Advantis salary data Updated today · 14 open Seattle jobs

Travel Nurse Salary in Seattle, WA

Median weekly · Seattle
$2,247
Pay after Seattle rent / mo
≈ $7,717/mo
$2,247/wk × 4.33 − $2,013 typical 2-BR rent. Before taxes. (HUD FMR FY2026.)
State income tax
None on wages (capital-gains tax only)
Specialties in demand

Seattle's live specialty demand

Seattle's academic and specialty hospitals keep ICU, OR, and ER lines especially active alongside the general floors, and the open unit shapes the rate more than the academic name. What is hiring moves week to week. Filter by specialty to pull the live Seattle rates.

Specialties with open contracts in this metro. Tap any for current openings. Rates vary by facility, shift, and start date.
What the number includes

What sits inside a Seattle weekly rate

In Seattle, the math is no income tax against very high rent: a two-bedroom near $2,381 runs about 51% above the national norm and above the roughly $2,013 Washington average, so the stipend is stretched, but with no state tax taken out, more of the gross survives. The base wage and meal allowance round out the total, so it is rent up, tax zero.

Hourly base, the wage portion of the rate Housing stipend, a weekly housing allowance Meals & incidentals, a daily meals allowance
The exact split varies by contract and location.
Seattle context

Seattle take-home after rent, with no state tax

Seattle is an academic and specialty hub around Puget Sound, so the contract slate stays active week to week. For a traveler, the cost math is a tug of war. Rent is the hard part: a two-bedroom near $2,381 runs about 51% above the national norm and above the roughly $2,013 Washington average, so housing takes a steep bite.

The counterweight is tax. Washington collects no income tax on wages, so the gross rate is not trimmed at the state level, which recovers some of what the rent takes. On licensing, Washington is a compact state, so a multistate license starts a Seattle assignment with no new application, and its endorsement is quick, often just one to two weeks for a single-state license. The Washington RN licensing guide lists the current steps.

None on wages (capital-gains tax only)
State income tax
Factored into take-home; travel stipends are typically tax-free.
Compact ✓
Start on your license
Multistate license? No new application. Single-state: ~~1-2 wks (~7 business days, board-stated) by endorsement.
8.7 /1k
RN per 1,000 residents
Below the national 9.92, so the market is structurally under-supplied, which keeps demand high.
Among 10 largest RN shortages · ~17% by 2038 (~15,020 FTE)
HRSA 2023–2038 · long-term
Sustained demand keeps contracts open.
Sources: HUD FMR FY2026 (2-BR rent), BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost of living), NCSBN; Washington State Board of Nursing (license status), Tax Foundation (state tax); all Seattle, WA. General information.
Live openings

See Seattle travel nurse jobs

An untaxed gross against rent well above the national norm makes what's left after housing the figure that matters in Seattle. Browse the live postings below for rate, specialty, and shift.

Labor and Delivery · Seattle, WA
Nights · 13 wks
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Nurse Supervisor · Seattle, WA
Days · 8 wks
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Labor and Delivery · Seattle, WA
Nights · 13 wks
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NICU · Seattle, WA
Nights · 13 wks
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Seattle salary questions

Salary FAQs for Seattle travelers

What's the weekly pay for a Seattle, WA travel nurse?
Seattle pay is priced by the week across an academic and specialty market, and the take-home math is steep rent against no state income tax. The pay figures above plot the current median and spread.
Which Seattle units carry the premium?
Seattle's specialty caseload sets the order. Seattle's upper rates are ICU, OR, ER, cardiac, and Labor and Delivery, with Med Surg lower and a night differential. Scan the live specialties above for current roles.
Does a Seattle rate go far after costs?
Seattle balances two forces. Rent runs about half again the national average, which is a heavy drag, but Washington's zero wage tax means the gross arrives whole, so take-home recovers some ground. The net hinges on how the contract handles housing.
Is Washington a Nurse Licensure Compact state?
Yes, and fast. As a compact state, Washington lets a multistate license begin a Seattle assignment with no new application, and a single-state license is quick, often one to two weeks. Washington's nursing board lists the steps.
Does Washington really have no income tax on travel pay?
No wage tax in Washington. Washington has no wage income tax, so the state side of a traveling nurse's Seattle rate stays whole. That is the chief counterweight to the metro's steep rent, clawing back some of what housing takes.
How does Seattle compare with the state and national average?
On tax yes, on rent the opposite. Zero state tax lifts take-home above a taxing state, but Seattle's rent runs well above the Washington and national norms, so housing pulls the other way. The table above places Seattle beside state and national cost.