If your paychecks feel larger but your wallet doesn’t, you’re not imagining it. The data shows that RN salaries have increased during the past 5 years, but inflation and higher housing costs are diluting those earnings. The reality is that most nurses are working more, but month to month, they have slightly less wiggle room.
Which leads us to the next point…
LA vs. Houston: What Nurses Really Keep
Nurses in Los Angeles earn a median salary of $138,010, which drops to about $94,813 after taxes. On paper, that looks impressive. But with a median home price near $978,000, the average mortgage runs $5,240/month, leaving only $2,661 left over if you own. Renting helps, but even then, with an average rent of $2,859/month, you’re left with about $5,042.
Houston tells a different story. The median RN salary is lower at $77,250, or about $60,255 after taxes. Yet housing is so much cheaper that a mortgage on a $267,000 home runs just $1,435/month, leaving $3,586 leftover—more than an LA nurse who owns. Renting in Houston costs around $1,624/month, which leaves $3,397 leftover. That’s less than what an LA renter keeps, but Houston nurses who buy come out ahead despite earning far less on paper.
💡 Takeaway: The highest paycheck doesn’t mean the highest economic stability. What matters is how much of that paycheck actually stays in your checking account after housing.
Monthly leftover income: LA vs Houston (owning vs renting)
Why This Matters
The difference in living paycheck-to-paycheck, and building wealth comes down to where you work and where you live.
Nurses that work in higher-cost cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City) look “rich” because it’s a big number on paper, but due to housing costs, they are literally getting swallowed each paycheck right when it gets deposited into their bank account.
Nurses that work in moderate-cost cities (Houston, Sacramento, Dallas, Cleveland) may make less annual income, but due to the lower cost of living, they often build wealth at a faster rate.
The difference in “leftover” can be tens of thousands annually . Thinking long-term, over a decade it could mean the difference between paycheck to paycheck, or a six figure income generating investment account.
🔥 This Week’s High-Paying Nurse Jobs
We combed through recent postings and came up with five jobs that definitely deserve a look. These aren't random, but also come with cost-of-living insights so you can see the reality of earning a paycheck with some buffer left to bank at the end of the day.
🔪 OR Service Line Coordinator RN — Vascular, Burns, Plastics
Location Torrance, CA
Employer Torrance Memorial Medical Center (493 beds)
Type/Shift Permanent • 4×10 Days (typical start 6:45 AM) • Full-time
Job ID 3030026
Pay Range $61.43–$102.48/hr
👉 Roughly $127,774–$213,158/yr before taxes (2,080 hrs; actual varies with differentials/OT).
Requirements
BSN
CA RN license
BCLS or ACLS
CNOR (required)
3+ years as an OR Circulator
Role Snapshot
Lead clinical ops for vascular, burns, plastics service line (mix of direct care + coordination).
Standardize OR practices, support quality/safety, precept staff, collaborate with surgeons/anesthesia/sterile processing/educators.
Why this job stands out
Leadership + specialty → strong comp ceiling and growth.
South Bay location with high-acuity case mix.
Cost check (LA area): avg rent ≈ $2,859/mo; median home ≈ $978K (mortgage ≈ $5,240/mo). Upper-band pay improves leftover vs many bedside roles. (Neighborhoods vary; South Bay can trend higher.)
🌙 ER RN — Emergency Department (Level II Trauma)
Location Mission Hills, CA (Los Angeles County)
Employer Providence Holy Cross Medical Center (316 beds)
Type/Shift Permanent • 3×12 Nights • Full-time
Job ID 3028131 • Direct Apply
Pay Range $53.25–$82.68/hr
👉 Roughly $110,760–$171,974/yr before taxes (2,080 hrs; actual varies with night differential/OT).
Department Highlights
Level II Trauma Center • Comprehensive Stroke Center • STEMI Receiving Center
Paramedic Base Station • EDAP (Pediatrics Approved)
ENA Lantern Award for emergency care • Magnet Designated hospital
Requirements
Graduate of accredited nursing program
CA RN license
BLS, ACLS, PALS (AHA)
CA Fire & Life Safety (within 30 days of hire)
1+ year RN experience (ED preferred)
National specialty certification preferred
Why this job stands out
High-acuity trauma/stroke/STEMI pathways = rapid skills growth.
