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Psychiatric nurse salary in California

Open psychiatric nurse jobs in California post a median of $67.25 an hour, the middle half $57–$77 (about $139,900 a year full time), $19 above the national posted median. From 13 jobs at 11 employers that state their pay.

$67.25
Median posted /hr
$57–$77
Middle half /hr
$139,900
A year, full time
estimate, 2,080 hours
$67.44
BLS median in CA
May 2025

The jobs themselves: Psychiatric nurse jobs in California · Psychiatric nurse pay nationwide

What psychiatric nurses are paid in California

Each bar counts the open jobs posting an hourly rate in its step of pay (a range at its midpoint).

Posted hourly rates of 13 open jobs in California. Lowest posted $35.96, highest $117.18.

Posted on open jobs in California

$57–$77/hr

Middle half of 12 employer rates (each employer's advertised range once), median $67.25. 52% of the 25 open psychiatric nurse jobs in California state an hourly rate.

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Psychiatric nurse pay by employer in California

What each employer posts for psychiatric nurses here, the employers with the most jobs stating pay first.

EmployerMedian postedPosted rangeJobs stating pay
Sharp HealthCare$67.25$61.74–$72.972
Kaweah Health$58$46.44–$69.662
Sutter Health$102$86.59–$117.181
John Muir Health$90$76.30–$103.851
Montage Health$85$72.83–$97.401
CommonSpirit Health$74.25$58.94–$89.621
Scripps Health$72.50$59.16–$85.681
NaphCare$57$571
Prime Healthcare$57$47.20–$66.831
Embark Behavioral Health$47.50$45–$501
Acadia Healthcare$45.75$35.96–$55.741

Median of each employer's jobs in California (a range at its midpoint), and its lowest and highest rate here. An employer's name opens its pay for psychiatric nurses nationwide when it has such a page.

Best-paid open psychiatric nurse jobs in California

The open jobs posting the highest hourly rates tonight, at most two from one employer.

What BLS measures in California

What people employed in the occupation earned in the state, at every level of experience, from the BLS survey. A posting advertises what a new hire is offered.

Hourly wages, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, California. Each figure opens its BLS page.
BLS occupation10th pct25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctEmployed
Registered Nurses (29-1141)$48.68 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)$58.87 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)$67.44 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)$83.25 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)$102.56 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)338,940 (source: BLS OEWS, Registered Nurses, opens in a new tab)

BLS median by metro area

Psychiatric nurse salary in California: common questions

How much does a psychiatric nurse make in California?

Open psychiatric nurse jobs in California that state an hourly rate post a median of $67.25, the middle half $57–$77 (13 jobs from 11 employers). Full time that is about $139,900 a year. BLS measured a median of $67.44/hr ($140,270 a year) for people employed in the occupation in California (May 2025).

How does California compare with the rest of the country?

The posted median in California ($67.25) is $19 above the national posted median of $48.25. In the BLS survey California ranks 1 of 52 by median wage.

Where do these figures come from?

From the pay open jobs state, read every night from each employer's own job board: 13 of 25 open psychiatric nurse jobs in California (52%) state an hourly rate. No pay is estimated for a job that states none; "up to" ceilings and weekly travel rates are left out.

Psychiatric nurse pay in other states

Psychiatric nurse salary nationwide →Every healthcare salary →

Sources and method

Only pay a job states is used, a range at its midpoint. In the state's median and middle half each employer's advertised range counts once, so an employer posting one range in many towns does not set the figure; a town's median follows the same rule. "Up to" ceilings, weekly travel rates and rates far from the occupation's median are left out. A state has a page while at least 8 jobs from 3 employers state a rate there. The yearly estimate is the hourly rate times 2,080 hours. BLS figures are as published.
  1. CareJobs.Now job board: the pay open jobs state, read nightly from each employer's own careers site, published October 24, 2026
  2. BLS OEWS May 2025: Registered Nurses (SOC 29-1141), every state, published May 15, 2026
  3. BLS OEWS May 2025: Registered Nurses, national, published May 15, 2026
  4. BLS OEWS May 2025: Registered Nurses by metropolitan area, published May 15, 2026

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2026). Psychiatric nurse salary in California. Data as of October 24, 2026. https://carejobs.now/salaries/psychiatric-nurse/california

How the board counts