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City and County of San Francisco / Public Health Nurse

Role across City and County of San Francisco

Public Health Nurse

Provide direct patient care — assess conditions, administer treatment and medication, and coordinate with physicians.

79 people hold the Public Health Nurse role across 2 departments in City and County of San Francisco, with a median total compensation of $255,251. Among 15 jurisdictions where this role is reported, City and County of San Francisco ranks #1 by median pay.

Employees
79
Median pay
$255,251
Departments
2
Cross-jurisdiction
#1 of 15

Compared with the local labor market

Public Health Nurse pay vs. the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area

Across all employers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area, the median wage for Registered Nursesabout 41,750 people is $186,610. City and County of San Francisco pays a median base salary of $195,150 for this role, 5% above that figureabout the 57th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where City and County of San Francisco sits in the local pay range

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$119,290
$137,120
$186,610
$215,630
$223,770
City and County of San Francisco median · $195,150

The bar is the range of annual wages for Registered Nurses across every employer in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows City and County of San Francisco’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Registered Nursesabout 3,379,720 people is $97,550. City and County of San Francisco’s median base salary is 100% above that national figure, above the 90th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$68,940
$80,330
$97,550
$112,350
$137,470
City and County of San Francisco median · $195,150

Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA range relative to the national one.

Computed over the 75 of 79 people in this role paid at least $25,000 in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.

Median total compensation for this role at City and County of San Francisco is $255,251, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.

Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.

Compare jurisdictions

Public Health Nurse pay in other jurisdictions

Where Public Health Nurses are paid most

Los Angeles County
$214,986 · 477
California
$130,745 · 17
City of Chicago
$101,448 · 40
Vermont
$89,336 · 28
City of Cincinnati
$87,525 · 53
New York City
$82,989 · 519
Texas
$69,720 · 132
City of Milwaukee
$47,863 · 66
Metro Nashville
$45,599 · 573
Maine
$31,381 · 88

Median total compensation for comparable Public Health Nurse roles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.

Within City and County of San Francisco

Departments with this role

Largest City and County of San Francisco departments for this role

Public Health
75 · $262,573

Departments in City and County of San Francisco employing the most people in this role. Each bar links to that department’s page for the role.