Traveling Nurse Salary by State & Specialty – 2026
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.
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
List view
Salary by City
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.
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.
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.
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. That last column shows how far the money goes.
| State | Median pay/wk | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $2,464/wk | up to 13.3% (graduated) | 110.7 | $2,599 | $8,070 |
| New York | $2,275/wk | up to 10.9% (graduated) + NYC local | 107.9 | $2,369 | $7,482 |
| Washington | $2,366/wk | No | 107.0 | $2,013 | $8,232 |
| Massachusetts | $2,412/wk | 5.0% flat + 4% surtax >$1M (top 9.0%) | 105.8 | $2,289 | $8,155 |
| Arizona | $2,159/wk | 2.5% flat | 100.7 | $1,706 | $7,642 |
| Tennessee | $1,972/wk | No | 91.9 | $1,176 | $7,363 |
| North Carolina | $1,906/wk | 3.99% flat | 94.3 | $1,373 | $6,880 |
| Florida | $2,111/wk | No | 103.4 | $1,935 | $7,206 |
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.
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.
Travel nurse salary questions, answered
How much do travel nurses make?
How much do traveling nurses make a year?
What is travel nurse salary per hour?
Do traveling registered nurses make more than staff RNs?
Why do traveling nurse salaries vary so much?
Which states pay travel nurses the most?
What is the average salary for a travel nurse?
Travel nursing jobs & pay
These travel RN contracts are paying a median of $2,171/week right now.
See every open assignment by specialty, shift, and pay. No agency fees, apply in minutes.
Get a text the moment a matching job opens, no account needed.