This page is built from the open postings on hospital and health-system career sites in California listed on Betterleap's job board: 10,522 open positions from 123 employers as of September 26, 2026, 5.1% of all open postings on the board, which ranks California #4 of 51 states. Registered nurses are 53.9% of the state's postings (2,165). Every figure below is a count or a posted pay range, never a job description; the method is at the end.
Where the jobs are in California
| # | City | Open postings | of which RN | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles, CA | 817 | 119 | 32 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | 727 | 37 | 9 |
| 3 | Loma Linda, CA | 336 | 86 | 1 |
| 4 | Irvine, CA | 268 | 26 | 8 |
| 5 | Escondido, CA | 259 | 113 | 6 |
| 6 | Palo Alto, CA | 257 | 24 | 2 |
| 7 | Orange, CA | 248 | 39 | 9 |
| 8 | Rancho Mirage, CA | 237 | 52 | 3 |
Every city links to its live listings; the state's registered-nurse listings are at RN jobs in California.
Health systems hiring the most in California
Counted by open postings on the system's own career site, so a system that lists every unit and shift separately ranks higher than one that posts one evergreen requisition per role.
| # | Employer | Open postings in CA |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adventist Health | 1,172 |
| 2 | UCSF Health Medical Foundation | 810 |
| 3 | Prime Healthcare Services | 680 |
| 4 | Providence | 552 |
| 5 | University of Southern California | 536 |
| 6 | Universal Health Services | 524 |
| 7 | University of California Irvine | 520 |
| 8 | Loma Linda University Health | 462 |
Which roles California employers are hiring
| Role | Open postings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| registered nurses | 2,165 | 53.9% |
| medical assistants | 393 | 9.8% |
| certified nursing assistants | 300 | 7.5% |
| physical therapists | 268 | 6.7% |
| licensed practical nurses | 262 | 6.5% |
| physicians | 246 | 6.1% |
| social workers | 196 | 4.9% |
| nurse practitioners | 185 | 4.6% |
What nursing jobs pay in California
For reference, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 338,940 registered nurses employed in California with a mean wage of $72.25 an hour ($150,280 a year), OEWS May 2025.
Where enough California postings state a pay range with both ends (19.5% of them do), the median midpoint of the posted range, converted to hourly (annual divided by 2,080), with the middle half of postings and the BLS May 2025 state mean for the same occupation:
| Role | Postings with a range | Median posted midpoint | Middle half of postings | BLS mean | Posted vs BLS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| registered nurses | 348 | $50.00/hr | $47.50 to $59.00 | $72.25/hr | -30.8% |
Not shown: licensed practical nurses (no BLS reference loaded for this occupation yet).
Licensing: working as a nurse in California
California is not a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact, per NCSBN's compact map (read September 26, 2026, which lists 40 member states). A nurse licensed in another state needs a California license by endorsement before starting work, so employers here draw mostly on nurses already licensed in the state. The state's board of nursing contact page is on NCSBN.
The full licensing path, from education to the NCLEX-RN and the board application, is in How to become a nurse in California.
How this is built
- Scope: open postings on public hospital and health-system career sites, counted as of the date shown; job descriptions are never republished. Only postings whose location is in California count here; a posting listing several sites counts once, at its first site.
- Pay point: midpoint of the posted range, hourly (annual ÷ 2080), only where both ends and the unit are posted. The top of a posted range is never used as "the pay". A posted median is published only with at least 100 postings and within a third of the BLS mean.
- Freshness: counts are refreshed monthly and the page shows its date; a posting that leaves an employer's site drops out.
- References: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state estimates; NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact map data, read September 26, 2026.
Data as of September 26, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many open nursing jobs are there in California right now?
10,522 open postings from 123 hospital and health-system employers in California as of September 26, 2026, 2,165 of them for registered nurses. Los Angeles has the most (817), then San Francisco (727).
What do registered nurses earn in California?
The BLS OEWS May 2025 mean for registered nurses in California is $72.25 an hour, $150,280 a year, across 338,940 employed RNs. Open postings that state a range (348 of them) have a median midpoint of $50.00 an hour, -30.8% versus the BLS mean.
Is California a Nurse Licensure Compact state?
No. California is not an NLC member (NCSBN map, read September 26, 2026); nurses licensed elsewhere need a California license by endorsement.
Which hospitals are hiring nurses in California?
By open postings on their own career sites: Adventist Health (1,172), UCSF Health Medical Foundation (810), Prime Healthcare Services (680) and 5 more listed above, as of September 26, 2026.