Sacramento is getting more expensive every year. If you’re a nurse and want to move here, waiting will likely cost you more. Here’s what nurses earn, where to live and the bad parts we’ve lived through.
These rates are from September 2024, when this was first written. Pay changes every year, so check current rates in Map My Pay.
Home prices and rent keep climbing
Not many people used to know about Sacramento. That’s changing fast.
According to Niche, the median home value here is $450,500. The national median is $281,900. Median rent is $1,592, compared to the national average of $1,268.
Home prices keep going up. The longer you wait, the more you’ll pay.
Work less, earn more
Monica and I work fewer hours than one full-time nurse. Together, we take home $14,000 a month after taxes.
I work an average of 17 hours per week, and Monica works 16. That’s 33 hours a week combined. The high pay in Northern California makes that work.
The median household income in Sacramento is $78,954. Nurses here can earn a lot more.
Take a nurse with just one year on the job. Say she works nights, 36 hours a week, at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. She can earn $178,211 a year before taxes.
That works out to about $9,556 a month in take-home pay. That kind of money can help you hit your goals fast.
Why so many nurses want Sacramento
A lot of nurses want Sacramento because they know Kaiser Permanente pays well. If you want to move here, don’t skip the other hospitals in the area. They are often easier to get into, and they pay well too.
You can also look at any Northern California city with a Kaiser hospital. Once you’re hired, you can move to a cheaper spot after six months. You apply from the inside, so you don’t need a new interview. That lets you find a place that fits your life and your goals.
Don’t limit your search to Sacramento. Some hospitals closer to the Bay Area pay $100+ an hour. It costs more to live there, but it can still work if you’re careful with money.
Safer cities nearby
Safety matters to a lot of us. Sacramento has its problems, but nearby cities feel safer. El Dorado Hills, Folsom, Roseville, Rocklin and Elk Grove have less crime and lots of nice places to shop and eat.
They are good for families. You can settle down there and still get Sacramento-area pay. We toured many of these areas in our neighborhood tour videos on YouTube.
A diverse city with lots to do
Niche ranks Sacramento 3rd out of 229 for the Most Diverse Cities in America. It ranks 14th out of 18,165 for Most Diverse Places to Live.
It also ranks 66th out of 229 for Best Cities for Outdoor Activities in America. You’ll find lots of parks, places to eat, coffee shops and fun events.
The downsides people don’t mention
Sacramento might feel like it’s missing something if you grew up in a big city, near a beach or close to family. The same goes if you love all four seasons and hate heat.
The city gets an average of 25+ days over 100 degrees and more than 100 days over 90 degrees each year. For Monica and me, the hot summers and missing big city life matter a lot.
When I wrote this in September 2024, those were some of the reasons we planned to move back to New York City in 2026. We miss the seasons, our family and the city life. That plan has changed since then. Read why our move back to NYC is on hold.
From debt to a $750,000 net worth
Our time in Sacramento changed everything for us. When we moved here, we had little cash and a lot of debt. Our net worth was less than $80,000.
We borrowed $70,000 for a down payment on our house. We took out a $76,000 loan for our Volvo XC90. We had over $25,000 in credit card debt, plus our student loans.
Today, our net worth is over $750,000. You can see the full breakdown in our net worth after 12 years as nurses.
The high pay here let us pay off debt, invest and build wealth. We did it while working fewer hours than ever. Sacramento gave us the base to live life our way.
Why it makes sense to move sooner
Each month, Sacramento and the cities around it cost more. If you want to move, it makes sense to do it before prices climb even higher.
Even if Sacramento isn’t your forever home, it can be a step toward your money goals. For more on the city, read whether nurses should still move to Sacramento.
Your next move
See what you’d take home, then make the move
Map My Pay shows what nurses take home after taxes and rent at 465+ hospitals and in 21,000+ cities. It’s the app I co-founded so you can compare cities before you pack a single box.
The Nurses to Riches Accelerator is the plan Monica and I used to go from $37 an hour in New York to $143 an hour in California: license, city, hospital, and what to do with the money after.
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Every Accelerator plan is a one-time payment with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Written by Jason, RN. I went from $37 an hour in New York to $143 an hour in California and paid off $128K of debt in under a year. I share our numbers in the Nurses to Riches newsletter and on YouTube.