most companies come to the bay area. i suggest you review the travel company reviews on ultimate nurse and see which company is best for you. the reviews are from nurses not the companies rating themselves as another travel nurse website has. two highly rated companies on this site are rnnetwork and hrn. both companies have a very strong presence in the san francisco/bay area. san fran at present is the highest paying place for nurses. there are many level one trauma centers out here cuz most facilities are affliated with schools. i am at ucsf as a traveler. it is one of the top ten hospitals in the country and two (tied with harvard) for medical research and biomedical advancements. they do cancel travelers and get patients from san quentin also. so if those factors aren't what you are looking for you might want to stay away from ucsf. i work per diem at two different hospitals one in the tenderloin district and the other in haight ashbury. that's where i make my money.