Night shift opens the door to differentials that can materially lift take-home.
LA market: targeting upper-band pay + nights is key against housing costs (avg rent ≈ $2,859/mo; median home ≈ $978K, mortgage ≈ $5,240/mo).
🤰 L&D RN — Travel Assignment
Location Houston, TX
Employer The Woman’s Hospital of Texas (257 beds)
Type/Shift 3×12 Nights • 13 weeks • Start: 10/20/2025
Openings 2
Job ID 3000109
Pay Package $2,156–$2,352.76/week (gross estimate)
👉 ~$28,028–$30,586 total for the contract (before taxes; package may include taxable + tax-free stipends).
Charting Meditech
Requirements
TX RN or Compact license
Other quals: ask recruiter (facility notes not fully listed)
Why this job stands out
Night shift often adds differential, boosting weekly take-home.
Houston cost check (from our dataset): average rent ≈ $1,624/mo; median home ≈ $267K (mortgage ≈ $1,435/mo). Lower housing burn means more of your weekly pay can be saved or invested.
Women’s hospital + high-volume L&D = strong clinical reps and résumé signal.
🚑 ER RN — Travel Assignment
Location: Ridgecrest, CA
Employer: Critical Access Hospital (25 beds)
Type/Shift: 12-hr Days (11:00 AM–11:00 PM) • 36 hrs/wk
Length: 13 weeks
Job ID: 9JRXWCCQ
Pay Package: $2,744/week (gross estimate)
👉 About $35K for the full contract (before taxes).
Requirements:
CA RN license
ASN/BSN
2+ years RN experience (ER)
Why this job stands out:
Low housing costs: ~$700–$900 (1BR), $1,000–$1,200 (2BR).
Groceries slightly below national average; gas lower than many CA areas.
High chance to bank cash weekly vs. big metros with higher burn rates.
👉 Apply Here: ER RN — Ridgecrest, CA (Triage Staffing)
🚨 ER RN — Travel Assignment (Level I Trauma)
Location: Moreno Valley, CA
Employer: Short-Term Acute Care Hospital (423 beds)
Type/Shift: 12-hr Nights • 36 hrs/wk
Length: 13 weeks
Pay Package: $2,461 / week (~$32K for contract)
Why this job stands out: Level I Trauma + Inland Empire rent ($1,500–$1,800 for 1BR) makes this a decent SoCal pick.
Bottom Line
The number on the paycheck hospitals advertise is not the whole picture. It’s what’s left after taxes, housing and cost of living.
In high-cost cities, six-figures can still feel like they’re scraping.
In mid-cost cities, even "poorer" salaries can translate into fairly good stability.
Even better, nursing travel contracts in smaller California cities can give both, decent money and low rent.
If you know a nurse considering a move, or a travel contract, send this on to them, they’ll be shocked at how much more money they would actually keep.
So…It’s official—Map My Pay is now available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
If you haven’t downloaded it yet, you can do it right now. No more waiting. No more guessing your real take-home pay.
Here’s what you’ll get inside:
✅ See after-tax nursing salaries across 1,000+ U.S. cities
✅ Compare leftover income after rent or mortgage
✅ View crime stats, housing costs, and cost-of-living in any city
✅ Filter by shift, role, or how much money you want left over
✅ Join a private, nurse-only community where receipts (and pay stubs) speak louder than opinions
We built this for you—because you deserve to know where your money goes and where it goes further.
👇 Haven’t downloaded it yet? Grab it now:
💡 We’re growing the Map My Pay team and looking for experts who can bring their skills to help us build the future of nurse pay. Whether you’re into AI, marketing, recruiting, data, finance, or community building—we’d love to hear from you.
Talk soon,
Jason & Sumeet from Map My Pay
P.S. We’re posting daily in Map My Pay’s community section. Make sure to join us there and ask your most important questions.