How much do travel nurses make in 2026?
Travel nurses are paid from the registered nurse series in the wage survey: BLS OEWS May 2025 reports the SOC 29-1141 national median at $97,550 a year ($46.90 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $68,940 and the top 10% at $137,470. BLS does not separate agency or contract nurses, and travel pay is structured in a way the survey cannot capture: agencies split a weekly package into a modest taxable hourly rate plus untaxed housing and per-diem stipends, so a headline weekly figure mixes wages with expense reimbursement. That matters practically — the stipend portion does not count toward mortgage qualification, does not accrue retirement contributions in most agency plans, and requires you to maintain a genuine tax home. Contracts also carry gaps between assignments, thinner benefits and cancellation risk. Registered nurse employment is projected to grow 4.9% through 2034 with roughly 189,100 openings a year. → Full travel nurse career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $97,550 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Travel Nurses earn a national median $97,550/yr ($46.90/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1141); the P10 to P90 range is $68,940 to $137,470.
- BLS publishes one registered nurse wage and does not identify contract nurses, so the $68,940 to $137,470 range is the reference point rather than any advertised weekly package.
- A travel package is a taxable hourly rate plus untaxed housing and per-diem stipends; only the taxable part behaves like a wage for lending, retirement and unemployment purposes.
- Gaps between contracts, cancellation clauses, licensure timing in non-compact states and self-funded benefits all reduce the effective annual difference against a staff post.
US Travel Nurse Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do travel nurses earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 29-1141; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1141, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a travel nurse earn at each career stage?
Travel pay follows specialty scarcity, licensure portability and willingness to take difficult locations rather than a licence ladder above the RN. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS registered nurse distribution (SOC 29-1141).
By State
Which states pay travel nurses the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national registered nurse median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. For contract nurses the state question is licensure speed and tax: Nurse Licensure Compact members can be worked immediately on a multi-state privilege, while non-member states require their own licence and can delay a start by weeks. Assignments in several states in one year also mean multiple state tax filings.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($112,180), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
travel nurse pay by state — all 9 state guides
By Metro
Which cities pay travel nurses the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the registered nurse national median scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a travel nurse’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does travel nurse pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Travel Nurses sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify travel nurse wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a travel nurse actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Travel Nurse Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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