Advantis salary data Updated today · 3,105 open jobs

Traveling Nurse Salary by State & Specialty – 2026

Q: How much do travel nurses make?

Travel nurse pay is quoted by the week, since each assignment is priced by the facility for its specialty, location, and start date. See the current median across open contracts at the top of this page; because rates move with demand, that number changes as new openings post.

Q: How much do traveling nurses make a year?

Traveling nurses aren't salaried, so there's no single annual figure. Your yearly total depends on weeks worked, the contracts you accept, and time taken between assignments. Running contracts back-to-back can reach a six-figure year; longer breaks land lower. It comes down mostly to weeks worked.

Q: What is travel nurse salary per hour?

Travel contracts list a weekly rate, and each package blends an hourly base with weekly stipends. For a rough hourly equivalent, divide that weekly rate by the scheduled hours in the listing, most often 36 a week though some run 40 or 48. The result sits well above a comparable staff hourly rate.

Q: Do traveling registered nurses make more than staff RNs?

On a weekly basis, generally yes. A staff RN's published salary is straight-time base pay, leaving out shift differentials and the housing and meal stipends a traveler's package adds. A traveling registered nurse salary is a blended weekly rate that usually runs above the staff equivalent.

Q: Why do traveling nurse salaries vary so much?

A few things move it. Specialty carries the most weight, since higher-acuity, harder-to-staff units pay more. Location follows local demand and cost of living, and shift type, start date, and coverage urgency all matter. With so many inputs, traveling nurse salaries for the same role differ widely.

Q: Which states pay travel nurses the most?

It shifts with demand, so the live top-paying states list and state scorecard above are the most reliable answer, both updating from open contracts. The highest posted rate doesn't always leave the most after local costs, so the scorecard re-ranks states by what pay is actually worth.

Q: What is the average salary for a travel nurse?

Because pay is quoted weekly and shifts with demand, there's no single fixed figure for the average travel nurse salary. The most accurate number is the live median weekly rate at the top of this page; multiply it by the weeks you plan to work for a personal annual estimate.

Median weekly · all specialties

$2,146

Across 3,105 live contracts nationwide

Current weekly range

$1,505–$3,683

Where most open contracts land

Highest-paying specialty

RN First Assistant

$3,683/wk top rate

Interactive · by specialty

How Much Do Travel Nurses Make?

This shows the full spread of pay across current open contracts nationwide. Switch the specialty filter to see how far the curve shifts, since specialty does more to set travel pay than any other factor.

Across all open contracts

<$1.9k $1.9–2.2k $2.2–2.6k $2.6–3.0k $3.0–3.3k $3.3k+

$2,146

Median weekly

$1,505–$3,683

Current range

Based on open Advantis jobs in the U.S. by weekly pay.

See salary by specialty ER ICU Labor and Delivery Operating Room

Pick your state

Travel Nurse Salary by State - Interactive Map

Click any state to see its full salary breakdown: median and current range, the cities paying most, what the rate is worth locally, and every open contract.

Hover any state for its median weekly rate

Median weekly rate $1,623 to $2,898

List view

Alabama Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Missouri Nevada New Jersey New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington Wisconsin

Salary by City

Shading reflects live open-contract medians and re-bands itself as rates move; no ranking is hard-coded. Median weekly contract value, not a staff-nurse wage. Alaska and Hawaii are shown as insets and are not to scale. Map outlines: NewSignature/us-map (BSD-2-Clause), from the public-domain Wikimedia Blank_US_Map.

What sets the rate

What Affects Travel Nurse Salary?

Specialty does the most to set a contract's weekly rate, but several other factors move it. Location and facility demand come next, since pay follows where coverage is needed most. The scheduled week matters too: most contracts run 36, 40, or 48 hours, and a longer scheduled week pays more, with that figure already built into each listing. Start date, urgency, and contract length round out the rest.

By specialty

Travel Nurse Salary by Specialty: Highest-Paying Specialties Nationwide

These are the seven highest-paying specialties at the moment, ranked by the highest weekly rate currently open in each, and showing how many contracts are open. Tap a specialty to see its full list.

RN First Assistant Top rate$3,683 10 open jobs

PICU Top rate$3,356 39 open jobs

CVOR Top rate$3,336 57 open jobs

Cath Lab Top rate$3,332 91 open jobs

ER Top rate$3,304 376 open jobs

Nurse Educator Top rate$3,287 3 open jobs

Labor and Delivery Top rate$3,257 287 open jobs

Figures show the highest weekly rate currently open in each specialty, from live Advantis Medical contracts. Specialty rankings shift as new openings post.

By state

Travel Nurse Salary by State: Where Pay Runs Highest

These are the states where weekly rates run highest at the moment. A high headline number doesn't always leave the most in your pocket, so the table below weighs each state's rate against local costs.

Nevada$2,898 18 open jobs

Rhode Island$2,817 3 open jobs

California$2,559 220 open jobs New Jersey$2,421 21 open jobs New York$2,382 96 open jobs Massachusetts$2,371 141 open jobs

Montana$2,361 23 open jobs

Median weekly contract value and open-job counts from open Advantis contracts.

What pay is worth

What Travel Pay Is Worth, State by State

A headline weekly rate means different things in different states. This compares ten representative markets on median pay, cost of living, typical 2-BR rent, and what's left each month once rent is paid. The pay-after-rent column shows how far the money goes.

