Nurse Midwives Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $181K, rent takes 29.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $3,001/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new nurse midwives typically earn — is $102K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $6,115/month. At HUD’s $3,001/month FMR, rent would take 49% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay is 35% above the national median — $181K here vs. $134K nationally. Keep in mind cost of living here is 12% above the national average, which offsets some of that premium.

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad pays $181K median vs. the U.S. average of $134K — that’s +35%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 111.89), the purchasing-power equivalent is $162K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $181,450 a year, that works out to about $87 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $101,920, and experienced nurse midwives can clear $237,270. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $10,175/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $3,001/month, which eats 29.5% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad has a Regional Price Parity of 111.89 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median nurse midwives salary is worth about $162,168 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.