurse pay.

The math is not even close.

🌙 SF RN: $188k base → $124k net
🌙 Nashville RN: $89k base → $71k net
🌙 Gap: $53,588 a year, California's way

💬 Comment 'BLOG' for the full breakdown
💬 Comment 'MMP' to see what your city pays

05/25/2026

I keep seeing nurses get excited about a $42,000 raise to move somewhere like NYC, and a year later they're wondering where the money went.

I ran the math on nurses in other cities making less than a NYC nurse making $115,000, and after taxes and rent nurses in these other cities kept more while the NYC nurse keeps less than 300 per month.

Comment "BLOG" for the full breakdown.
Comment "MMP" to do the comparison yourself.