State	Median pay/wk
California	$2,559/wk	$2,674	$8,415	110.7	up to 13.3% (graduated)
New York	$2,382/wk	$2,374	$7,948	107.9	up to 10.9% (graduated) + NYC local
Washington	$2,309/wk	$2,011	$7,995	107.0	No
Massachusetts	$2,371/wk	$2,495	$7,779	105.8	5.0% flat + 4% surtax (top 9.0%)
Arizona	$2,185/wk	$1,706	$7,762	100.7	2.5% flat
Tennessee	$1,902/wk	$1,335	$6,905	91.9	No
North Carolina	$1,971/wk	$1,389	$7,152	94.3	3.99% flat
Florida	$2,063/wk	$1,933	$7,005	103.4	No

California $2,559/wk

2-BR rent $2,674 Pay after rent/mo $8,415 Cost of living 110.7 State tax up to 13.3% (graduated)

New York $2,382/wk

2-BR rent $2,374 Pay after rent/mo $7,948 Cost of living 107.9 State tax up to 10.9% (graduated) + NYC local

Washington $2,309/wk

2-BR rent $2,011 Pay after rent/mo $7,995 Cost of living 107.0 State tax No

Massachusetts $2,371/wk

2-BR rent $2,495 Pay after rent/mo $7,779 Cost of living 105.8 State tax 5.0% flat + 4% surtax (top 9.0%)

Arizona $2,185/wk

2-BR rent $1,706 Pay after rent/mo $7,762 Cost of living 100.7 State tax 2.5% flat

Tennessee $1,902/wk

2-BR rent $1,335 Pay after rent/mo $6,905 Cost of living 91.9 State tax No

North Carolina $1,971/wk

2-BR rent $1,389 Pay after rent/mo $7,152 Cost of living 94.3 State tax 3.99% flat

Florida $2,063/wk

2-BR rent $1,933 Pay after rent/mo $7,005 Cost of living 103.4 State tax No

About these numbers: travel nurse pay is the median weekly rate on open Advantis contracts, so a few high postings do not skew it. 2-BR rent is an Advantis statewide benchmark built from HUD FY2026 Fair Market Rent areas, not an official HUD figure or a prediction of what you will pay. Pay after rent is median weekly pay × 52 ÷ 12 minus that rent, before taxes; it is not take-home pay. Cost of living is BEA Regional Price Parity (U.S. = 100). Tax rates are 2026 figures, not tax advice.

What the number includes

What's in a travel RN weekly rate

A travel contract's weekly figure bundles several pieces together: an hourly base plus weekly stipends for housing and meals. Because the package covers more than wages, it usually totals more than a comparable staff rate, and two contracts at the same headline number can still land differently once everything is counted.

Hourly base Housing stipend M&IE

Hourly base, the wage portion of the rate Housing stipend, a weekly housing allowance Meals & incidentals, a daily meals allowance

The actual mix varies by contract, agency, and location.

Open now

Top-paying travel contracts open today

These are the highest weekly rates open across the country, pulled live from the Advantis feed. Specialty, location, and start timing vary from one contract to the next.

$3,683

RN First Assistant · Santa Maria, CA

Days · 13 wks

View →

$3,389

RN First Assistant · Lakeport, CA

Days · 13 wks

View →

$3,356

PICU · Wichita, KS

Nights · 6 wks

View →

$3,352

PICU · Oakland, CA

Nights · 13 wks

View →

Salary questions

Travel nurse salary questions, answered

How much do travel nurses make?

Travel nurse pay is quoted by the week, since each assignment is priced by the facility for its specialty, location, and start date. See the current median across open contracts at the top of this page; because rates move with demand, that number changes as new openings post.

How much do traveling nurses make a year?

Traveling nurses aren't salaried, so there's no single annual figure. Your yearly total depends on weeks worked, the contracts you accept, and time taken between assignments. Running contracts back-to-back can reach a six-figure year; longer breaks land lower. It comes down mostly to weeks worked.

What is travel nurse salary per hour?

Travel contracts list a weekly rate, and each package blends an hourly base with weekly stipends. For a rough hourly equivalent, divide that weekly rate by the scheduled hours in the listing, most often 36 a week though some run 40 or 48. The result sits well above a comparable staff hourly rate.

Do traveling registered nurses make more than staff RNs?

On a weekly basis, generally yes. A staff RN's published salary is straight-time base pay, leaving out shift differentials and the housing and meal stipends a traveler's package adds. A traveling registered nurse salary is a blended weekly rate that usually runs above the staff equivalent.

Why do traveling nurse salaries vary so much?

A few things move it. Specialty carries the most weight, since higher-acuity, harder-to-staff units pay more. Location follows local demand and cost of living, and shift type, start date, and coverage urgency all matter. With so many inputs, traveling nurse salaries for the same role differ widely.

Which states pay travel nurses the most?

It shifts with demand, so the live top-paying states list and state scorecard above are the most reliable answer, both updating from open contracts. The highest posted rate doesn't always leave the most after local costs, so the scorecard re-ranks states by what pay is actually worth.

What is the average salary for a travel nurse?

Because pay is quoted weekly and shifts with demand, there's no single fixed figure for the average travel nurse salary. The most accurate number is the live median weekly rate at the top of this page; multiply it by the weeks you plan to work for a personal annual estimate.

Keep exploring

Travel nursing jobs & pay

Jobs by specialty

ER →

Ready when you are

These travel RN contracts are paying a median of $2,146/week right now.

See every open assignment by specialty, shift, and pay. No agency fees, apply in minutes.

Search Travel RN Jobs

Get job & pay alerts for These

Get a text the moment a matching job opens, no account needed.

category__new_ unified_specialty desired_location_short state_license

I agree to receive automated text messages from Advantis Medical about new job matches. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out at any time.