By Staff

Nurses in Santa Cruz, Calif., make more money on average than nurses in any other metro area, a health ranking found.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data was used to find the metro area in each state that paid nurses the highest wages. Rankings of metro areas were based on the dollar difference between a registered nurse's median annual salary and the median salary of all occupations in the area.

The ranking showed that nurses earn some of the highest wages relative to other occupations in the area. California had the highest wage among all states, while Iowa had the lowest.

Here is the top metro area in every state with the median annual wage for nurses:

Alabama — Daphne: $64,700

Alaska — Fairbanks: $107,880

Arizona — Yuma: $82,290

Arkansas — Little Rock: $71,460

California — Santa Cruz: $175,350

Colorado — Pueblo: $82,780

Connecticut — Danbury: $105,370

Delaware — Dover: $78,320

Florida — Sebastian: $79,190

Georgia — Rome: $81,320

Hawaii — Urban Honolulu: $127,020

Idaho — Coeur d'Alene: $83,730

Illinois — Kankakee: $80,470

Indiana — Michigan City: $72,720

Iowa — Sioux City: $62,860

Kansas — Lawrence: $67,150

Kentucky — Owensboro: $78,040

Louisiana — Shreveport: $77,790

Maine — Bangor: $83,750

Maryland — Salisbury: $79,210

Massachusetts — Leominster: $96,410

Michigan — Flint: $86,210

Minnesota — St. Cloud: $85,730

Mississippi — Hattiesburg: $59,910

Missouri — St. Louis: $77,390

Montana — Missoula: $76,550

Nebraska — Grand Island: $74,290

Nevada — Las Vegas: $95,770

New Hampshire — Manchester: $80,560

New Jersey — Ocean City: $85,490

New Mexico — Las Cruces: $78,270

New York — New York City: $103,540

North Carolina — Fayetteville: $82,390

North Dakota — Fargo: $75,710

Ohio — Canton: $74,950

Oklahoma — Lawton: $77,070

Oregon — Bend: $108,310

Pennsylvania — Chambersburg: $84,090

Rhode Island — Providence: $84,770

South Carolina — Spartanburg: $81,520

South Dakota — Rapid City: $62,920

Tennessee — Cleveland: $76,620

Texas — Wichita Falls: $79,800

Utah — Provo: $75,090

Vermont — Burlington: $77,230

Virginia — Winchester: $81,940

Washington — Spokane: $100,280

West Virginia — Huntington: $77,240

Wisconsin — Racine: $77,960

Wyoming — Cheyenne: $81,680