Start with the answer
Registered Nurses pay in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Registered Nurses is $101,130 per year in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO. It is $216,740 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO is 53.3% below San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 29-1141 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 30,380 wage and salary jobs in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO and 22,930 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings